OCIVerse 🌍

Dobrina Ustun ✓ Attorney · 4 days ago

Welcome to Founders Without Borders. I started this community because I kept seeing the same story play out: a brilliant founder, building something real, hitting wall after wall — not because their idea wasn't good, but because nobody told them how things actually work when you're building a company in the U.S. as a foreigner. The visa questions. The right entity structure. How to open a bank account before you have a Social Security number. How to raise money when investors ask about your status. The things that don't show up in startup playbooks — because those playbooks weren't written for us. This community is for you if: — You're a foreign founder who has started or is planning to start a company in the U.S. — You're navigating the overlap between immigration and entrepreneurship and need real guidance — You've been through this journey and want to give back to founders who are just starting out — You're an attorney, advisor, or operator who works with foreign founders and wants to contribute meaningfully What you'll find here: honest conversations about startup strategy, immigration options for founders (O-1, EB-1A, E-2, and more), entity formation, fundraising, and the day-to-day realities of building in a country that wasn't where you started. No noise. No generic advice. Just people who are in it — or have been. If that's you, welcome. Introduce yourself below — where you're from, what you're building, and where you are in the journey.

We are updating guidance in Volume 3 of the USCIS Policy Manual related to the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) program—a program where certain immigration benefits can be provided to survivors of domestic abuse.

In the wake of the shooting of two National Guard service members in Washington, D.C., Wednesday by an Afghan national, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services issued new guidance allowing for negative, country-specific factors to be considered when vetting aliens from 19 high-risk countries.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services updated its Policy Manual to reduce the maximum validity period for Employment Authorization Documents (EAD) for certain categories of aliens.

We are updating USCIS Policy Manual Volume 1, Part C to deter the filing of frivolous claims and provide operational consistency.

Today, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced the establishment of a specialized unit to strengthen the ability of America’s immigration system to screen out terrorists, criminal aliens, and other foreign nationals who pose potential threats to public safety or who have committed fraud or other crimes.

Today, Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem announced her decision to terminate the Temporary Protected Status designation of Ethiopia.

The Department of Homeland Security is terminating all categorical family reunification parole (FRP) programs for aliens from Colombia, Cuba, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, and Honduras, and their immediate family members.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is issuing new guidance that limits the age of foreign nationals’ photos that can be used to create immigration documents to no more than three years. This update enhances national security and prevents identity fraud.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) today issued policy guidance in Volume 6 of the USCIS Policy Manual to address the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) adoption of the Foreign Labor Application Gateway (FLAG) system, and its effect on certain immigrant visa petitions filed on behalf of professional athletes.

As the end of 2025 approaches, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services would like to highlight key accomplishments for the year, including enhanced screening and vetting of aliens, increased coordination with our Department of Homeland Security immigration enforcement partners, and common-sense regulatory and policy changes that restore integrity to America’s immigration system.

Dobrina Ustun ✓ Attorney · 4 days ago

EB-1A RFEs are becoming more common — and more aggressive. Here's what I'm seeing, and what actually works when you respond. First, not all RFEs are equal. There's a big difference between a template RFE (manageable, you likely already have what you need) and a super aggressive one — 15 to 30 pages that attack every piece of evidence. In the latter case, the officer has often already made up their mind. Sometimes the right call is to withdraw and refile rather than fight a losing battle. For the ones worth responding to, a few things matter: 1. Know who you're responding to. USCIS officers are not immigration attorneys. They often work from templates without deep knowledge of EB-1A standards or case precedents. Write your response accordingly — clear, structured, and legally grounded. 2. Push back on requests that exceed the regulations. USCIS regularly asks for things that simply aren't required by law — what's called ultra vires requests. If the regulation doesn't require it, you don't have to treat the request as valid. Cite the actual regulation and say so explicitly. 3. Don't just submit more documents. If you already submitted strong evidence, make USCIS engage with it. Burying it under more paper doesn't help — a well-argued legal response does. 4. When they cite case law, read the actual decision. USCIS uses the same cases repeatedly and often mischaracterizes them. More than once, I've taken a case they cited against my client and used it to support our position instead. Getting an RFE doesn't mean your case is over. It means you have a fight on your hands — and how you respond is everything. If you're navigating an RFE right now and want to talk through it, feel free to drop a question in the comments or connect with me on OCIVerse. 👉 oneclickimmigration.com/community

The Department of Homeland Security is amending regulations governing the H-1B work visa selection process to prioritize the allocation of visas to higher-skilled and higher-paid aliens to better protect the wages, working conditions, and job opportunities for American workers.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) today announced a Federal Register notice that clarifies when aliens may be ineligible for asylum or withholding of removal because they pose a danger to the security of the United States due to certain public health emergencies. 

The Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services have launched Operation PARRIS in Minnesota, a sweeping initiative reexamining thousands of refugee cases through new background checks and intensive verification of refugee claims.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is publishing a final rule that will increase USCIS fees for premium processing to reflect the amount of inflation from June 2023 through June 2025.

Today, the United States Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem announced the termination of Somalia’s designation for Temporary Protected Status (TPS). The termination will be effective on March 17, 2026.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has issued an interim final rule to religious organizations and their communities allowing thousands of religious workers—including priests, nuns, and rabbis—that previously were required to remain outside the United States before returning, to resume their essential services.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services provided critical assistance leading to the indictment of two Pakistani nationals for illegally voting in a federal election and making false statements while applying for United States citizenship.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced that the initial registration period for the fiscal year (FY) 2027 H-1B cap will open at noon Eastern on March 4 and run through noon Eastern on March 19, 2026.