USCIS has been issuing challenges and even denials to some H-1B petitions based upon allegations of suspected lottery fraud. USCIS appears to be taking the position that fraud occurs when multiple registrations are submitted...more
Proper completion of the Employment Eligibility Verification Form I-9 is one of the most important responsibilities of employers, including retailers, at the beginning of the hiring process. Saying it learned from the...more
8/8/2023
/ E-Verify ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Eligibility Verification ,
Foreign Workers ,
Form I-9 ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Immigrants ,
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Required Forms ,
USCIS
DHS has today, July 25, 2023, published a new Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Form. USCIS has made significant changes to the form and its instructions, including a checkbox to indicate that an employee’s Form I-9...more
On July 21, 2023, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced a final rule, which will be officially published on July 25, 2023, that will provide eligible employers filling out the Employment Eligibility Verification...more
7/24/2023
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
E-Verify ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Eligibility Verification ,
Foreign Workers ,
Form I-9 ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Required Forms ,
USCIS
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has announced that employers will have 30 days to comply with Form I-9 employment eligibility verification physical document examination requirements when COVID-19 flexibility...more
The H-1B cap season for Fiscal Year 2024 is fast approaching. USCIS announced on January 27th that cap registration begins on March 1st. Employers should assess their hiring needs and determine if they will sponsor foreign...more
The Department of Homeland Security announced the redesignation of Yemen for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) and its extension from March 4, 2023, through Sept. 3, 2024.
Individuals who have not previously held Yemeni TPS...more
For H-1B visas, employers have been hoping there will be another round of selections for FY 2023, but that is not on the horizon.
USCIS has been sending non-selection notices to registrants’ online accounts. USCIS can...more
Federal courts could not review the U.S. Attorney General’s decisions denying discretionary relief from removal – even in a case where the alien contends that the decision was based on a factual error, the U.S. Supreme Court...more
The Department of Homeland Security set out the specifics about the upcoming new premium processing benefits in the Federal Register on March 30, 2022. The details, however, did not include any specific implementation dates,...more
Just as the Biden Administration is proposing increased funding for USCIS to help reduce the agency’s backlog, USCIS is announcing future new actions to improve processing times....more
As of May 1, 2022, employers can no longer accept expired List B documents for Form I-9 Employment Eligibility Verification purposes, and any expired List B documents that were previously accepted must be updated by July 31,...more
USCIS has announced that the Cap H-1B Electronic Registration will open on March 9, 2021 at noon EST and will close on March 25, 2021 at noon EST.
The process will mirror last year’s process.
USCIS also announced its...more
USCIS has released its final rule on the modification of the H-1B cap selection process (“Modification Rule”) to prioritize petitions with the highest wage levels in the Federal Register.
Unless the Biden administration...more
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced a further extension of status and work authorization until October 4, 2021, for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) beneficiaries from El Salvador, Haiti, Honduras, Nepal,...more
Premium processing fees are going up (the bad news), but premium processing will be available for more types of cases (the good news) according to changes included in the recently passed Continuing Resolution (CR) that will...more
Judge Jeffrey S. White has granted the plaintiffs’ request for preliminary injunction preventing the continued enforcement of the Presidential Proclamation suspending the entry of certain individuals in H, L, and J status...more
Days before the upcoming deadline, ICE has announced it is extending the remote virtual verification option for completion of I-9 employment verification an additional 60 days (instead of just 30 days), until November 19,...more
The Trump Administration’s effort to end Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for approximately 250,000 people from El Salvador, Nicaragua, and Sudan has been upheld in a split ruling from U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth...more
USCIS has announced that, due to an “unprecedented” increase in revenues, the source of which is unclear, it would not go forward with the furloughs previously scheduled for August 30, 2020 – at least not until the end of the...more
USCIS confirmed that its planned furlough of 70% of its workforce (13,400 employees) will be postponed at least until the end of August. The ostensible reason for the furlough was a budget shortfall, even though USCIS is a...more
Foreign nationals with approved permanent residence applications but no actual permanent resident card (known as Green Cards) are not the only ones dealing with the printing back-up at USCIS. After deciding to bring the...more
The Department of Homeland Security’s COVID-19 flexibility regarding the physical presence requirements for I-9 inspection ends on July 19, 2020, for companies that are still operating 100-percent remotely. Unless further...more
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) once again is extending its flexibility regarding the physical presence requirements for I-9 inspection for another 30 days until July 19, 2020, due to the ongoing precautions related...more
Additional restrictions on entry into the U.S. may be expected soon. Initial indications are that the Administration is considering barring H-1B, H-2B, L-1, and J-1 status among other non-immigrant visa categories.
On...more