In the spirit of the season, we came together for our annual holiday breakfast—a time to reflect, celebrate, and enjoy one another’s company. With delicious treats, festive cheer, and a lively gift exchange, we shared moments of joy while looking ahead with hope and gratitude. We are deeply thankful for our wonderful clients and colleagues who bring meaning and joy to our work every day. From all of us at Daryanani Law Group, we wish you a magical holiday season filled with wonder and warmth. We will resume posts on January 10, 2025. Safe travels and happy holidays!
The New York Times: “Colleges Warn Foreign Students to Get to Campus Before Trump Takes Office”
Ahead of President Trump’s upcoming inauguration on January 20, 2025, some universities, including Harvard, USC, and Cornell are advising their international student body to prepare to return to campus from their winter breaks before Trump is sworn in to office. The warnings are a result of Trump’s expressed desire to reimpose a travel ban previously instituted during his first term as President and ended by President Biden when he took office.
Read moreInnocents Abroad
Penguin Parade Sculpture Trail
A colony of penguins have shed their tuxedos and descended upon London, calling the Fleet Street Quarter home through January 5th. The “Penguin Parade Sculpture Trail” is made up of twelve individual penguins decked out in their holiday finest. Each penguin is designed by a different artist in collaboration with Wild in Art and the conservation charity WWF, and the sculptures share interesting facts about our fine feathered friends and the Fleet Street Quarter. Author and stand-up comedian Olaf Falafel provides an audio tour through the parade and visitors can use a map to locate the entire waddling crew. On our recent quest through the neighborhood, we were greeted by penguins Percy, Buddy, Snowy, Santa Paws, Kevin the Kinguin, The Forest at Christmas, and Pullover Penguin.
DHS Permanently Increases Automatic Extension of Certain Employment Authorization Documents for Certain Applicants
On December 10, 2024, The Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”) announced a permanent increase in the automatic extension period for employment authorization documents (“EADs”) up to 540-days from the current 180-days period for certain applicants who timely and properly filed their Form I-765 applications for work authorization.
Read moreUrban Affection
Holiday Lights
The holiday season is upon us, and with it the annual light displays that have become a favorite tradition are enveloping us. This week we explored light displays across New York and London, enjoying the twinkling lights at some of our favorite destinations. In New York we enjoyed gorgeous displays of hot air balloons and stars at Hudson Yards and Columbus Circle. In London, we were greeted by the ever gorgeous angel hovering above Regent Street and a light display at The Shard. We hope everyone is able to take a moment and enjoy the magical displays that welcome us all to celebrate the season. Take the advice of the London Underground and care for yourself this holiday season!
The O-1 Visa for AI Innovators and Entrepreneurs
The first time I tried ChatGPT in action, I was impressed. While I would never use it to write a legal brief we have found lots of uses in our practice that save time and increase efficiencies. Of course, we all use AI technologies on a daily basis from opening our phones with our faces to getting directions and traffic updates to asking digital voice assistants what song is playing. The potential impact of AI technologies is huge, and not just for procrastinating students trying to get that essay written for school.
As with all technological advancements, innovators and entrepreneurs are leading the way, whether as highly skilled researchers involved in the creation or refinement of the AI technology, or as entrepreneurs adapting the technology in a new way to an old industry. In this post, we discuss one of the best visa options—the O-1 visa—for those AI innovators and entrepreneurs who want to live and work in the US.
Read moreUSCIS Reaches Fiscal Year 2025 H-1B CAP
United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) announced on December 2, 2024, they had reached the H-1B Cap for fiscal year 2025. The Service reported having received enough petitions to reach the congressionally mandated limits for the H-1B visa regular cap, as well as the advanced degree exemption (master’s cap) for FY2025. USCIS will be sending non-selection notices to registrants through their online accounts “over the next few days.”
Employers submitted registrations for 442,000 unique beneficiaries during FY 2025 H-1B cap registration period. USCIS went on to conduct two lottery selections, one in March 2024 and another in August 2024. For those not selected, remember there may still be hope.