3/6/17 President Trump signs revised Executive Order restricting travel to the US from 6 Muslim-majority nations for 90 days but exempts travelers holding visas. The new executive order does not ban citizens of Iraq. The ban goes into effect on March 16, 2017. Green card holders from the targeted countries will still be allowed.

3/3/17  USCIS will temporarily suspend premium processing for all H11B Petitions. This suspension may last up to 6 months.

12/23/16   DHS removed outdated regulations relating to an obsolete special registration program for certain nonimmigrants. The regulatory structure pertaining to NSEERS no longer provides a discernable public benefit as the program was rendered obsolete. 

12/28/15  Starting in 2016 licensed firearms owners in Texas will be able to openly carry a handgun in most places.  The new law will allow to carry handguns openly, in belt or shoulder holsters. But private businesses have the right to ban open carry under the law. As of October there were 922,197 active licenses to carry concealed guns in Texas. Under the law, guns will still be banned in some places, such as courthouses, sporting events and businesses that get 51% or more of their profits from on-site consumption of alcohol - like bars.

12/09/15  The House passed legislation on Tuesday to limit certain travel privileges granted to citizens of 38 friendly foreign countries. It puts some restrictions on visa waiver program which allows travelers from the 38 mostly European and Asian countries to enter the US without obtaining a visa. It would ban people from those nations who had traveled to places including Iraq or Syria since March 2011 without first getting a visa.

3/12/15   Federal agents raided a network of schools alleged to be part of a scheme to collect millions of dollars from foreigners who came to the US on student visas but never studied. USICE arrested three individuals who ran four schools in the Los Angeles area alleged to serve as front for the purported scheme. The charges are conspiracy to commit visa fraud, money laundering and other immigration offenses.

3/4/15  Federal officials executed a search warrant in several Southern California businesses connected to 3 multimillion dollars birth-tourism businesses that brings thousands of Chinese women to travel to US and return home with babies born as US citizens. It is suspected of visa fraud, tax evasion, and harboring illegal immigrants.

2/18/15 A federal judge orders temporary halt to Obama's immigration executive action. The program was set to begin on Wednesday. The executive action would have offered work permits and safe harbor from deportation to some four million in the US who met certain criteria.

1/29/15  The Justice Department started notifying non priority cases in immigration court to have hearing bumped off the court docket and will get a Nov. 29, 2019 court date. The delay makes room for higher-priority cases caused last summer by a surge in unaccompanied minors and families crossing the border with Mexico.

8/27/14  EB-5 Investor immigrant visas are "unavailable" for Chinese investors until the 2015 fiscal year according to the State Department. Investors from China have accounted for about 85% of the visas this year.

5/19/14  BIA decision grants joint motion to terminate to permit adjustment of status before USCIS by respondent who entered on K visa but failed to marry for 273 days.

4/10/14 USCIS announced that it has received about 172,500 H-1B petitions and has completed computer generated random selection process to select 65,000 general category cap and 20,000 cap under the advanced degree exemption. USCIS will reject petitions not randomly selected.

3/24/14  Senator Blumenthal (D-CT) sends letter to US Department of Homeland Security recommending to decrease prolonged immigration detention, including the use of bonds or conditional  parole.

3/25/14  USCIS will begin accepting H-1B petitions subject to the FW2015 congressionally mandated cap on 4/1/14.

10/30/13  Infosys Ltd has reached a $34 million settlement with U.S. authorities in a case involving the widespread practice by Indian firms of flying workers to client sites in the US on temporary visitor visas. The fine, which the U.S. Department of Justice said is the largest in a case of its kind, comes as U.S. lawmakers consider legislation that would make it more difficult and costly for Indian IT firms to send workers to the United States on temporary, restricted visas.

8/20/13  USCIS alert that about a new telephone scam, where scammers use a technique to display false information on the recipient's caller id, leading the individual to believe that the caller is a USCIS official. USCIS will never ask for any form of payment or personal information over the phone.

8/19/13 Department of Justice's Office of Special Counsel settlement for back pay and civil penalties with Forever 21, due to violations of the anti-discrimination provision of the INA for rejecting an employee's EAD and requiring her to produce a Permanent Resident Card as condition of employment.

7/29/2013  US Third Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia ruled that Hazleton in Pennsylvania ordinances passed in 2006 usurped the federal government's authority over immigration laws. The Hazleton ordinances sought to deny access licenses to businesses that hire  undocumented immigrants and fine landlord who rent them.

7/22/2013  US Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals struck down Farmers Branch Housing ordinance. The Court relied on the Supreme Court's decision in Arizona v US to hold that the ordinance aimed at preventing undocumented individuals from renting housing in the City of Farmers Branch in Texas conflicted with federal immigration law. Villas at Parkside Partners v. City of Farmers Branch, Texas.

6/18/2013  Federal prosecutors charged 9 people with employing more than 50 illegal immigrants at 14 7-Eleven franchise stores in New York and Virginia. The immigrants were forced to work shifts of 80-100 hours a week at the convenience store. Immigrants are from Pakistan and Philippines.

6/04/2013  Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY) predicted the Senate would pass its immigration reform bill by July 4, and hopes to win 70 votes, including a majority of Republicans.

5/07/2013   The court upheld the BIA's conclusion that the petitioners were not in lawful status after their L-1A and L-2 visas expired, despite having an adjustment of status application pending, because adjustment of status was ultimately denied. Dhuka v. Holder.

5/07/2013  USCIS reminds employers that beginning May 7, 2013, they must now use the revised Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification (Revision 03/08/13)N for all new hires and reverifications.

4/18/2013    Today at 2:30 pm, members from the bipartisan group of senators will hold a news conference to outline the immigration reform proposal that has been introduced in the Senate.

4/08/2013    USCIS stated that they received 124,000 H-1B petitions during FY2014 filing period & used a computer-generated random selection lottery process on April 7, 2013 to meet caps of 65,000 for general category & 20,000 under advanced degree exemption limit.