Executive Order Temporarily Halting U.S. Immigration

Late last night President Trump tweeted that he would be issuing an Executive Order (EO) temporarily banning all new immigration to the U.S. Despite some speculation as to the content of the EO, we won't definitively know the nature, scope, and timing of the ban until the EO is released. D&S is monitoring this very closely and will provide an update once any new information is made available by the government.

Update: In his daily briefing this evening, Trump has said that the EO will suspend immigration for 60 days and will apply only to those seeking Permanent Residence, not to those on nonimmigrant visas. We continue to await the actual EO, which the President has indicated should be drafted and signed tomorrow (April 22) and will provide updated information at that time.

USCIS Updates H-1B Adjudication Guidance for Computer-Related Occupations

On Friday, March 31, 2017, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)  published a policy memorandum which updates guidance related to determining whether certain computer-related positions qualify as a specialty occupation for H-1B eligibility. This memo rescinds the Agency’s long-standing position that adjudicators should “generally consider the position of programmer to qualify as a specialty occupation,” as outlined in their December 22, 2000 “Guidance memo on H1B computer related positions.”

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D&S Immigration Update Regarding Trump Administration's Executive Order: "Protecting the Nation from Foreign Terrorist Entry Into the United States."

On Friday, January 27, 2017 President Trump signed an Executive Order relating to visa issuance, screening procedures, and the admission of refugees. The Executive Order is titled “Protecting the Nation from Foreign Terrorist Entry Into the United States.” Among other immigration restrictions, Section 3 of the Executive Order, "suspends" the immigrant and nonimmigrant entry of nationals from certain designated countries for 90 days from the date of the order. The list of designated countries includes Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen. It is important to note that travel will not be automatically reinstated after the 90 day period. Instead, The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) will be required to report compliance from each of the countries in providing the information "needed … to determine that the individual seeking [entry to the U.S.] is who the individual claims to be and is not a security or public-safety threat." If DHS reports noncompliance, the country would have an additional 60 days to comply, or the travel ban would become indefinite.

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