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FAQs: - Effect of I-140 revocation on priority date - H-1B extensions through any employer - Is there any law to provide legal stay to the parent of US citizen child with disability? - Status of off-site placed STEM OPT extension students - how does one change status while within the United States?
WASHINGTON— U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and the Department of Justice today announced a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) (PDF, 2.00 MB) that expands their collaboration to better detect and eliminate fraud, abuse, and discrimination by employers bringing foreign visa workers to the United States. This new effort improves the way the agencies share information, collaborate on cases, and train each other’s investigators.
WASHINGTON—U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) today posted a policy memorandum (PDF, 179 KB)changing how the agency will calculate unlawful presence for students and exchange visitors in F, J, and M nonimmigrant status, including F-2, J-2, or M-2 dependents, who fail to maintain their status in the United States.
USCIS has completed data entry for all fiscal year 2019 H-1B cap-subject petitions selected in the computer-generated random selection process. USCIS will now begin returning all H-1B cap-subject petitions that were not selected. Due to the high volume of filings, USCIS cannot provide a definite time frame for returning unselected petitions. USCIS asks petitioners not to inquire about the status of their cap-subject petitions until they receive a receipt notice or an unselected petition is returned.
USCIS reminds F-1 students on Optional Practical Training (OPT) that transferring to another school or beginning study at another educational level (for example, beginning a master’s program after completing a bachelor’s degree) automatically terminates their OPT as well as their corresponding employment authorization document (EAD).
USCIS updated the following USCIS form(s):
Update to Form I-129CW, Petition for a CNMI-Only Nonimmigrant Transitional Worker; New Edition Dated 05/09/1805/23/2018 12:00 AM EDT For more information, please visit Forms Updates page.
WASHINGTON – The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is proposing a rule to end a program that allows certain foreign entrepreneurs to be considered for parole to temporarily come to the United States to develop and build start-up businesses here, known as the International Entrepreneur Rule (IE Final Rule).
Published by: The Financial Express - April 06, 2025
https://shorturl.at/dkbWQ
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Rajiv S Khanna, an Arlington-based immigration attorney disclosed that F-1 and H-1B visa holders often turned to the recently shot down office “when they hit bureaucratic roadblocks within US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) that threatened their legal status and livelihoods.”
For more information on this news, please see the attachment.
Published by: India.Com - April 07, 2025
https://shorturl.at/xWXrg
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Published by: The Economic Times - April 07, 2025
https://shorturl.at/2MLOp
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Published by: The Economic Times - Date: April 05, 2025
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Published by: NewsBytes - April 05, 2025
https://www.newsbytesapp.com/news/world/trump-administration-disbands-c…
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Published by: Mwakilishi.com - April 05, 2025
https://mwakilishi.com/article/immigration-news/2025-04-05/us-disbands-…
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Published by: MYind.net - April 05, 2025
https://myind.net/Home/viewArticle/us-shuts-down-key-immigration-helpde…
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Published by: The Munsif Daily - April 09, 2025
https://munsifdaily.com/us-silences-immigrant-lifeline/
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Published by: Business Standard - April 10, 2025
https://shorturl.at/eriAx
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Published by: The Times Of India - April 04, 2025
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Published by: The Economic Times - Date: April 04, 2025
Synopsis
The State Department's new social media screening measures affect F-1, M-1, and J-1 visa applicants, requiring mandatory reviews under certain conditions. These include broad interpretations of terrorist support and criteria for hostile attitudes toward U.S. institutions, potentially leading to visa revocations.
For more information on this article, please see the attachment below.
My H-1B to B2 status change (I-539) was approved, and the I-94 expiry date on my B2 approval notice is 21 April 2025.
Now, if I apply for a B2 extension or F-1 change of status, then can I stay in the USA after 21-Apr-2025 while my decision is pending?
Yes, you can generally stay in the US while your B-2 extension or F-1 change of status application is pending, provided you file it before your current status expires. This applies to most applications filed while still in status (e.g., H-1, B-1, B-2, L-1, E-1, E-2). If your I-94 expires on April 21st and you apply for a B-2 extension or F-1 change of status before that date, you can stay in the US while your application is pending because you filed it timely.
I am a mechanical engineer currently working as an MEP design engineer, and I hold a professional engineer (PE) license in North Carolina. I am on an H-1B visa with an approved I-140.
With the recent rule changes, I wanted to understand whether I can open my own MEP design firm while on H-1B status without maintaining an employer-employee relationship. Additionally, would I be allowed to start the company while maintaining my current full-time job and transition to running the firm full-time once I build up a client base?
Yes, you can incorporate a company while on an H-1B with another employer, but you cannot actively conduct business for your own company without violating your H-1B status. To operate your own company while on H-1B, you would need to transfer your H-1B to your own company or obtain a concurrent H-1B for your company, which requires demonstrating an employer-employee relationship and meeting salary requirements. There are practical difficulties with this, including funding your own salary.
Published by: Galveston County Daily News - April 22, 2025
https://www.galvnews.com/international-students-in-jeopardy-as-visas-ar…
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Published by: Drop Site News - April 20, 2025
https://www.dropsitenews.com/p/deportation-students-ice-dhs-visas
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