Foreign students who attend U.S. schools and universities that were accredited by the Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools (ACICS) no longer qualify for F-1 student nonimmigrant benefits. If your school notifies you that you are not going to be able to stay in the USA after this semester, please contact either us or another Read More

DHS has designated Ukraine for Temporary Protected Status (TPS). Ukrainians in the United States on March 1, 2022 can apply for temporary protection from deportation and for employment authorization for 18 months. This only helps Ukrainians who were here on March 1, 2022. It will not help Ukrainians trying to come to the USA now. Read More

The pandemic is causing significant delays in issuing receipt notices for some applications and petitions filed at USCIS lockbox facilities. There may be a delay of four to six weeks between the filing of a case and the issuance of a receipt notice. USCIS will still treat your case as timely filed, even though there Read More

For the last several months, US consulates have been closed for routine services, including interviews for immigrant and nonimmigrant visas. This is starting to change. Depending on the country conditions, some consulates are starting to resume visa interviews. This is very haphazard. A consulate opening or scheduling interviews in one country has no bearing on Read More

Yesterday, USCIS extended the amount time it gives to file responses. This applies to: Requests for Evidence; Continuations to Request Evidence (N-14); Notices of Intent to Deny; Notices of Intent to Revoke; Notices of Intent to Rescind and Notices of Intent to Terminate regional investment centers; Filing date requirements for Form N-336, Request for a Read More

COVID-19 has disrupted our communities and it has changed how we work. We at the firm have changed how we do our business so we can continue to provide services to our clients while protecting our clients and our staff from unnecessary risks. We are open and are working remotely. We continue to schedule consultations Read More

USCIS is cancelling all in-person services until April 1. This includes all biometrics (fingerprinting) appointments, naturalization interviews, and green card interviews. The immigration courts and ICE have already made changes to their hearings and appointments. The government may extend this beyond April 1. USCIS will provide further updates as the situation develops and will continue Read More

The safety and health of our clients, their families, and their businesses and employers are important to the Law Offices of Douglas R Penn. Therefore, we are honoring requests to minimize direct contacts (social distancing) while we work to contain COVID-19 (Coronavirus). We will schedule consultations and meetings with clients via Zoom, Skype, or telephone. Read More

The 2020 Census is upon us. Ever since the administration threatened to put the citizenship question on the census, the overriding questions facing the immigrant community have been, “Is it safe to respond?” and “Should I even respond?” Immigrants, especially immigrants who are unlawfully present in the United States or who have family in the Read More

USCIS announced yesterday that the H-1B cap for next fiscal year (starting October 1, 2019) was reached. Again. We will find out in the coming months how many petitions were submitted. This is ridiculous. In a robust economy where workers are scarce, employers should not have to spend thousands of dollars on a lottery ticket Read More