The United States Embassy in Moscow is reducing consular services and suspending visa processing as of May 12, 2021. This means that only emergency U.S. citizen services, as well as limited age-out and life or death emergency immigrant visas, will be processed for the foreseeable future. Routine notarial services, Consular Reports of Birth Abroad, and renewal passport services are suspended. Emergency services to U.S. citizens in Russia may be delayed or limited. Additionally, non-immigrant visa…

As an update to our previous blog, President Biden signed a Presidential Proclamation on April 30, 2021, that will be effective May 4, 2021, at 12:01 a.m. The Proclamation will prohibit the entry of nonimmigrants and noncitizens of the U.S. into the United States, who were physically present within India during the 14-day preceding entry into the United States, unless they are exempted below. This Presidential Proclamation is a result of the determinations by the…

Beginning Tuesday, May 4, 2021, the United States may well restrict travel from India due to the unprecedented outbreak of COVID-19 cases in India. If you have employees or family members who have recently traveled to India, the following actions can be taken: If an individual has a valid U.S. visa, they should plan to return to the United States before May 4, 2021. As a reminder, all air passengers two years of age and…

Based on a recent hearing in a lawsuit challenging certain EB-5 regulations, it appears the regulations may be struck down due to the illegal appointment of Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretaries by the Trump Administration.[1] Enacted on Nov. 21, 2019, the regulations at issue had increased investment amounts from $500,000 to $900,000 for investments in a targeted employment area (TEA), restricted the ability for investments to be considered within a TEA, and made…

EB-5 investors achieved a victory in their continuous efforts against lengthy USCIS processing times for I-526 petitions in Gutta v. Renaud. This lawsuit establishes precedent for EB-5 mandamus cases with the decision that unreasonably long processing times were in violation of the Administrative Procedure Act (APA). Almost two dozen EB-5 investors coming from a group of countries including Brazil, Canada, India, Russia, and the United Kingdom were plaintiffs in this lawsuit. Although the investors’ respective…

The Biden administration has revoked Presidential Proclamation 10014 of April 22, 2020 -Suspension of Entry of Immigrants Who Present a Risk to the United States Labor Market During the Economic Recovery Following the 2019 Novel Coronavirus Outbreak (PP 10014). PP 10014 was intended to stop the issuance of immigrant visas at embassies and consulates abroad in order to protect the U.S. labor market; however, it contained many notable exemptions. Exempt from PP 10014’s restrictions included…

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