On March 27, 2023, the U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that it has completed its random selection lottery for H-1B Cap subject cases for Fiscal Year (FY) 2024. This includes both the “regular cap” and “advanced degree cap.” Under the annual limit (“cap”) set by Congress, each fiscal year, there are 65,000 available H-1B visas for foreign nationals with a bachelor’s degree and an additional 20,000 visas for foreign...

We have currently have openings for two immigration attorney positions: Experienced Associate Immigration Attorney: 5-6 years’ experience in the practice immigration law required, with a preference for an attorney with experience in both family and employment-based immigration.Associate Immigration Attorney: 1-2 years’ experience in immigration law required. Please consider joining our team and making Kolko & Casey your home. Our law firm practices exclusively in the field of U.S. immigration law, we...

On October 25, 2021, the Biden Administration issued Presidential Proclamation, “Advancing the Safe Resumption of Global Travel During the COVID-19 Pandemic,” and officially announced the rescission of Presidential Proclamations 9984, 9992, 10143, and 10199, known as the country-specific Travel Bans for Brazil, China, India, Iran, Ireland, Schengen Area, South Africa and the United Kingdom, that have impacted the approvals of visas and limited travel of foreign nationals to the United States...

On January 21, 2021, President Biden issued an Executive Order, Promoting COVID-19 Safety in Domestic and International Travel, requiring international travelers to present a negative COVID-19 test in order to enter the United States. This order takes effect on January 26, 2021. Consistent with President Biden’s Executive Order, the Center for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) published an order in the Federal Register specifying that international travelers must produce a negative...

On the first day of his Presidency, the Biden Administration announced a temporary, 100-day pause on deportations/removals of foreign nationals from the United States in order for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to complete a comprehensive review and reset of its immigration enforcement priorities and policies. 100 Day Pause on Deportations Starting on January 22, 2021, DHS will pause removals for certain noncitizens who have removal orders entered against them....

Yesterday, June 22, 2020, President Trump issued a new Presidential Proclamation, “Suspending Entry of Aliens Who Present a Risk to the U.S. Labor Market Following the Coronavirus Outbreak.” The proclamation bans the issuance of H-1B, H-2B, H-4, J-1, J-2, L-1 and L-2 non-immigrant visas and extends the bar on the issuance of certain categories of immigrant visas through December 31, 2020. The proclamation takes effect on June 24, 2020 at 12:01...

On June 18, 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its decision in Department of Homeland Security v. Regents of the University of California, et. al. In a 5 to 4 decision, Chief Justice Roberts delivered the majority opinion of the Court, holding that when the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced the termination of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program in September 2017, it failed to consider all relevant...

Through our colleagues at the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), we have learned of a possible extension and expansion of President Trump’s April 22, 2020 Presidential Proclamation 10014, “Suspending Entry of Immigrants Who Present Risk to the U.S. Labor Market During the Economic Recovery Following the COVID-19 Outbreak.” On April 22, 2020, President Trump issued a Presidential Proclamation suspending the issuance of immigrant visas for certain categories of intending immigrants (lawful...

On March 18, 2020, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) closed its Field Offices for in-person services due to COVID-19. This has resulted in processing delays for applicants with pending applications for adjustment of status (lawful permanent residency / “green card”) and naturalization (U.S. citizenship) which require in-person interviews. In early June, USCIS Field Offices around the United States began reopening for limited services including “drive-up” naturalization oath ceremonies. The...

Dear Kolko & Casey clients, friends and community: During these difficult and unpredictable times, we wanted to reach out and let you know that we are here. We remain dedicated to our Firm’s mission to contribute to the enhancement of the United States by providing creative and high-quality immigration legal services to families, businesses and individuals, with a commitment to superior customer service and communication in a collegial and supportive environment....

To our clients, employees, friends, vendors, staff, families and community: Kolko and Casey, P.C. would like you to know that we are doing our very best to stay vigilant and pro-active in order to keep all of us as safe as possible during this unprecedented COVID-19 health emergency. The health and safety of our clients, employees and families is our most important priority. We will continue to follow recommended hygiene protocols,...

On October 4, 2019, President Trump issued a “Presidential Proclamation on Health Care,” declaring that all people applying for immigrant visas to the United States (processed at U.S. consulates abroad) must demonstrate that they either will be covered by approved health insurance within 30 days of entry or have the financial resources to pay for reasonably foreseeable medical costs. The failure to demonstrate this requirement will result in the denial of...

Last week, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) received 201,011 H-1B petitions subject to the annual cap for Fiscal Year (FY) 2020. The Agency confirmed that on April 10, 2019, it completed its computer-generated selection process to select sufficient H-1B petitions to meet both the regular cap of 65,000 petitions and the advanced degree (master’s) cap of 20,000 petitions. In light of these numbers, employers have just over a 40%...

In the event of a labor strike, it is important that both H-1B employees and employers understand their respective rights and responsibilities. Rights of H-1B Employees Generally speaking, in order to maintain valid H-1B status in the United States, an H-1B employee is required to remain employed with her H-1B employer, under the terms set forth in the H-1B petition. In the absence of a strike, a failure to remain employed...

On December 4, 2018, Mr. Carlos Rojo-Ramirez, of Colorado, through his attorneys David. L. Kolko and Jennifer Casey (Kolko & Associates, P.C.), challenged President Trump’s unlawful designation of Matthew G. Whitaker as Acting Attorney General of the United States. In Rojo-Ramirez v. Trump, et. al., (18-cv-03125), filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado, Mr. Rojo-Ramirez asserted that U.S. Immigration Judges are temporarily operating without any legal authority...

Due to a Federal Court Order directing the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) to resume accepting renewal applications for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), individuals currently holding DACA and people whose DACA expired on or after September 5, 2016 are encouraged to submit DACA renewal applications to USCIS immediately. It is widely known that on September 5, 2017, President Trump terminated the DACA Program. (See DHS Rescinds the DACA Program)....

On January 9, 2018, Federal Court Judge William Alsup from the Federal District Court in San Francisco, California ordered the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to resume processing applications for renewal of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) while an on-going legal challenge to the Trump Administration’s rescission of the DACA program is resolved. Judge Alsup’s order applies nationwide to all current/prior DACA holders. In June 2012, the Obama Administration announced...

On November 20, 2017, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Acting Secretary, Elaine Duke announced it would end Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Haiti. Haiti is the third country to have TPS terminated under the Trump Administration, following announcements to terminate TPS for Sudan and Nicaragua in September and November 2017. TPS was established by Congress in 1990 as a way to provide humanitarian relief to foreign nationals already residing in...

On Sunday, September 03, 2017, Politico.com reported that the White House has “unofficially confirmed” that the Trump Administration will end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, with a six-month delay. As of today, it is unclear whether this reported decision to end the DACA program is confirmed. ' Also unclear is the timeline and terms for termination of the program. Another major open question is whether those with DACA...

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) has announced that starting on October 1, 2017, it will begin “phasing-in” mandatory in-person interviews on employment based applications for adjustment of status to lawful permanent residence (Form I-485) and petitions for relatives of asylees or refugees (Form I-730). The USCIS announced it will also begin incremental expansion of interviews for other type of applications for immigration benefits. The USCIS announcement is a significant...