H1-B visa India Interview

The Pilot Program to Renew H-1B Visa Applications within the U.S 

The Department of state has launched a pilot program to resume visa renewals for qualified H-1B non-immigrant visa applicants within the U.S. nearly after two decades.

The program has started from January 29, 2024, through April 1, 2024, or when all application slots are filled, whichever comes first. Under this program the department will make a maximum of 20,000 application slots available for approximately 4,000 per week for applicants whose most recent H-1B visa was issued by U.S. Mission India with an issuance date of February 1, 2021 through September 30, 2021, and for applicants whose most recent H-1B was issued by U.S. Mission Canada with an issuance date of January 1, 2020, through April 1, 2023.

This move will help to reduce the workload on officers at the U.S. consulate abroad and also the H1-B beneficiary could continue stay within the country while the visa is being processed. This move will surely a good start, if and when the program becomes permanent it would be a smooth renewal process.

Who are eligible for renewal within the country?

Applicants who fulfil the below criteria shall be eligible for renewal within the country

· Seek to renew an H-1B nonimmigrant visa only;

· Prior H-1B visa that is being renewed was issued by U.S. Mission India or by U.S. Mission Canada;

· Are not subject to a non-immigrant visa issuance fee also known as commonly “reciprocity fee”;

· Are eligible for a waiver of the in-person interview requirement;

· Have submitted ten fingerprints to the Department in connection with a previous visa application;

· Prior visa does not include a “clearance received” annotation;

· Do not have a visa ineligibility that would require a waiver prior to visa issuance;

· Were most recently admitted to the United States in H-1B status;

· Are currently maintaining H-1B status in the United States;

· Have an approved and unexpired H-1B petition;

· Period of authorized admission in H-1B status has not expired; and

· Intend to re-enter the United States in H-1B status after a temporary period abroad.

If the above criteria’s are met then the applicants must submit following list of documents and fees to renew the visa within the U.S.

· A DS-160 barcode sheet for a properly completed and electronically filed form DS-160, Online Non-immigrant Visa Application

· A passport valid for travel to the United States, which is valid for at least six months beyond the visa application date, and contains at least two blank, unmarked pages for placement of a visa foil. RECOMMENDED: A passport containing the most recently issued H-1B visa if the visa is not in the current passport

· Non-refundable and non-transferable $205.00 MRV application processing fee

· One photograph not older than six months

· Copy of current Form I-797, Notice of Action

· Copy of Form I-94, Arrival-Departure Record

The department is processing only H-1B Visa and not H-4 visas under the program. However, if the program becomes permanent then maybe more non-immigrant visa category shall be added such as L-1 visas, E-2 Visa, etc.


This article has been written by Sukanya Raman, Davies & Associates, India Office.

Sukanya is an Independent Consultant working the capacity of Associate of the firm’s Bengaluru office. She earned her first undergraduate degree in Commerce from Mumbai University in 2013 and her second undergraduate degree in Law from Indian Law Society’s Law College, Pune at Savitribai Phule Pune University in 2017.

Looking for an US immigration lawyer? Request free consultation at Davies & Associates or find our closest location around the world.


USA Immigration

U.S. Stateside Renewal Pilot To Kick Off in Jan 2024 

The much-anticipated stateside renewal pilot program is set to run from January 29 to April 1, 2024.  Under the pilot, certain H-1B visa holders will be able to renew their visas within the United States, without having to leave the country for visa stamping.   

The program is limited to a total of 20,000 visa applications.  4,000 application slots will be opened up by the State Department every week, from January 29 through Feb 26.  

While the pilot is currently applicable to H-1B employees only, there is a possibility of it being expanded in the near future to other non-immigrant visa categories like the L-1. 

To qualify under the pilot for domestic visa renewal, the H-1B worker, who has an approved and unexpired H-1B petition and is seeking to renew their visa stamp must: 

  • Have been issued the visa by Mission Canada with an issuance date from January 1, 2020, through April 1, 2023; or by Mission India with an issuance date of February 1, 2021, through September 30, 2021; 
  • Not be subject to a nonimmigrant visa issuance fee (“reciprocity fee”);  
  • Be eligible for an in-person interview waiver;  
  • Have been fingerprinted in the past in connection with a prior visa; 
  • Not have a prior visa that includes a “clearance received” annotation;  
  • Not have a visa ineligibility that would require a waiver prior to visa issuance;  
  • Be currently maintaining H-1B status in the United States;  
  • Have a period of authorized admission in H-1B status that has not expired; and 
  • Intend to re-enter the US in H-1B status after a temporary period abroad. 

 Eligible applicants will be able to apply for renewal through the State Department’s dedicated domestic visa renewal website by submitting the DS-160 and paying the requisite fee, after which applications will then be sorted to determine whether they fall within the scope of the pilot. 

Source: 2023-28160.pdf (federalregister.gov)

D&A will closely follow this development and provide updates as and when they become available. 


This article has been written by Zeenat Phophalia, Esq. Of Counsel, Davies & Associates, India Office.

Zeenat Phophalia is qualified to practice law in New York, United Kingdom and India. She practices in the area of U.S. immigration law with a focus on business immigration, and has represented corporate clients including large and medium sized companies and startups across sectors such as IT, consulting, consumer goods, manufacturing and telecommunications.

Looking for an US immigration lawyer? Request free consultation at Davies & Associates or find our closest location around the world.


US Immigration attorney

Ways to get a US Green Card

The much-coveted green card is a license to permanently live and work in the United States.  In other words, this piece of document grants the holder the status of permanent resident in the US and a path to citizenship. 

The two most common ways to obtain a green card are through family and employment. 

In general, green card immigrant visas through family-sponsored preference categories are limited to 226,000 per fiscal year (October 1 to September 30), and employment-based immigrant visas are capped at 140,000 annually.  However, these annual limits can be exceeded if certain immigrant visas from prior fiscal year’s allocation remain unutilized. 

This article provides a brief overview of the various routes through which a green card can be obtained. 

  1. Through Family: 

Immigration through family is arguably the most common path for obtaining a green card and later, citizenship.  The marriage route is the quickset.  The law allows a US citizen or a permanent resident to sponsor a family member for permanent residency (typically done by way of an I-130 filing).   

The family-based route has two immigrant visa categories: 

Immediate Relatives – these are close relatives of US citizens, such as spouses, unmarried children under 21, or parents.  This category is not subject to a fiscal quota and unlimited number of visas are always available; thus visas are processed relatively much faster under this category. 

Family Preference – this category is reserved for other relatives of US citizens and green card holders such as siblings, unmarried children over the age of 21, married children, etc., and a limited number of immigrant visas are available each year.  Processing times in most cases often range from a couple to several years. 

Separately, there’s also a path for fiancés of US citizens – K1 or the fiancé visa – which allows the fiancé to enter the US for the purpose of marriage and later, adjustment to green card status.  

  1. Through Employment:

A green card can be obtained by working with a US employer; there are different categories, and of course, different requirements.  These categories include priority workers such as outstanding professors and researchers, people with extraordinary ability and multinational manager and executives; professionals with advanced degrees; skilled workers and special immigrants.   

The five categories of employment-based immigrant visas: 

  • EB-1: Priority Workers 
  • EB-2: Professionals with Advanced Degrees or Exceptional Ability 
  • EB-3: Skilled Workers, Professionals, and Unskilled Workers 
  • EB-4: Special Immigrants 
  • EB-5: Investors 

Generally, the US employer will sponsor the green card petition.  For example, qualified H-1B employees can obtain green cards if their employer applies for their labor certification and files the I-140 petition to sponsor them, mostly under the EB-2 or EB-3 classification.  However, these particular categories have historically had long wait times.  A quick path to green card is available to certain L-1 employees – a managerial or executive can be sponsored for a green card by their US employer under the EB-1 category; in this case the employer can directly file the I-140, bypassing the labor certification process.  The wait times to obtain a green card under this route have been significantly shorter than those of the EB-2 or EB-3.

The two employment-based immigrant visa classifications which permit self-petitioning by foreign nationals are the EB-2 – National Interest Waiver, and EB-1- Extraordinary Ability.  So, if you are a musician or an athlete who’s attained national or international fame may apply for an EB-1 visa without needing a US job offer.  Similarly, a foreign national who can demonstrate that their work is of substantial intrinsic merit and national importance for the US can apply for an EB-2 visa without a US sponsor. 

  1. Through Investment:

Foreign investors can avail he EB-5 visa – an immigrant visa which allows investors to obtain a green card by investing at least $800,000 in a commercial enterprise in a Targeted Employment Area (TEA) or $1,050,000 in a non-TEA. The investment must employ at least 10 full-time US workers or remain in a pool investment project which will directly result in job creation for US workers. Over the years, the EB-5 program has resulted in the infusion of billions of dollars into the US economy, boosting development projects and employment opportunities. There are 10,000 EB-5 visas available each fiscal year. 

  1. Through Lottery:

Another way to obtain a green card is through the Diversity Visa Program or the Green Card Lottery. Under this program, 55,000 applicants are selected each year, mainly from countries with low immigration rates such as Estonia, Norway, Japan, Ukraine, etc.  The applicant needs to have a high school education, or its equivalent, or two years of qualifying work experience. 

 5.    Through Refugee/Asylee Status:

Applying for a green card by virtue of refugee or asylum status can be complex and time-consuming and requires meeting multiple criteria.  One should have been granted refugee or asylee status in order to apply, meaning that the individual should have demonstrated the fulfilment of certain requirements of a refugee or asylum seeker and have been granted protection under US law.  Refugees are generally people outside of their country who are unable or unwilling to return home because of fear of serious harm.  Asylum status is a form of protection available to people who are refugees and are seeking admission to the US at a port of entry. 

This article is for information purposes only and does not consitute legal advice of any kind.


This article has been written by Zeenat Phophalia, Esq. Of Counsel, Davies & Associates, India Office.

Zeenat Phophalia is qualified to practice law in New York, United Kingdom and India. She practices in the area of U.S. immigration law with a focus on business immigration, and has represented corporate clients including large and medium sized companies and startups across sectors such as IT, consulting, consumer goods, manufacturing and telecommunications.

Looking for an US immigration lawyer? Request free consultation at Davies & Associates or find our closest location around the world.


Investor Visa Application Price Increase

US to begin Domestic Visa Renewal for H-1B Workers

In a welcome development, certain H-1B employees will now be able to renew their visa stamp in the United States, without having to apply at a US consulate in their home country or elsewhere.   

The stateside visa renewal pilot program of the US State Department is set to take effect in January, as reported.  This is in a bid to cut down long appointment wait times at US consulates abroad.  Under the pilot program, the grant of H-1B visas will be limited to 20,000 initially.  Details on this are expected to be published in the Federal Register in December that will outline instructions and eligibility criteria, among other things.  

Additionally, the State Department is considering extending “interview waivers” for certain nonimmigrant visa categories.  The Trump administration had authorized consular officers to grant in-person interview waivers for certain visa categories during COVID (such as the L, H-1, O), which authorization was extended several times by the current administration, and is now set to expire in December of this year.   

Reportedly, the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Consular Affairs Julie Stufft, remarked, “The legal authority for renewing the waivers is clear, but it requires concurrence from the Department of Homeland Security. The agencies are having a “robust conversation” on what is and isn’t working at ports of entry…Everyone is very focused on making sure we resolve this issue by the end of the year.” 

A significant number of non immigrant visas including the H-1B and L-1 were issued without an in person interview.  In such cases, candidates submit their applications via the Dropbox process. 

About the H-1B

The H-1B is an employer-sponsored non-immigrant visa classification that allows certain foreign workers to work in the US in a specialty occupation. “Specialty occupation” means a position that requires application of a specialized field of study and one that requires at least a bachelor’s degree as a minimum entry requirement in that specialty.  The H-1B cap or H-1B quota is the numerical limit of H-1B visas allowed in a fiscal year (October 1 to September 30). Currently, the regular cap for H-1B visas (requiring a bachelor’s degree) is set at 65,000.  There is an additional H-1B annual Master’s cap quota set at 20,000 (requiring at least a US master’s or higher degree). 

Source: H-1B Worker Domestic Visa Renewal Pilot to Start in January (1) (bloomberglaw.com)


This article has been written by Zeenat Phophalia, Esq. Of Counsel, Davies & Associates, India Office.

Zeenat Phophalia is qualified to practice law in New York, United Kingdom and India. She practices in the area of U.S. immigration law with a focus on business immigration, and has represented corporate clients including large and medium sized companies and startups across sectors such as IT, consulting, consumer goods, manufacturing and telecommunications.

Looking for an US immigration lawyer? Request free consultation at Davies & Associates or find our closest location around the world.


EB-5 petitions visa

Immigration Implications Arising Out of Corporate Transactions

Whenever a corporate transaction involves a business whose employees include foreign nationals, an immigration due diligence is strongly recommended. Corporate transactions in the form of stock or asset acquisitions, mergers, consolidations, restructuring, etc. could trigger immigration implications. Most work visas for foreign nationals are employer specific, changes in an entity’s structure could jeopardize an employee’s work authorization and inadvertently violate immigration regulations. It’s important to ensure that employees are not rendered out of status and understand requirements and nuances of various work visas in order to analyze how a corporate transaction could affect foreign workers, and potentially the interests of a company.

In the United States, there are two separate visa categories for a foreign worker: (i) non-immigrant; and (ii) immigrant. Non-immigrant workers usually fall under the H-1B, 1, TN and E-2, E-3 visa categories, while immigrant workers are those who have obtained lawful permanent status or are in the process of doing so.

This article covers some of the implications of mergers and acquisitions on H-1B, L-1 and green card applications and I-9 compliance.

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v Impact on H-1B Filings:

Arguably, the most popular and commonly used temporary work visa is the H-1B. For a company with H-1B employees, questions to consider are whether the merger and acquisition will result in a new employer and to what extent will the new entity assume the interests and liabilities of the target company. Where the new employer is a “successor-in-interest” that assumes the interests and obligations of the prior employer which includes the assertions the prior employer made on their labor condition application, filing a new H-1B petition is not necessary. This may therefore allow H-1B workers to continue employment without any interruption. That said, any material changes accompanying corporate changes will require action steps, for example, relocation of the employee and/or a substantial change in the employee’s duties will require filing a revised labor condition application (LCA) and an amended H-1B petition.

An issue likely to come up and affecting a small percentage of companies is the loss of eligibility of H-1B cap exempt status. Certain employers such as governmental research organizations, non- profits, certain colleges and universities are exempt from the H-1B cap quota. Depending on the corporate change, the cap-exempt status could be lost by the new employer, for example when a non-profit entity is replaced by a for-profit entity as a sponsoring employer. This loss of status could render an employee unauthorized to work going forward whose H-1B was granted on the basis of the cap-exempt status. Issues like these should be taken into account and addressed prior to closing.

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v Impact on L-1 Visas:

For an L-1 visa, the law requires the existence of a qualifying relationship between the US entity and the foreign entity from which the employee will be transferring or has been transferred, and the relationship must be that of either a “parent, branch, affiliate or subsidiary.” A merger or acquisition resulting in change in the ownership structure of either entity could terminate the qualifying relationship as required under the regulations, thereby invalidating the L-1 status of an employee. It’s important to perform a thorough analysis of the transaction to determine whether the qualifying relationship has been terminated or retained. For example, if a US subsidiary of a Japanese parent is acquired by a US company, in this situation, the qualifying relationship will have terminated and the L-1 Japanese executive working in the US will have lost work authorization. In cases where it can be proved that the qualifying relationship remains intact, only an amended petition is required.

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v Impact on Green Card Applications:

A lawful permanent residency (green card) application can be broken down into 3 steps in modt cases – labor certification, I-140 petition and adjustment of status application. Companies that fall within the successor-in-interest requirements generally are allowed to continue the green card application filed by the predecessor company.

For a labor certification that is filed by the former employer, as long as the new employer assumes all rights, duties, liabilities and obligations of the former employer, the labor certification will remain valid, provided the job position and/or location of the employee remain unchanged. However, if there are any changes in job position or location, or if the new employer does not qualify as a successor-in-interest, the pending labor certification will be invalidated and the new employer will have to file a new labor certification. This could affect the lawful status of a foreign worker who has relied on a pending labor certification in order to extend his or her H-1B visa. An employee could lose his priority date thereby significantly delaying the already lengthy green card process.

During the I-140 stage, if the I-140 is pending, but the adjustment of status application is not filed at the time of the corporate change, the new employer will have to file an amended I-140 demonstrating the successor-in-interest relationship. This would also be the case if the I-140 has been approved but no adjustment of status application has been filed yet.

On the other hand, when a corporate change comes into effect after the I-485 application is filed, an amended I-140 may not be required. This is because the American Competitiveness in the 21st Century Act (AC21) allows a foreign national to change employers if the I-140 has been approved and the adjustment of status application has been pending for 180 days or more, as long as the new position is in the “same or similar occupational classification.” The new employment must be in

the same or similar job category as the one initially sponsored and filing of an amended I-140 is not needed and neither is the demonstration of successor-in-interest relationship

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Key Concerns: I-9 Compliance

One of the most important (but often overlooked) factors that an employer should take into account at the time of a restructuring is the I-9 compliance. All employers in the U.S. are prohibited from hiring unauthorized employees. One of the fundamental reasons in creating the Form I-9 form was to get employees to establish that they are authorized to work in the U.S. (based on certain prescribed documentation) and to obligate employers to verify and confirm their work authorization. Under the I-9 compliance, each employer is required to verify the identity and employment authorization of all employees.

To ensure that employers comply with the above, the law imposes some harsh penalties. These penalties are not only restricted to employing unauthorized workers but also extend to the failure to properly execute and retain records of employees, whether U.S. citizens or not. These penalties can range from $110 – $1,100 per record for not maintaining proper documentation with additional sanctions that may include bars to filing for any immigration benefit.

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Immigration Due Diligence and Best Practices

Any immigration related issues should be addressed and incorporated into the representations and warranties of the key transaction documents. It is a good practice to identify all employees on non-immigrant visas or in the process of applying for green cards and understand future action steps if any to ensure continuation of their lawful status.

Corporates should adopt a best practice checklist for a corporate immigration program – immigration policies should be in writing and ensure that extension of visas and transfer of employees across borders is done in a timely manner. Tone from the top matters; corporate policy should state clearly that the company will remain compliant with all immigration laws, such as timely completion of employment verification and provision of appropriate employment benefits

Reference Links

L1 Visa Attorney | L1 Visa USA | L1 Visa (usimmigrationadvisor.com)

EB1c Visa | EB1c US Lawyer | Davies & Associates (usimmigrationadvisor.com)

EB3 Visa | Permanent Residency for Skilled Workers | Davies & Associates LLC (usimmigrationadvisor.com)


This article has been written by Zeenat Phophalia, Esq. Of Counsel, Davies & Associates, India Office.

Zeenat Phophalia is qualified to practice law in New York, United Kingdom and India. She practices in the area of U.S. immigration law with a focus on business immigration, and has represented corporate clients including large and medium sized companies and startups across sectors such as IT, consulting, consumer goods, manufacturing and telecommunications.

Looking for an US immigration lawyer? Request free consultation at Davies & Associates or find our closest location around the world.


US Immigration Lawyer

Numerous Recent Visa Approvals for D&A Clients

The clients of our firm have been granted a number of different visa approvals over the past week, with the feeling that the Covid pandemic is increasingly behind us. Here are some examples:

E2 Visa for Singapore National Setting Up Advisory Firm in California

We are happy to share that we have secured an approval for another E2 Treaty Investor Visa applicant from Singapore. The applicant will operate as an advisory firm in California. The Company will raise money from qualified investors who will acquire limited partnership interests in a limited partnership fund, and then advise the fund to make minority equity investments in selected startups. The Company will receive advisory fees from the fund and a profit in the form of carried interest when the equity held by the fund in a startup is acquired by an acquirer, or when the startup goes for an initial public offering. 

The E2 company will be committed to partnering with frontier tech entrepreneurs as they start out, becoming their trusted advisor and providing them with the necessary advice to succeed. The Company’s investment philosophy will be to patiently identify and invest in highly-qualified entrepreneurs and accelerate growth through its network of executives in the IT Industry. It will coach frontier tech startups on initial customer selection and how to create compelling marketing pitches. The Company will facilitate meetings with lighthouse customers to help startups achieve success fast. Lighthouse customers are consumers who embrace a product soon after its launch. They will provide considerable and critical feedback to help startups develop and refine their products. Identifying and developing strong relationships with these customers is crucial for startups’ future success.

E2 Treaty Investor Visa for a Swiss National

The E2 Treaty Investor invested in a farm management company based in California. The company will provide custom harvesting and farm management services. The Company purchased selected farming equipment to provide local farmers with harvesting services that will maximize their output and profitability. Additionally, the company will hire agricultural advisory who will help farmers select crops for planting and organize their entire annual cycles to increase their operations’ cost-effectiveness. 

The company will provide its services to farmers from Fresno, Woodland, and Lodi, Californian cities known for their disproportionately high agricultural output and excellent products. The Company will focus on nut tree farmers, primarily those that cultivate almonds and pistachios. 

L1 Visa Extension for a Polish Shipping and Logistics Executive

We have helped a US company secure an extension of status for its current President on L-1A visa. Established on January 8, 1992, the US company was founded with the purpose of securing proper representation of a state-owned shiping company in Poland in North America and to conduct business in the lucrative North American market.  The US Company represents the Polish company’s  interests in all aspects and matters concerning North and Central America and the Caribbean markets; providing the closest and most effective link between Poland’s largest ship owner and all current and future business partners and customers.

As General Agent for the PZM Group in North American and Caribbean ports, the US company provides the following services:

  • Serving as financial center (treasury department/cash manager) for various financial transactions involving United States currency
  • Serving in a similar capacity for North American and Caribbean operational activities 
  • Serving as Chartering Broker for the Polish company’s vessels
  • Supervising execution of shipments performed by vessels within North and Central America
  • Arranging port operations through local Agents’ network, dealing with contractors and sub-contractors, including tugs, pilots, stevedores, terminal operations, holds/tanks cleaners, slop disposal services, ship chandlers, etc.
  • Arranging bunkers and spare parts supplies for vessels, including dealing with suppliers and bunker brokers
  • Controlling all costs and expenses regarding ship’s call to North American market
  • Arranging and coordinating crew changes
  • Arranging cargo, ship, draft, bunker, class, technical surveys and all necessary reports

H-1B for an Indian Developer

The US Company was set up in 2016 and it aims to empower enterprises to unleash the power of cloud on their terms by helping them rapidly achieve continuous and autonomous cloud governance at scale. The company enables enterprises to realize outcomes across FinOps, SecOps and CloudOps such as 40% decrease in cloud costs and 50% increase in operational efficiencies by governing operations, security, cost, access, and resources. CoreStack also assures 100%compliance with standards such as ISO, FedRAMP, NIST, HIPAA, PCI-DSS, AWS CIS & Well Architected Framework (WAF).

Enterprises face significant cloud challenges including unpredictable and unabated cloud costs, ever growing security risks, stringent regulatory compliance needs and operational complexities as they navigate the digital transformation journey. The company helps enterprises overcome these challenges by offering deeper cloud visibility, preventative governance

guardrails, and automatic remediation. With a unique Cloud-as-Code approach that uses deep AI/ML, declarative definitions, connector-less model, and a patented cloud service-chaining technology, CoreStack continually innovates to harness the real power of cloud. The company works with many large global customers across multiple industries including Financial Services, Healthcare, Retail, Education, Telecommunications, Technology and Government.

The H-1B beneficiary will assume the position of a Developer who will perform highly specialized duties in the occupation of application development and analysis with a focus on software application design and development and engineering support.

By Verdie Atienza, Head of E2 & L1 Visa Practice Group


EB-5 Regional Center Program faces reauthorization in the US

Biden Reverses Trump-era Policy on Visa Rejection Procedure

Immigration officers can no longer reject visa applications without first issuing a Notice of Intent to Deny

By Tishita Agarwal

In 2018, the Trump administration set a policy that would allow immigration officers to reject visa applications for visas such as the H1-B Visas, L-1 Visas, H-2B, J-1, J-2, I, F and O-1 visas, without issuing a Notice of Intent to Deny. This Trump-era policy invalidated the principle of a June 2013 USCIS memo that required immigration officers to issue a Request For Evidence or a Notice Of Intent to Deny when the case suggests that additional or supplementary evidence could potentially establish eligibility for an immigration benefit. 

The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) released a statement that it was returning to the principles of the June 2013 memo. This means the officers will be allowed to request potential missing documents that could qualify a case. Furthermore, this move will not only help requesters get an “opportunity to correct innocent mistakes and unintentional omissions”, but also increase access to the US legal immigration system in general. 

This is not the first time that Biden has overturned immigration policies set by the Trump administration. In fact, right on the first day of his term, President Biden had announced several executive policy changes to the US immigration system, including suspending the construction of the wall at the Mexican border and reaffirming protections for DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals)

Along with changing their guidance towards notice of intent to deny and requests for evidence, the USCIS issued a statement that they are also increasing the validity period for certain Employment Authorization Documents (EADs) from one year to two years. Increasing the validity for these documents will allow the USCIS to shift their limited resources to priority areas, as it is projected to reduce the number of employment authorisation requests they receive. 

These recent decisions are all steps in the direction the Biden-Harris administration promised at the start of their term in an effort to make immigration to the US easier and fairer and eliminate unnecessary barriers on all levels; as put by the Secretary of Homeland security Alejandro N. Mayorkas: “We are taking action to eliminate policies that fail to promote access to the legal immigration system and will continue to make improvements that help individuals navigate the path to citizenship, and that modernise our immigration system”. 

In furtherance to the same, Acting USCIS Director also said “These policy measures are consistent with the Biden-Harris administration’s priorities to eliminate unnecessary barriers to our nation’s legal immigration system and reduce burdens on non-citizens who may be eligible for immigration benefits”.

While this action is in the right direction, the Biden-Harris administration has far to go before the US legal immigration system is not as congested and inefficient as it is currently. 

What is the L-1 Visa?

* The L-1 visa is a non-immigrant visa, which can be used by active US employers or those who wish to establish in the US to send experienced and skilled employees from overseas to the US to grow or expand the business. There are two types of this temporary work visa – the L-1A is for executives and managers, and the L-1B visa is suited for high-level employees with specialised knowledge. 

What is the O-1 Visa?

The O-1 visa on the other hand, requires the applicant to show remarkable skill or high levels of achievement in their field to be able to qualify. This is also a nonimmigrant visa, and is suitable for candidates that possess and demonstrate an extraordinary ability in science, the arts, education, business, athletics, or film & television and a variety of other professions. This means that a candidate must have sustained national or international acclaim in their field, or a distinction or record of extraordinary achievement in film and television. An O-1 beneficiary must possess either a major, internationally recognized award, such as the Nobel Prize; or at least 3 of the alternative criteria.


This article is published for clients, friends and other interested visitors for information purposes only. The contents of the article do not constitute legal advice and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Davies & Associates or any of its attorneys, staff or clients. External links are not an endorsement of the content.


The President’s Immigration Ban: Update

President Trump has signed the Executive Order temporarily suspending some visa categories for an initial 60 days. This mostly applies to people outside the United States seeking permanent residency / Green Cards, excluding the EB-5 program.
The State Department has just issued a clarification stating that the Order is not retroactive and that “no valid visas will be revoked under this proclamation.”
There are a number of exclusions and exemptions. We recommend you contact us to discuss your specific circumstances.

What is NOT included in the ban:

What is also NOT included in the ban, but subject to a 30-day review:

E-3 Australian Professional Specialty Visa

EB-5 Visas Exemption
The EB-5 Immigrant Investor Visa has been given a special exemption from the ban. EB-5 is a job-creating program. Each EB-5 investment is required to create ten American jobs. The EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program is a fast route to a Green Card for families or individuals able to invest $900,000.

Review of Non-Immigrant Visas
The Executive Order only covers immigrants outside the United States seeking permanent residency (Green Cards). Non-immigrant categories, such as the E-2 Visa, the L-1 Visa, and the H-1B Visa are not currently included in the ban.
However, the Executive Order does call for a review of non-immigrant programs within 30 days with a view to “other measures” affecting these categories. The Order instructs the Secretary of Labor, the Secretary of Homeland Security, and the Secretary of State to report recommendations to the President within 30 days regarding restrictions (if any) on non-immigrant visas.

Adjustment of Status
The order only applies to those seeking immigrant visas (i.e. those outside the US seeking to go through consular processing). It does not impact those inside the US already on a valid visa that are eligible to do Adjustment of Status (AOS). Clients should consult us before traveling outside of the United States if they have a pending AOS application or may be eligible to file one in the near future.

Our Advice
We recommend that anyone seeking a US visa proceed with their application. Much can change in the time it takes to prepare one.
With flights grounded and American embassies closed to consular appointments, the Executive Order makes limited material difference in the short term. There are likely to be a number of lawsuits challenging the ban. This is also an election year. A new administration could be expected to reverse this Order.
We will provide updates on the 30-day review of non-immigrant visas. Some non-immigrant categories, such as the E-2 Treaty Investor Visa, bring investment to the United States and create jobs.

Each client’s circumstances are different. Please contact us to discuss how this may affect you.

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