Yesterday, the United States Supreme Court announced four decisions. Unfortunately, none of them were immigration cases. They scheduled an additional decision date for this coming Thursday, June 23, and there is a regularly scheduled decision date set for Monday, June 27. The Supreme Court has eight remaining decisions to make in cases that they took during this term. It is likely that all eight decisions will be announced between the next...

Each year in June, the American Immigration Lawyers Association (“AILA”) hosts an annual conference, giving its members an opportunity to catch up on the latest in immigration law. This year’s conference will be later this month, and will take place in Las Vegas, Nevada. The conference is an important opportunity for our attorneys to attend lectures and hear from nationally-recognized experts on the latest trends in the law, as well as...

Cases for U non-immigrant status are taking an abnormally long time to process with USCIS currently. The backlog is frustrating for applicants and attorneys, alike. The delays are attributed to many factors, including an increase in petitions, a cap on visa limits, and a large backlog at the Vermont Service Center of USCIS. U non-immigrant status is available to foreigners who have been victims of certain crimes. Waivers available under the...

Immigration attorneys and undocumented immigrants across the country are anxiously awaiting the Supreme Court’s decision in United States v. Texas, a landmark case implicating the President’s authority to grant discretionary immigration benefits, such as deferred action. The decision is expected sometime in June. The case revolves around the President’s November 20, 2014 executive actions, which included deferred action for parents of United States citizens and permanent residents. The program, called Deferred...

USCIS announced limited relief for people that have been affected by the recent earthquakes in Japan, Ecuador, and Burma. USCIS has softened some of their rules in certain cases when demonstrating need based on the earthquakes. Some examples of relief include: Changing or extending status in certain cases, even if status may have already expiredRe-parole if previously granted paroleExpedited handling of certain travel documentsExpedited handling of certain types of work permitsLarger...

Around the office lately, I’ve noticed an increase in consultations related to DUI arrests. For many immigrants, a DUI arrest begins the one-way trip back to their home country. For any arrest, proper legal counsel should be sought from an immigration attorney to determine whether the arrest carries immigration consequences. For most permanent residents and people in lawful status, one simple alcohol-related DUI causes little harm to one’s immigration status. However,...

Today the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) announced that it received more than 236,000 cap-subject H-1B petitions for Fiscal Year (FY) 2017. The Agency also announced that on April 9, 2016, it conducted a computer generated lottery of these 236,000 petitions to select 20,000 petitions under the Advanced Degree Cap (U.S. Master’s degree or higher) and 65,000 petitions under the regular H-1B cap. The 150,000 remaining petitions have been rejected...

On April 7, 2016, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) announced that it received sufficient H-1B petitions to meet the regular and advanced degree caps for Fiscal Year (FY) 2017. On April 1, 2016, USCIS began accepting petitions from U.S. Employers requesting that it approve highly skilled professional foreign national workers for temporary employment commencing on October 1, 2016. Under the annual limits on H-1B visas set by Congress, USCIS...

It’s tax time again! The start of a new year brings responsibility to file income taxes with the IRS. Immigrants have tax responsibilities, too. There is no substitute for quality tax advice from a tax professional, and this is not meant to replace that advice. But, generally speaking, immigrants earning money in the United States, regardless of whether they are working lawfully or not, are required to report their income to...

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has amended the regulations regarding Optional Practical Training (OPT) for certain F-1 students who earned a degree in Science, Technology Engineering or Mathematics (STEM) from a U.S. college or university. The amended rule allows F-1 Students currently on OPT who possess a degree in a STEM field to extend their period of OPT for an additional 24 months. The 24 month STEM-OPT extension will be...

The United States Department of State has issued a final rule change, effective February 29, 2016, which codifies new regulations affecting the Teacher category of the J-1 Exchange Visitor Program. The Teacher category of the J-1 Exchange Visitor Program permits foreign teachers to teach full-time at accredited public or private primary or secondary schools (K-12 and Pre-K) and in some language immersion programs offered by accredited primary schools. In addition to other...

Kolko & Associates, P.C. is very pleased to announce that attorney Anya Lear will join our team as an Associate Attorney in April 2016. Ms. Lear, a graduate of the University of Denver’s Sturm College of Law, was admitted to the Colorado Bar in 2012. Since her admission to the Colorado Bar, Ms. Lear worked as a law clerk at the Denver District Court and at the U.S. Attorney’s Office for...

On March 3, 2016, Partner Jennifer Casey appeared on Colorado Public Radio’s “Colorado Matters” program to discuss the lengthy backlogs at the U.S. Immigration Courts in Colorado. Currently, the Immigration Courts in Colorado have the longest delays in the country, with the average case processing time of 933 days. Listen to Jennifer’s insights on these issues here: http://www.cpr.org/news/story/denver-s-immigration-court-has-longest-hearing-delays-us  

Kolko and Associates, P.C. is so pleased to announce that Partner Jennifer Casey and Senior Associate Bryon Large have both been recognized by 2016 Super Lawyers as Rising Stars in the field of Immigration Law. What an honor to have both of these great lawyers work together with our team in Denver, Colorado.

Once again, H-2B employers are on pins and needles trying to ascertain whether the government will follow its own regulations in order to facilitate the timely issuance of H-2B seasonal visas for temporary skilled workers. The H-2B process in and of itself is one of the most technical and time-sensitive immigration procedures in the United States. It involves adjudication by three separate agencies, the Department of Labor (DOL), the Department of...

Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Jeh Johnson has extended the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) designation for Sudan for an additional period of 18 months. The Secretary has determined that due to on-going armed conflict in Sudan, the country is experiencing extraordinary and temporary conditions that prevent its nationals from returning in safety and that permitting such aliens to temporarily remain in the United States is not contrary to U.S. national...

The U.S. Government has begun implementing changes to the Visa Waiver Program (VWP) that were included in the 2016 Consolidated Appropriations Act. With the changes to the VWP, people from the 38 Countries designated for the VWP (mostly western European countries) and who are also nationals of Iran, Iraq, Syria and Sudan will no longer be eligible for entry into the United States under the VWP. Dual nationals of a Visa...

The H-1B nonimmigrant visa is an employer sponsored temporary work visa for foreign national professional workers in specialty occupations in the United States. Many employers depend on the H-1B program in order to ensure that they can hire foreign nationals with specialized skills and help their businesses thrive and grow. The H-1B process is common for U.S. employers and requires that the employer prepare and submit a petition to the USCIS on...

On January 18, 2016, the U.S. Supreme Court announced it will hear United States v. Texas. This means that the Supreme Court weigh in on the legality of President Obama’s executive action on immigration, specifically the expansion of “deferred action” to certain parents of U.S. citizens and residents (Deferred Action for Parents of Americans & Residents – “DAPA”), as well as to individuals who were brought to the United States as...

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has recently stepped up its immigration enforcement efforts. Starting this week, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has begun conducting “immigration raids” across the country targeting individuals and families who have entered the United States within the last two years and who have an order of removal from the U.S. Immigration Court. Many non-citizens in United States can be caught up in these caught up in...