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USCIS Will Begin Accepting CW-1 Petitions for Fiscal Year 2019
On April 2, 2018, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will begin accepting petitions under the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI)-Only Transitional Worker (CW-1) program subject to the fiscal year (FY) 2019 cap. Employers in the CNMI use the CW-1 program to employ foreign workers who are ineligible for other nonimmigrant worker categories. The cap for CW-1 visas for FY 2019 is 4,999.
For the FY 2019 cap, USCIS encourages employers to file a petition for a CW-1 nonimmigrant worker up to six months in advance of the proposed start date of employment and as early as possible within that timeframe. USCIS will reject a petition if it is filed more than six months in advance. An extension petition may request a start date of Oct. 1, 2018, even if that worker’s current status will not expire by that date.
Since USCIS expects to receive more petitions than the number of CW-1 visas available for FY 2019, USCIS may conduct a lottery to randomly select petitions and associated beneficiaries so that the cap is not exceeded. The lottery would give employers the fairest opportunity to request workers, particularly with the possibility of mail delays from the CNMI.
USCIS will count the total number of beneficiaries in the petitions received after 10 business days to determine if a lottery is needed. If the cap is met after those initial 10 days, a lottery may still need to be conducted with only the petitions received on the last day before the cap was met. USCIS will announce when the cap is met and whether a lottery has been conducted.

Any contracts or any transactions can go awry at any time
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Any contracts or any transactions can go awry at any time. Sometimes, making important business decisions without legal help from business attorneys could cost you your business.We don’t want you or your business to be misconstrued by anyone. Our attorneys make sure that we communicate with you often to make sure we are giving you the legal guidance you need at all times. We make sure we are responsive in a timely-manner with every single one of our clients to help them identify risks and prevent legal battles before they arise.
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Car Accident Lawyers in New Rochelle, New York
If you have gotten in a car accident, it could seriously change your life. Whether the accident was caused by the other party’s fault or a fault of your own, you’ll want to to make sure that you are ready to prepare yourself for any cases that might follow.
Immediately following any type of car accident, it is important to take certain steps to ensure that the courts will treat you with respect and fairly. First, assess your mental and physical condition. Make sure right after the accident, you document any information regarding the accident and situation, it can be of great help later on.
You’ll want to make sure that you seek professional help for any medical conditions you may be experiencing. Do not wait to seek medical attention, you’ll want to make sure that you have documented evidence of the injury that was caused by the accident. The amount of treatment is also taken into consideration in every case.
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World financial markets welcome court ruling against Trump's tariffs
U.S. Court News 05/30/2025Financial markets welcomed a U.S. court ruling that blocks President Donald Trump from imposing sweeping tariffs on imports under an emergency-powers law.U.S. futures jumped early Thursday and oil prices rose more than $1. The U.S. dollar rose agains...
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Appeals court allows Trump’s anti-union order to take effect
National Court News 05/25/2025An appeals court has cleared the way for President Donald Trump’s executive order aimed at ending collective bargaining rights for hundreds of thousands of federal employees while a lawsuit plays out.The Friday ruling came after the Trump admin...
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Justice Dept. moves to cancel police reform settlements reached with Minneapolis
Featured Articles 05/21/2025The Justice Department moved Wednesday to cancel a settlement with Minneapolis that called for an overhaul of its police department following the murder of George Floyd, as well as a similar agreement with Louisville, Kentucky, saying it doesn’...
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Arizona prosecutors ordered to send fake elector case back to grand jury
U.S. Court News 05/18/2025Arizona prosecutors pressing the case against Republicans who are accused of trying to overturn the 2020 election results in President Donald Trump’s favor were dealt a setback when a judge ordered the case be sent back to a grand jury.Arizona&...
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Supreme Court could block Trump’s birthright citizenship order
Featured Articles 05/15/2025The Supreme Court seemed intent Thursday on keeping a block on President Donald Trump’s restrictions on birthright citizenship while looking for a way to scale back nationwide court orders.It was unclear what such a decision might look like, bu...
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Trump Seeks Supreme Court Approval to End Protections for Venezuelans
National Court News 05/12/2025The Trump administration on Thursday asked the Supreme Court to strip temporary legal protections from 350,000 Venezuelans, potentially exposing them to being deported.The Justice Department asked the high court to put on hold a ruling from a federal...
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Judge bars deportations of Venezuelans from South Texas
U.S. Court News 05/07/2025A federal judge on Thursday barred the Trump administration from deporting any Venezuelans from South Texas under an 18th-century wartime law and said President Donald Trump’s invocation of it was “unlawful.”U.S. District Court Judg...
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Court allows Trump ban on transgender military members to take effect
Featured Articles 05/04/2025The Supreme Court on Tuesday allowed President Donald Trump’s administration to enforce a ban on transgender people in the military, while legal challenges proceed.The court acted in the dispute over a policy that presumptively disqualifies tra...
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Judge to weigh Louisiana AG’s challenge to city jail’s ‘sanctuary’ policy
Featured Articles 05/01/2025Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill is pushing forward with her efforts to force Orleans Parish Sheriff Susan Hutson to drop a longtime policy that generally prohibits deputies from directly engaging in federal immigration enforcement within the c...
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Two major law firms urge judges to permanently block Trump’s executive orders
Featured Articles 04/26/2025Two major law firms asked separate judges Wednesday to permanently block President Donald Trump’s executive orders that were meant to punish them and harm their business operations.The firms — Perkins Coie and WilmerHale — say the o...
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Judge to weigh Louisiana AG’s challenge to city jail’s ‘sanctuary’ policy
National News 04/22/2025Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill is pushing forward with her efforts to force Orleans Parish Sheriff Susan Hutson to drop a longtime policy that generally prohibits deputies from directly engaging in federal immigration enforcement within the c...
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Trump says he’s in ‘no rush’ to end tariffs as he meets with Italy’s Meloni
U.S. Court News 04/18/2025President Donald Trump said Thursday he is in “no rush” to reach any trade deals because he views tariffs as making the United States wealthy. But he suggested while meeting with Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni that it would be easy to fin...

USCIS Issues Clarifying Guidance on NAFTA TN Status Eligibility for Economists
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced today that it is clarifying policy guidance (PDF, 71 KB) on the specific work activities its officers should consider when determining whether an individual qualifies for TN nonimmigrant status as an economist.
The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) TN nonimmigrant status allows qualified Canadian and Mexican citizens to temporarily enter the U.S. to engage in specific professional activities, including the occupation of economist. The agreement, however, does not define the term economist, resulting in inconsistent decisions on whether certain analysts and financial professionals qualify for TN status as economists.
TN nonimmigrant status is intended to allow a limited number of professionals and specialists to work temporarily in certain specifically identified occupations in the United States. This updated guidance provides USCIS officers with a specific definition of one such category – economists – allowing them to adjudicate applications in a way that complies with the intent of the agreement. This policy update clarifies that professional economists requesting TN status must engage primarily in activities consistent with the profession of an economist. Individuals who work primarily in other occupations related to the field of economics — such as financial analysts, marketing analysts, and market research analysts — are not eligible for classification as a TN economist.