Employment Based Immigration
USCIS Should Accept Provisional Degree Certificate as Proof Degree Was Received for Advanced Degree Professionals
The Council filed an amicus brief in a case pending before the Administrative Appeals Office (AAO), an administrative body at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) that reviews denials of most employment-based visa petitions. Read More
Department of Justice Issues Final Rule About Unfair Immigration-Related Employment Practices
The U.S. Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Civil Rights Division recently issued a final rule, effective January 18, to update regulations that the agency uses to enforce employment-related anti-discrimination provisions that Congress included in the “unfair immigration-related employment practices” section of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). The agency maintains… Read More
FOIA Lawsuit on H-1B Lottery Policies and Procedures
On behalf of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), the Council, in cooperation with Hughes Socol Piers Resnick & Dym, Ltd., filed a lawsuit against USCIS and DHS seeking the public release of records relating to the policies and procedures USCIS follows when administering the annual H-1B random selection process… Read More
Practice Tip: Mandamus May Get Results When Nothing Else Works
This Practice Tip demystifies mandamus by explaining how and when to ask a court for this remedy when a client has been waiting too long for USCIS to make a decision.
How USCIS Estimates Application and Petition Processing Times
This fact sheet provides an overview of how USCIS calculates processing times and the concerns over the accuracy of these estimates. Read More
Practice Tip: When to Appeal to the Administrative Appeals Office (AAO)
This Practice Tip analyzes the pros and cons of appealing to the Administrative Appeals Office (AAO) following the denial of an employment-based visa petition. Read More
Practice Tip: Responding to a Request for Evidence
This Practice Tip explains how practitioners can turn a Request for Evidence (RFE) into an opportunity to strengthen the administrative record through a thoughtful and thorough response. Read More
Practice Tip: Building the Record for Employment-Based Petitions
This Practice Tip outlines how you can build a strong administrative record to set the stage for challenging the denial of a client's visa petition in federal court. Read More
Administrative Appeals Office Approves National Interest Waiver for Specialty Care Physician
Washington, D.C. – The American Immigration Council applauds the Administrative Appeals Office’s (AAO) decision to withdraw the Texas Service Center Director’s (TSC) restrictive interpretation in Matter of H-V-P-, a case involving a national interest waiver. The TSC decision would have prevented a specialty care physician (hematology-oncology) from providing medical… Read More
Failure to Appeal to the AAO: Does it Bar all Federal Court Review of the Case?
This Practice Advisory discusses whether and how a person can get review of a U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services decision in federal court if he or she did not appeal the decision to the Administrative Appeals Office (AAO). The Advisory addresses the Supreme Court case Darby v. Cisneros, holding that a plaintiff is not required to exhaust non-mandatory administrative remedies in certain situations, and how it may apply to cases involving appeals to the AAO. Read More
