Raquel Michelena

Raquel is the Director of Marketing and Business Operations at Weinstock Immigration Lawyers. She comes from a culturally diverse background: Raised in the Dominican Republic, US citizen, a direct descendant of 2 Spanish families, working with different ethnicities around the world, and fluent in English and Spanish languages.

USCIS Fee Increase April 2024

Act Now to Save on Immigration Costs: USCIS Fees Set to Increase in April 2024

Immigration /

In a significant development, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is implementing substantial fee increases for various immigration applications effective April 1, 2024. This marks the first major adjustment since 2016, addressing the agency’s operational challenges. To ensure you don’t incur higher immigration fees, submitting your complete application before the impending deadline is crucial. […]

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Enhancing Equity in Employment-Based Immigration: A Closer Look at Family Reunification in the U.S.

Immigration /

Introduction:The United States immigration system places a strong emphasis on family reunification, even within the employment-based (EB) green card categories. In comparison to other OECD countries, such as Japan, Spain, and Ireland, the U.S. stands out with a higher proportion of immigrants entering on visa categories as workers rather than family members. However, a unique

Enhancing Equity in Employment-Based Immigration: A Closer Look at Family Reunification in the U.S. Read More »

Afghans Temporary Immigration Protected Status Extended by the US.

Leave a Comment / Announcements, Immigration, Immigration policies, TPS /

The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) extended Afghans’ temporary immigration protected status on Wednesday, bringing praise from immigration advocates and calling for a permanent solution for those who have fled the crisis-racked country. The temporary immigration protections, which will last for 18 months, will only apply to Afghans who were residing in the

Afghans Temporary Immigration Protected Status Extended by the US. Read More »

2023 H-1B Cap Lottery Season: It’s Time to Prepare!

Leave a Comment / H-1B visa, Immigration /

2023 H-1B Cap Lottery Season: It’s Time to Prepare! Now is the time for US employers to prepare for registration in the 2023 H-1B Cap Lottery. H-1B Temporary Worker status is for professional workers. Electronic Registration of all proposed H-1B workers for the FY2023 H-1B quota in March is an absolute must. USCIS will charge

2023 H-1B Cap Lottery Season: It’s Time to Prepare! Read More »

U.S. Immigration Options for Ukrainians in Crisis

Leave a Comment / Immigration /

Over a few days, more than one million Ukrainians have fled their country, heading westward as refugees from Putin’s war on Ukraine. The Biden administration is facing mounting pressure from lawmakers and advocates to allow thousands of Ukrainians who are temporarily working or studying in the United States to remain, rather than force them to return

U.S. Immigration Options for Ukrainians in Crisis Read More »

Six Countries added to Travel Ban

Leave a Comment / Immigration, Immigration policies, Trump /

Six Countries added to Travel Ban On Friday, Jan. 31, 2020, President Trump added six countries to his list of nations facing stringent travel restrictions, a move that will virtually block immigration from Africa’s most populous nation, Nigeria, and from Myanmar, where the Muslim minority is fleeing genocide. Beside Nigeria, three other African countries, Eritrea,

Six Countries added to Travel Ban Read More »

Expediting Employment Authorization Documents and Advance Parole Travel Documents

Leave a Comment / Expedited processing /

Expediting Employment Authorization Documents and Advance Parole Travel Documents Five years ago, USCIS routinely took three months to issue employment authorization documents (EADs) and advance parole (AP) travel documents. Prior to the pandemic, USCIS was taking approximately six months to issue them. Now, USCIS can take nine months or longer to issue these documents. These

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International Travel for the Holidays and Omicron: What you need to know.

Leave a Comment / Covid-19, Immigration, Immigration policies, Travel ban /

International Travel for the Holidays and Omicron: What you need to know. International travel rules changed again. The omicron variant of COVID in southern Africa and its detection around the world has sparked a host of new travel requirements and, in some cases, outright bans — further complicating international trips that were just starting to

International Travel for the Holidays and Omicron: What you need to know. Read More »

New Covid 19 Travel Requirements: What you need to know

Leave a Comment / Covid-19, Immigration, Uncategorized /

New Covid 19 Travel Requirements: What you need to know Beginning TODAY (Monday, November 8, 2021) Travel restrictions that were put in place during the pandemic end after more than a year and a half. Travelers from around the world can resume flights to the U.S. as long as they are vaccinated. On October 25,

New Covid 19 Travel Requirements: What you need to know Read More »

Case Delay Lawsuits | Suing the Government for Case Delays

Leave a Comment / Covid-19, Immigration, Uncategorized /

Case Delay Lawsuits | Suing the Government for Case Delays What is a Case Delay Lawsuit? A case delay lawsuit is also called a Mandamus lawsuit or APA (Administrative Procedures Act) lawsuit. Under the APA, any government agency which includes all the immigration agencies such as DHS, USCIS, DOL, etc., must conclude a matter brought

Case Delay Lawsuits | Suing the Government for Case Delays Read More »

Biden Admin. Unveils New DACA Rules For Migrantss

Leave a Comment / DACA, Immigration /

Biden Admin. Unveils New DACA Rules For Migrants Today, September 27, 2021, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security unveiled new DACA rules  (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) program, on Monday, aiming to fortify immigration protections for millions of people brought to the U.S. as children. The Biden administration and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said

Biden Admin. Unveils New DACA Rules For Migrantss Read More »

Biden Administration Plans to Rescind COVID-19 Travel Bans

Leave a Comment / Announcements, Covid-19, Immigration /

Biden Administration Plans to Rescind COVID-19 Travel Bans Today, the White House announced that it has plans to ease travel restrictions on all international travelers coming into the United States beginning in early November 2021. The White House will rescind the current geographic COVID-19 related travel bans implemented for individuals from China, Iran, the Schengen

Biden Administration Plans to Rescind COVID-19 Travel Bans Read More »

Should I Sponsor a Foreign Employee for a Work Visa?

Leave a Comment / EB-2, EB-3, H-1B visa, Immigration /

Should I Sponsor a Foreign Employee for a Work Visa? Decision Vision Episode 129: Should I Sponsor a Foreign Employee for a Work Visa? – An Interview with Karen Weinstock, Weinstock Immigration Lawyers When a business has an opportunity and needs to hire a foreign employee and sponsor them for a work visa, what issues

Should I Sponsor a Foreign Employee for a Work Visa? Read More »

Citizenship to Children of Same-Sex Couples.

Leave a Comment / Immigration, LGBTQ immigration, Naturalization /

FY2022 H-1B Cap Registrations released The U.S. State Department, on May 18th, 2021,  eliminated a longstanding policy refusing to acknowledge the U.S. citizenship of the children of many married same-sex couples. Over the last several years, LGBTQ immigrant rights in the United States have changed significantly. A progressive cultural environment and several court cases have helped

Citizenship to Children of Same-Sex Couples. Read More »

FY2022 H-1B Cap Registrations released

Leave a Comment / H-1B visa /

FY2022 H-1B Cap Registrations released United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has released data showing the total number of annual H-1B lottery registrations received for the upcoming fiscal year (FY) 2022. Under the electronic registration process, now in its second year of operation, petitioning employers were already aware of the annual quota (“cap”) being met, with registration

FY2022 H-1B Cap Registrations released Read More »

victory-to-immigrants-facing-deportation

Leave a Comment / Deportation, Immigration /

Victory to immigrants facing deportation. The U.S. Supreme Court, on Thursday, April 29, 2021, offering hope to thousands of long-term immigrants facing deportation in a ruling that faulted the federal government for improperly notifying a man who came to the United States illegally from Guatemala to appear for a U.S. Supreme Court, on Thursday, April

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biden-tells-congress-to-revamp-immigration-system

Leave a Comment / Immigration /

Biden Tells Congress to Revamp Immigration System President Joe Biden tells Congress to immediately revamp the immigration system. President Joe Biden tells Congress to immediately revamp the immigration system by passing measures where there’s bipartisan support even as he pressed them to adopt his sweeping overhaul. The president urged lawmakers to help bring an “end

biden-tells-congress-to-revamp-immigration-system Read More »

two-immigration-bills-passed-will-broader-immigration-reform-be-possible

Leave a Comment / DACA, Immigration /

Two Immigration Bills Passed. Will Broader Immigration Reform Be Possible? The House of Representatives passed two bills on immigration reform on Thursday that would provide a pathway to citizenship for millions of DREAMers, Temporary Protected Status holders, and farmworkers. But they also served as an early indicator of Republicans’ limited appetite to work with Democrats

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Goodbye Public Charge Rule

Leave a Comment / Immigration, Immigration policies, Public charge /

Goodbye Public Charge Rule The Biden administration on Thursday, March 11, 2021, formally said goodbye to the Trump-era public charge rule, which tightened restrictions on poorer immigrants seeking U.S. residency, as a dozen GOP state attorneys general scrambled to preserve it. The Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) 2019 public charge rule –required petitioners and applicants

Goodbye Public Charge Rule Read More »

Biden administration grants Venezuelans Temporary Protected Status.

Leave a Comment / Announcements, Biden, Deportation, TPS /

Biden administration grants Venezuelans Temporary Protected Status. The Biden administration on Monday, March 3, 2021,  announced it would grant temporary protected status to Venezuelan exiles, fulfilling a campaign promise to allow them to live and work legally in the U.S. The TPS designation offers legal protections for 18 months to Venezuelans fleeing the humanitarian crisis

Biden administration grants Venezuelans Temporary Protected Status. Read More »

Revoked: Suspension of Entry of Immigrants Who Present a Risk to the United States Labor Market.

Leave a Comment / Biden, Immigration, Immigration policies, Travel ban /

Revoked: Suspension of Entry of Immigrants Who Present a Risk to the United States Labor Market. Yesterday, February 25, 2021, United States President Joseph Biden revoked the suspension of entry imposed in Proclamation 10014 of April 22, 2020 (Suspension of Entry of Immigrants Who Present a Risk to the United States Labor Market During the

Revoked: Suspension of Entry of Immigrants Who Present a Risk to the United States Labor Market. Read More »

Citizenship Costs: Less Than You Think

Leave a Comment / Biden, Immigration, Naturalization /

Citizenship Costs: Less Than You Think Permanent residents normally don’t apply for U.S. citizenship because of cost. It presently costs $725 to file Form N-400, Application for Naturalization. That’s a lot of money, but it’s less expensive than remaining a permanent resident. And the cost of citizenship will only get more expensive in the future

Citizenship Costs: Less Than You Think Read More »

Biden To Impose Covid Travel Restrictions On South Africa and Reinstate Ban On Other Countries Lifted By Trump

Leave a Comment / Biden /

Biden To Impose Covid Travel Restrictions On South Africa and Reinstate Ban On Other Countries Lifted By Trump President Joe Biden on Monday, reversing a directive by the Trump administration, will sign an executive order that keeps in place restrictions barring entry by most non-U.S. citizens traveling from the United Kingdom, Brazil, and 26 countries

Biden To Impose Covid Travel Restrictions On South Africa and Reinstate Ban On Other Countries Lifted By Trump Read More »

US Citizenship Act of 2021 – Immigration Reform Bill Sent to Congress on President Biden’s First Day.

Leave a Comment / Announcements, Biden, Citizen act of 2021, Immigration, Immigration policies, Immigration reform bill /

US Citizenship Act of 2021 – Immigration Reform Bill Sent to Congress on President Biden’s First Day. US President Joe Biden on the day one of his presidency sent a comprehensive immigration reform bill to Congress which proposes major overhauls to the system, including granting legal status and a path to citizenship to tens of

US Citizenship Act of 2021 – Immigration Reform Bill Sent to Congress on President Biden’s First Day. Read More »

DOL H-1B Visa Wage Rule: Donald Trump’s Bad Parting Gift

Leave a Comment / H-1B visa /

DOL H-1B Visa Wage Rule: Donald Trump’s Bad Parting Gift The Department of Labor (DOL) reissued a controversial rule designed to price H-1B visa holders and employment-based immigrants out of the U.S. labor market, setting up new legal battles and a decision by the Biden administration on whether to keep a rule that fulfills a key part

DOL H-1B Visa Wage Rule: Donald Trump’s Bad Parting Gift Read More »

Federal District Court Sets Aside New Immigration DHS and DOL Rules

Leave a Comment / H-1B visa, Immigration, Immigration policies /

Federal District Court Sets Aside New Immigration DHS and DOL Rules In California, a federal district court has set aside two new immigration regulations that were promulgated on a fast track by the Departments of Labor (DOL) and Homeland Security (DHS) in early October. Ruling on summary judgment, the court found that the agencies did

Federal District Court Sets Aside New Immigration DHS and DOL Rules Read More »

Public Charge Rule Cancellation – I-944 is no longer required

Leave a Comment / Immigration /

Public Charge Rule Cancellation – I-944 is no longer required What is the public charge? “Public charge” is a ground of inadmissibility. Grounds of inadmissibility are reasons that a person could be denied a green card, visa, or admission into the United States. In deciding whether to grant some applicants a green card or a

Public Charge Rule Cancellation – I-944 is no longer required Read More »

Lawsuit Filed on the New H-1B Wage Rule

Leave a Comment / H-1B visa, Immigration, Trump /

Lawsuit Filed on the New H-1B Wage Rule On October 8, 2020, the Trump Administration abruptly revamped the H-1B wage rule to dramatically change the program and sharply increase the required wages for temporary positions and others seeking employment-based green card sponsorship. The changes are aimed at discouraging U.S. employers from hiring and continuing to

Lawsuit Filed on the New H-1B Wage Rule Read More »

Trump and Biden’s Immigration Policies

Leave a Comment / DACA, Immigration, Immigration policies, Public charge, Trump /

Trump and Biden’s Immigration Policies The year 2020 has been like no other in the United States. Multiple natural disasters, more protests for social justice than in previous years on racism and police topics, Immigration Policies, and a pandemic causing mass unemployment and hundreds of thousands of deaths. Americans can travel to fewer places than

Trump and Biden’s Immigration Policies Read More »

Trump’s Executive Order on Limiting Immigration – What You Need to Know

Leave a Comment / Coronavirus, Immigration /

Trump’s Executive Order on Limiting Immigration – What You Need to Know Effective April 23, 2020, President Trump issued an executive order limiting immigration, which is scheduled to expire in 60 days. The order relates specifically to the ENTRY into the U.S., not the filing of applications and petitions. There are important exceptions to the

Trump’s Executive Order on Limiting Immigration – What You Need to Know Read More »

Biden plans on swiftly rolling back some Trump Administration Policies

Leave a Comment / DACA, Immigration, Immigration policies, Public charge, Trump /

Biden plans on swiftly rolling back some Trump Administration Policies President-elect Joe Biden is reportedly working on a group of executive orders that would reverse several controversial Trump administration policies once he takes office on January 20. Immigration policy would be the most dramatic and immediate reversal. According to a Washington Post report, Biden plans to take

Biden plans on swiftly rolling back some Trump Administration Policies Read More »

Premium Processing Fee Increase Effective Oct. 19, 2020

Leave a Comment / Announcements, Immigration, Immigration policies /

Premium Processing Fee Increase Effective Oct. 19, 2020 U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) today announced it will increase fees for premium processing, effective Oct. 19, as required by the Continuing Appropriations Act, 2021 and Other Extensions Act, Pub. L. No. 116-159, signed into law on Oct. 1. The USCIS premium processing service allows petitioners to pay an

Premium Processing Fee Increase Effective Oct. 19, 2020 Read More »

Developments that may Affect You or Your Employees’ Ability to File for Green Cards

Leave a Comment / EB-2, EB-3, Immigration policies /

Developments that may Affect You or Your Employees’ Ability to File for Green Cards This post is to alert you of new developments that may affect you or your employees’ ability to file for green cards. It requires your immediate attention and action.  The U.S. State Department has released the Visa Bulletin for October 2020,

Developments that may Affect You or Your Employees’ Ability to File for Green Cards Read More »

USCIS Finalizes Significant Filing Fee Increases

Leave a Comment / Immigration, Immigration policies, Trump /

USCIS Finalizes Significant Filing Fee Increases Starting October 2, 2020, Fee increases will go way up for U.S. Citizenship, Green Card & many more applications. As we informed on our August 3, 2020, post, many of the applications postmarked on or after October 2, 2020, will have substantially higher fees than before. Delaying your applications

USCIS Finalizes Significant Filing Fee Increases Read More »

H-1B VISA DENIALS CONTINUE TO INCREASE FOR COMPANIES

Leave a Comment / Covid-19, H-1B visa, Immigration, Trump /

H-1B VISA DENIALS CONTINUE TO INCREASE FOR COMPANIES H-1B VISA DENIALS CONTINUE TO INCREASE FOR COMPANIES U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) continues H-1B visa denials, including for high-skilled foreign nationals sponsored by many of the best companies in the world, according to a new analysis. The overall trend for businesses under the Trump administration

H-1B VISA DENIALS CONTINUE TO INCREASE FOR COMPANIES Read More »

Tech Giants Back Legal Challenge to Trump’s Foreign Workers Ban

Leave a Comment / H-1B visa, Immigration, Trump /

Tech Giants Back Legal Challenge to Trump’s Foreign Workers Ban Top U.S. tech firms, including Amazon.com Inc and Facebook Inc, filed a legal brief on Monday, backing a challenge to U.S. President Donald Trump’s temporary ban on the entry of certain foreign workers to preserve jobs for Americans during the coronavirus pandemic. In brief, filed

Tech Giants Back Legal Challenge to Trump’s Foreign Workers Ban Read More »

Judge Issues Two Nationwide Injunctions Blocking “Public Charge” Immigration Rules Amid COVID-19 Pandemic

Leave a Comment / Covid-19, Immigration, Immigration health insurance, Public charge, Trump /

Judge Issues Two Nationwide Injunctions Blocking “Public Charge” Immigration Rules Amid COVID-19 Pandemic A Manhattan federal court issued two nationwide injunctions temporarily blocking the Trump administration’s “public charge” rules. An injunction issued against the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) prevents DHS from enforcing, applying, implementing, or treating as effective the “public charge” rule for

Judge Issues Two Nationwide Injunctions Blocking “Public Charge” Immigration Rules Amid COVID-19 Pandemic Read More »

The Cost of Adjusting Your U.S. Immigration Status Will Increase Drastically, And Asylum is No Longer Free.

Leave a Comment / Announcements, Immigration, Immigration policies, Public charge /

The Cost of Adjusting Your U.S. Immigration Status Will Increase Drastically, And Asylum is No Longer Free. The Trump administration announced on Friday an excessive increase in fees for some of the most common immigration procedures, including an 81% increase in the cost of U.S. citizenship for naturalization. It will also now charge asylum-seekers, which

The Cost of Adjusting Your U.S. Immigration Status Will Increase Drastically, And Asylum is No Longer Free. Read More »

A judge ordered the US to accept new DACA applications. It is still unclear if the Trump administration will.

Leave a Comment / DACA, Trump /

A judge ordered the US to accept new DACA applications. It is still unclear if the Trump administration will. On June 18, 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court sided with DACA recipients ruling that how the Trump administration rescinded the DACA program in 2017 was unlawful. The decision is a massive victory for immigrant communities and

A judge ordered the US to accept new DACA applications. It is still unclear if the Trump administration will. Read More »

Trump Wants to Bar Undocumented Immigrants Out of the 2020 Census

Leave a Comment / Immigration, Immigration policies, Trump /

Trump Wants to Bar Undocumented Immigrants Out of the 2020 Census President Donald Trump wants to bar undocumented immigrants from being counted in the 2020 census. That’s not all he’s doing on immigration in 2020. In recent months, Trump has moved to reduce the number of foreign workers in the U.S., end a program that

Trump Wants to Bar Undocumented Immigrants Out of the 2020 Census Read More »

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