On June 22, 2020, the Trump administration issued a presidential proclamation suspending the entry of individuals to the United States on select nonimmigrant visas, including H-1B, H-2B, J-1, and L-1 visa holders, as well as...more
On April 22, 2020, the Trump administration issued an executive order suspending the entry of individuals seeking entry to the United States on an immigrant visa. “Immigrant visa” refers to an application for permanent...more
On January 31, 2020, the Trump administration expanded the list of countries affected by Presidential Proclamation 9645, more commonly referred to as “Travel Ban 3.0.” Nigeria, Eritrea, Kyrgyzstan, Myanmar, Sudan, and...more
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) recently announced that it would begin accepting electronic registrations for H-1B candidates subject to the annual quota for fiscal year (FY) 2021 on March 1, 2020. The...more
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has confirmed that it will implement the new electronic H-1B registration system for the upcoming cap season. Employers seeking to file cap-subject H-1B petitions will be...more
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has proposed a new fee schedule designed to mitigate an approximate $1.3 billion shortfall in the annual budget of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). According to DHS,...more
On August 14, 2019, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) published the final version of its public charge rule in the Federal Register. According to a statement by DHS, the rule is intended to formalize the way in which...more
On July 10, 2019, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 1044, the Fairness for High-Skilled Immigrants Act of 2019, by a vote of 365 to 65. The bill is intended to reduce lengthy immigrant visa (green card) wait times...more
7/12/2019
/ Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
EB-2 ,
EB-3 ,
Green Cards ,
H-1B ,
Highly-Skilled Workers Visa ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Labor Condition Applications ,
Pending Legislation ,
Visa Caps ,
Visas
Foreign nationals are now required to provide a five-year history of social media usernames, telephone numbers, and email addresses when applying for U.S. nonimmigrant or immigrant visas. The plan to require more information...more
6/18/2019
/ B-1 ,
Customs and Border Protection ,
Electronic Communications ,
Electronic Devices ,
Foreign Nationals ,
H-1B ,
Immigration Procedures ,
L-1 Visas ,
Social Networks ,
US Department of State ,
Visas
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has released its spring 2019 regulatory agenda, highlighting the agency’s rulemaking priorities through 2019. While many of the agenda items appear to be carryovers from agendas past,...more
6/13/2019
/ Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
Electronic Filing ,
Electronic Travel Authorization Program (eTA) ,
F-1 Visa ,
Filing Fees ,
H-1B ,
H-4 Spouses ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Proposed Regulation ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
USCIS ,
Visa Waiver Program ,
Visas
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has completed the selection process for H-1B cap subject petitions filed for fiscal year (FY) 2020. On April 10, 2019, the agency ran computerized lotteries for both regular...more
4/15/2019
/ F-1 Visa ,
Filing Requirements ,
Foreign Students ,
Foreign Workers ,
H-1B ,
Highly-Skilled Workers Visa ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Immigrants ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Lottery ,
Request for Evidence (RFEs) ,
Travelers ,
USCIS ,
Visa Caps ,
Visas
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ (USCIS) processing times continue to lag compared to previous years, according to data recently released by the agency. This is especially true for foreign nationals with pending...more