On January 20, 2025, President Trump issued an executive order, “Protecting the United States From Foreign Terrorists and Other National Security and Public Safety Threats.” The order directs federal agencies, including the...more
The FY2022 H-1B cap season is now underway. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) adopted the same H-1B registration process as was used last year. Before filing a cap-subject H-1B petition, USCIS requires that...more
On February 2, 2021, Alejandro Mayorkas was confirmed as the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and the Biden administration then issued three immigration-related executive orders. This is the start of...more
October Visa Bulletin Released -
On September 24, 2020, the U.S. Department of State (DOS) issued the highly anticipated October Visa Bulletin. October 1, 2020, marks the beginning of the U.S. government’s new fiscal year....more
More change, more scrutiny, more denials and more backlogs – this sums up 2018 in the immigration and global mobility field. As will be highlighted below, the Trump administration continued to radically alter established U.S....more
12/31/2018
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Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employment Authorization Documents (EAD) ,
F-1 Visa ,
Foreign Nationals ,
Form I-9 ,
General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) ,
Government Shutdown ,
H-1B ,
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) ,
Temporary Protected Status ,
Trump Administration ,
UK Brexit ,
USCIS
Changes coming from the White House, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), and the State Department (DOS) on travel and related issues are challenging companies...more
2/13/2017
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Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
Executive Orders ,
Foreign Nationals ,
Foreign Workers ,
Iran ,
Iraq ,
Libya ,
Refugees ,
Somalia ,
Sudan ,
Syria ,
Travel Ban ,
Trump Administration ,
USCIS ,
Visas ,
Yemen
Starting January 17, 2017, the long-awaited regulations for high-skilled workers incorporating provisions of the American Competitiveness in the Twenty-First Century Act of 2000 (AC21) and the American Competitiveness and...more
August ushers in a host of immigration-related news and updates, ranging from fine increases to wait times for visa appointments. Stay up-to-date with some quick notes on these issues.
DOJ Fines Increase as of August 1,...more
The long-awaited final rule on the F-1 STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math education) Optional Practical Training (OPT) Extension, authorizing a new 24-month STEM extension for qualified foreign students, took...more
On March 3, 2016, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) launched a pilot program intended to streamline the employment-based immigration process in certain visa categories. The program will modify the process U.S....more
3/8/2016
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E-12 ,
E-13 ,
Federal Pilot Programs ,
H-1B ,
Hiring & Firing ,
L-1A ,
L-1B ,
NAFTA ,
USCIS ,
Visas ,
Work Visas
On January 23, 2016, Judge Huvelle of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia granted a motion to extend the current stay of her prior order which will allow the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to utilize...more
The long-awaited proposed rule — “Retention of EB-1, EB-2 and EB-3 Immigrant Workers and Program Improvements Affecting High-Skilled Nonimmigrant Workers” (aka I-140/AC21/EAD Proposed Rule) — was published in the Federal...more
1/20/2016
/ Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
EB-1 ,
EB-2 ,
EB-3 ,
Employment Authorization Documents (EAD) ,
Federal Register ,
Foreign Workers ,
H-1B ,
Highly-Skilled Workers Visa ,
I-140 ,
Popular ,
USCIS ,
Work Visas
The long-awaited proposed rule on F-1 Optional Practical Training (OPT) was published in the Federal Register on October 19, 2015, by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The proposed rule is titled “Improving and...more
10/30/2015
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Colleges ,
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
E-Verify ,
Employment Authorization Documents (EAD) ,
Form F-1 ,
OPT ,
Proposed Regulation ,
Rulemaking Process ,
STEM ,
Universities ,
USCIS ,
Visas
The long-awaited final rule on H-4 work authorization has now been introduced by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). USCIS Director León Rodríguez has announced that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS)...more
In May 2014, DHS issued a proposed rule to amend current immigration regulations to allow for the employment authorization of certain H-4 dependent spouses. DHS accepted comments on the proposed rule until mid-July. ...more