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On July 21, 2020, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Ombudsman’s Office published an alert regarding card production delays. According to the alert, in June 2020, USCIS reduced the capacity to print secure documents, including Lawful Permanent Resident (LPR) Cards and Employment Authorization Documents (EAD), after it ended a contract with a third-party card production facility. While USCIS intended to hire federal employees to replace the contractors, the current hiring freeze at USCIS has delayed production of the cards. As such, USCIS has not been producing the permanent resident cards and EAD cards in a timely manner, so some foreign nationals have been delayed in receiving these secure documents.…
Continue Reading USCIS Card Production Delays & Obtaining I-551 Stamps as Temporary Proof of Status

On July 14, 2020, President Trump issued an Executive Order regarding Hong Kong’s preferential immigrant visa chargeability. EB-5 investors who were born in Hong Kong will see their visa…
Continue Reading Hong Kong Executive Order – July 14, 2020

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Continue Reading SEC Disgorgement Lives to See Another Day After Supreme Court’s Liu v. SEC Ruling

On Jan. 31, the official visa information website of the U.S. mission in China posted an urgent announcement that U.S. Embassy and Consulates in China are cancelling immigrant and nonimmigrant…
Continue Reading Alert – U.S. Embassy and Consulates in China Cancel Immigrant and Nonimmigrant Visa Interviews for the Week of Feb. 3 通知：美国驻华大使馆和领事馆取消2月3日一周的移民类和非移民类签证面试

On Oct. 4, President Donald Trump signed a new “Presidential Proclamation on the Suspension of Entry of Immigrants Who Will Financially Burden the United States Healthcare System,” which goes into effect Nov. 3 and affects most immigrant visa applicants. This Presidential Proclamation is separate from the Public Charge Rule, which is on hold in the U.S. due to a court injunction, and its implementation at U.S. Consulates has been delayed by the Department of State.

According to the new Presidential Proclamation, with very small exceptions including refugees and asylees, applicants for immigrant visas will need to present evidence to the consular office “to the consular officer’s satisfaction” at the time of their immigrant visa interview that they will be covered by approved health insurance within 30 days of entering the U.S. or that they have enough financial means to pay for “reasonably foreseeable medical costs.” The Presidential Proclamation asserts that “lawful immigrants are about three times more likely than United States citizens to lack health insurance.”…
Continue Reading New Presidential Proclamation Requiring Health Care for Immigrant Visa Applicants Effective November 3, 2019