President Donald Trump signed a proclamation suspending entry to the U.S. for nationals of 19 countries on June 4, 2025. The proclamation stated that the designated countries are so deficient in their information screening...more
6/10/2025
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On May 22, 2025, Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem ordered the Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”) to terminate Harvard University’s Student and Exchange Visitor Program (“SEVP”) certification for alleged...more
5/27/2025
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Visas
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has published a final rule (89 FR 10354) that significantly changes the H-1B Cap Gap period. This rule automatically extends the duration of status and any employment authorization...more
As many expected, President Donald Trump has not only issued Executive Orders (EOs), but he has also rescinded many EOs issued by the Biden Administration concerning immigration, including the following: “The Restoring Faith...more
1/24/2025
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This order directs federal agencies to refuse to recognize U.S. citizenship for children born in the United States to mothers in the country illegally, or who are present in the United States on non-immigrant visas, if the...more
1/21/2025
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Some colleges and universities, out of an abundance of caution, are advising their foreign national students and staff who are traveling abroad for winter break to consider returning before President Donald Trump’s...more
Just as people were starting to lose hope, USCIS announced that it will soon hold a second round of selections for the FY 2025 H-1B cap. USCIS will randomly select additional registrations for unique beneficiaries from the...more
President Joe Biden announced protections for undocumented foreign national spouses of U.S. citizens who have lived in the United States for 10 years without a legal immigration status. This will protect approximately 500,000...more
Good news for those applying for or with pending Employment Authorization Document (EAD) renewals. DHS is temporarily reinstituting its 540-day automatic extension of work authorization for eligible individuals....more
Many USCIS filing fees are being adjusted upward beginning on April 1, 2024. That date, of course, is particularly significant. It is the earliest date that Cap H-1Bs can be filed.
The H-1B filing fee, for example, will rise...more
USCIS has published a proposed rule that, once implemented, would significantly reform and modernize the H-1B Program. The Modernizing H-1B Requirements, Providing Flexibility in the F-1 Program, and Program Improvements...more
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) will soon be issuing a new proposed rule: Modernizing H-1B Requirements and Oversight and Providing Flexibility in the F-1 Program....more
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
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
In Washington Alliance of Technical Workers v. DHS (WashTech), the D.C. Circuit held that optional practical training programs (OPT) that allow students on the nonimmigrant F-1 visa to work in the United States for up to...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
For more than two years, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has been allowing employers with remote workers to review Form I-9 Employment Verification Authorization documents virtually...more
As of May 4, 2022, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is increasing the automatic extension of work authorization from 180 days to 540 days for certain individuals. ...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 H-1B Cap registration will start on March 1, 2022, at noon (Eastern) and will continue through noon (Eastern) on March 18, 2022.
If enough registrations to fill the cap are received by March 18...more
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the number of unfilled job openings increased by over three million in the last year. The construction industry has been particularly hard hit by labor shortages, causing many...more
Nonimmigrant spouses of H-1B and L-1 visa holders with long-pending EAD applications have finally received some relief. Based upon a settlement in Shergill v. Mayokas, USCIS is making major policy changes. Going forward,...more
The country dodged a government shutdown at the end of September, but we may be faced with the same problem on December 3, 2021, when Congress will again have to fund the government. Because we often come close to a shutdown...more
USCIS made more random Cap H-1B selections on July 28, 2021. Notifications started to go out today – July 29, 2021. Due to a glitch in the USCIS system, attorneys do not yet have access to the notices (although some employers...more