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...

David Kolko and Jennifer Casey are both very pleased to announce that effective January 1, 2019, our law firm, Kolko & Associates, P.C., has changed its name to Kolko & Casey, P.C.  With the addition of Jennifer Casey to the ownership team, the firm is continuing its evolution for the future.  With seven attorneys and extensive legal experience in the field of U.S. Immigration Law, the firm will continue to serve...

Temporary Protected Status or TPS, is a temporary immigration benefit for individuals from a country that is experiencing ongoing armed conflict, environmental disaster, or another temporary serious condition. Individuals who are granted TPS receive two main benefits: 1) protection from deportation/removal; and 2) authorization to work in the United States. In September 2017 the Trump Administration decided to end TPS for Sudan. In November, the administration decided to end TPS for...

When the Trump administration announced that the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program would be terminated, they directed the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to reject all initial applications received after September 05, 2017, and reject all renewal applications filed after October 05, 2017. We now find ourselves over a year later and the overall fate of the DACA program remains unclear. Previous DACA recipients may still continue to...

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...

On November 9, 2018, President Trump issued a presidential proclamation suspending the entry of aliens through the southern border of the United States at any location other than a port of entry, or international bridge. On the same day, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) issued a related federal rule barring asylum seekers from qualifying for asylum if they enter the United States in violation...

United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has proposed a new rule making changes to the annual selection process for H-1B visas. H-1B visas are currently limited to 65,000 per fiscal year, with an additional 20,000 “Master’s cap” H-1B visas available to workers with a Master’s degree from a U.S. university. Each year for the past several years, the demand for H-1B visas has far outpaced this statutory limitation. The result...

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has advised that it is on track to issue a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) by the end of the year that would rescind the rule permitting employment authorization for certain H-4 spouses. This timeline was announced in a court filing last month by DHS in the ongoing litigation around the H-4 employment authorization regulations. H-4 non-immigrants are the spouses and children of non-immigrants in...

If you were issued a two-year lawful permanent resident card, this means that your residency status is conditional and you will need petition to remove the conditions on your residency. This is done by filing Form I-751, Petition to Remove Conditions on Residency with United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) during the 90-day window prior to the expiration of your conditional residency card. Lately, USCIS is taking well over 18...

It has been almost one year since U.S. Attorney General, Jeff Sessions announced that the government was terminating Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), a program which offers work permits and deportation relief to undocumented immigrants brought to the U.S. as children. However, thanks to multiple lawsuits filed in Federal Courts across the country, challenging the legality of the termination of DACA, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has continued...

  On June 26, the United States Supreme Court issued its decision in the closely watched “Travel Ban” case, Trump v. Hawaii. The Court found that the Trump administration was within its authority in issuing Proclamation No. 9645, which suspends the issuance of visas to foreign nationals of seven countries. The Proclamation at issue was the third iteration of travel bans issued by the Trump Administration, which have been the subject...

On May 22, 2018, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that the final registration period for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for citizens of Nepal is open and beneficiaries must re-register before July 23, 2019. Beneficiaries of TPS from Nepal are currently granted protection and employment authorization until June 24, 2018.  Due to the anticipated delay in processing the re-registration applications, USCIS has automatically extended employment authorization for all Nepalese...

On May 15, 2018, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that it had completed its electronic data entry for receipt of all H-1B Cap-Subject Petitions selected for Fiscal Year 2019. USCIS previously announced on April 11, 2018 that it had completed the random selection process for H-1B Cap-Subject Petitions. The May 15 announcement indicates that each of those H-1B Cap-Subject Petitions which were selected under this “cap” have now...

In recent months the Trump Administration has terminated the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) Program for multiple countries and is reviewing the continued designation of several others. TPS for Hondurans was terminated and will only continue through July 5, 2018. The TPS designation for Nicaragua will terminate on January 5, 2019. TPS for individuals from Haiti was also terminated and the protected status will only continue through July 22, 2019. Individuals from...

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 08, 2018, the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security announced her decision to end the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) designation for El Salvador. TPS provides temporary lawful status and work authorization to people already in the United States from countries affected by armed conflict, natural disaster or other strife. El Salvador was first designated by George W. Bush in March 2001 following a series of earthquakes, and has...

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...

Kolko & Associates, P.C. is pleased to announce that for the third year in a row, Managing Partner David Kolko has been selected as one of 5280 Magazine’s Top Lawyers. Congratulations David! For more information regarding Managing Partner David Kolko or the legal services that we offer at Kolko & Associates, P.C., please contact our office.

On December 04, 2017, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the third version of President Trump’s travel ban will be allowed to go into effect. Although other legal challenges are still making their way through the court system, as of December 08, 2017, restrictions went into effect limiting travel for people from eight nations. Effect of the Supreme Court’s order: In practical terms, the orders issued by the U.S. Supreme Court,...

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...