The Colorado Department of Revenue announced earlier this month an expansion of the driver license program under the Colorado Road Community Safety Act. Beginning June 1, the Colorado Springs and Grand Junction offices will resume appointments to issue licenses for those unable to demonstrate lawful presence in the United States. The program had previously been dramatically scaled down under political pressure and budget cuts in the state legislature. Applicants must schedule...

Today, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals announced a decision to maintain the hold in place on the current DAPA program, pending litigation in Texas. This spring, Texas and various other states sued to keep this program from happening, alleging that it would economically harm those states. A federal judge in Texas agreed, and halted the program until a full hearing could take place on the program. Attorneys for the Department...

On May 26, 2015, USCIS will begin accepting applications for employment authorization (Form I-765) for certain spouses of H-1B foreign national workers. The H-1B foreign worker must 1) be in valid H-1B status in the United States and 2) must also be the beneficiary of an approved I-140 immigrant visa petition for an alien worker. If the principal H-1B holder meets both of these requirements, his or her spouse who is...

Attorneys and clients alike are experiencing frustration with the processing times of cases at the local USCIS office.  On April 13, 2015, the Denver Field Office issued a processing time report, which is essentially a snapshot of the cases they were working with on February 28, 2015.  On that date, the local office was processing I-485 Applications for Adjustment of Status that were filed on June 8, 2014, which represents a...

We are patiently and optimistically waiting for the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals to make a decision on whether to allow the Department of Homeland Security to implement the DAPA and expanded DACA programs while the Courts decide whether the DAPA and DACA programs themselves are legal. On November 20, 2014, President Obama announced that his administration would implement a Deferred Action program for Parents of American Citizens and Residents (DAPA)...

The American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) has selected several of our attorneys to participate on national committees related to the practice of immigration law. It is an honor for our Firm to have nationally-known attorneys be recognized for their work and selected as leaders in the community. Managing Partner David Kolko has been asked to join the USCIS Field Operations Liaison Committee. The committee operates as a liaison between AILA and...

Today, USCIS announced some limited relief for Nepali citizens in the United States, in the wake of last week’s devastating earthquake.  While the agency stopped short of granting Temporary Protected Status, otherwise known as TPS, the agency did provide an array of temporary immigration relief for some Nepalese citizens. Among the protections announced, USCIS can grant the following: Change of status or extension of status, even if the applicant is currently...

In July of 2014, as a response to the so-called “surge” of foreign nationals arriving at the southern border, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) issued a directive instructing all U.S. Immigration Courts to prioritize the following removal cases: 1) recently arrived unaccompanied children 2) recently arrived families with children released on an Alternative to Detention program; 3) detained families with children; 4) other detained foreign nationals in removal proceedings. For...

The Colorado Chapter of the American Immigration Lawyers Association ("AILA") and the Rocky Mountain Immigrant Advocacy Network ("RMIAN") announced that they will present Managing Partner David Kolko with the Pro Bono Service Award at the 10th Annual Immigrant Liberty Awards on June 12, 2015. Mr. Kolko will be honored for his efforts in coordinating pro bono efforts to respond to the on-going humanitarian and refugee crisis along our southern border. Throughout 2014...

U.S. employers of all sizes use the H-1B visa program to employ foreign workers in professional level occupations that require specialized knowledge in their field. Many years ago, the U.S. Congress set a limit or “cap” of 65,000 H-1B visas for each fiscal year (FY). An additional 20,000 H-1B visas are available for foreign workers in a specialty occupation who hold a U.S. Master’s Degree in their field. An H-1B petition...

On April 9, 2015, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service’s Administrative Appeals Office (AAO) issued an important decision that will impact thousands of H-1B employers across the country. In its precedential decision, Matter of Simeio Solutions, LLC, 26 I&N Dec. 542 (AAO 2015), the AAO held that when an H-1B employee changes his or her place of employment (worksite) to a new geographical area, it constitutes a “material change” in employment...

On April 7, 2014, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) announced that the H-1B cap for Fiscal Year 2016 had been reached. As predicted, between April 1 and April 7, 2015 - the initial filing period for H-1B petitions for Fiscal Year 2016 – USCIS received more than the maximum number of H-1B petitions filed by U.S. Employers on behalf of professional foreign workers in a specialty occupation. In the...

On April 1, 2015, attorney Jennifer Casey became a Partner at Kolko & Associates, P.C. For me personally, this is an important announcement and milestone for the firm, and is my way of recognizing the legal talent, sincere dedication, and genuine friendship that Jennifer provides to our mission that was started by me over 15 years ago. During the past five years, Jennifer has made outstanding contributions to our law practice as...

Over the past decade L-1B specialized knowledge petitions for foreign national employees have slowly become the bane of multinational companies’ existence.   The L-1B non-immigrant visa was introduced in 1970 as a way to facilitate international businesses’ ability to facilitate the management and transfer of foreign national employees from offices abroad and thus more efficiently manage their workforce.  The L-1B program allows multinational companies to temporarily transfer foreign national employees from...

Respondents in removal proceedings have been having their upcoming hearings rescheduled in recent months, to a date in 2019. This date happens to be the day following Thanksgiving in 2019. Over the past several months, many immigration courts around the country, including Denver, have been vacating or cancelling scheduled hearings and resetting those hearings to November 29, 2019. This date, however, is merely a “place holder” on the court’s docket to...

For several years now, USCIS has permitted its customers to update gender markers on their immigration documents, such as work permits, green cards, and other documents. The process for doing so is a very relaxed process. Transgender and intersex people can file fairly easily-accessed documentation, and USCIS has been very responsive to those who wish to update their records. This process was memorialized with temporary guidance issued by the agency on...

In the world of temporary employment visas, the Q-1 Visa is often overlooked as a good solution for businesses in need of employees with specific language and cultural backgrounds. The Q-1 visa is an international cultural exchange visa that allows employers to bring in employees or trainees for participation in an approved international cultural exchange program. The purpose of the Q-1 Visa is for foreign national employees to transmit their cultural...

Kolko & Associates, P.C., is pleased to announce that Senior Associate Attorney, Bryon M. Large, has been invited to present to the Latin American and Caribbean Chapter of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) at its annual conference, being held this year in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on November 6, 2015. Bryon will be presenting on complex grounds of inadmissibility and waivers, discussing criminal grounds of inadmissibility, fraud, administrative processing, and...

Kolko & Associates, P.C., is pleased to announce that Managing Partner David Kolko and Partner Jennifer Casey have been asked to present at the Colorado Bar Association's Continuing Legal Education Program.  Each year, the CBA holds a day-long immigration program, for continuing legal education credits. Mr. Kolko and Ms. Casey have been asked to speak on nonimmigrant business visas. The program will be held on April 21, 2015, at the CBA's...

Kolko & Associates, P.C., is pleased to announce that Senior Associate Attorney Bryon M. Large will be discussing immigration issues related to the transgender community at the University of Colorado's TRANSforming Gender Symposium, being held in Boulder, Colorado, on March 13th and 14th. Bryon is the Vice-Chair of the LGBT Working Group, and advisory committee to the 13,000 member American Immigration Lawyers Association. He has an extensive background working on issues...