In a significant move to attract wealthy investors, President Donald Trump has floated a new immigration initiative known as the “Gold Card.” The initial announcement indicates that the Gold Card will make the EB-5 investment...more
3/3/2025
/ Citizenship ,
EB-5 ,
Foreign Nationals ,
Fraud ,
Immigration and Nationality Act ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Immigration Reform ,
Investment ,
Investors ,
Trump Administration ,
USCIS ,
Visas
On February 24, 2025, Secretary of State Marco Rubio directed the State Department to deny visas to transgender athletes if their sex marker does not align with their sex assigned at birth. His directive, 25 STATE 15576,...more
2/27/2025
/ Colleges ,
Discrimination ,
Educational Institutions ,
Gender Discrimination ,
Gender Identity ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Immigration Reform ,
LGBTQ ,
NCAA ,
Student Athletes ,
Title IX ,
Transgender ,
Trump Administration ,
Universities ,
US Department of State ,
Visas
If you have been following immigration news and are wondering how changes in Washington might affect your workforce, you are not alone. Senate Joint Resolution 8 (S.J. Res. 8) in the 119th Congress aims to undo a USCIS...more
2/6/2025
/ Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Authorization Documents (EAD) ,
Foreign Nationals ,
Foreign Workers ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Immigration Reform ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Time Extensions ,
USCIS ,
Visas
On January 10, 2025, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced important changes that will benefit noncitizens who have applied for or currently hold Temporary Protected Status (TPS) with designations for Ukraine,...more
1/17/2025
/ Biden Administration ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
Employment Authorization Documents (EAD) ,
Employment Policies ,
Foreign Workers ,
Form I-9 ,
Immigrants ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Temporary Protected Status ,
USCIS ,
Visas
Along with the New Year, January 1st also marks the implementation of a new Visa Bulletin by the U.S. Department of State....more
1/6/2025
/ Adjustment of Status ,
EB-1 ,
EB-2 ,
EB-3 ,
EB-5 ,
Immigration Procedures ,
US Department of State ,
USCIS ,
Visa Applications ,
Visa Bulletins ,
Visas
With an incoming administration vocal about its stance on immigration enforcement and safeguarding U.S. workers, employers who hire foreign workers on H-1B visas should make certain that they are maintaining compliance with...more
12/27/2024
/ Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Foreign Workers ,
H-1B ,
Highly-Skilled Workers Visa ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Immigrants ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Job Applicants ,
Labor Condition Applications ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
USCIS ,
Visas ,
Wage and Hour
The Child Status Protection Act (CSPA) is a law designed to help certain young people (children of immigrants) keep their eligibility for U.S. immigration benefits, even if they turn 21 years old during the application...more
10/8/2024
/ CSPA ,
Green Cards ,
Immigrants ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Immigration Reform ,
Lawful Permanent Residents ,
Minor Children ,
Policy Updates ,
Retrogression ,
USCIS ,
Visa Applications ,
Visas
On August 2, 2024, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit upheld a rule allowing the spouses of H-1B visa holders to work in the United States. In doing so, the Court rejected a longstanding challenge...more
On January 4, 2023, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) published a proposed rule to increase fees for most immigration benefit requests. If implemented, employers will pay significantly more for...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: USCIS issued a Policy Memorandum following the settlement of a lawsuit that significantly changes work authorization rules for H-4, E, and L-2 spouses. Specifically, certain H-4, E, and L-2 Employment...more
On August 25, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (“USCIS”) Deputy Director for Policy, Joseph Edlow, confirmed the agency no longer intends to furlough 13,000 employees at the end of the month. The message,...more
The trend of recent months to curtail employment-based immigration, purportedly prompted by the coronavirus pandemic, continues unabated. On August 3, 2020 President Trump issued yet another executive order, this one...more
8/7/2020
/ Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
E-Verify ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Contractors ,
Foreign Nationals ,
Foreign Workers ,
H-1B ,
Highly-Skilled Workers Visa ,
Immigration and Nationality Act ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Immigration Reform ,
Memorandum of Agreement ,
Subcontractors ,
Trump Administration ,
USCIS ,
Visas
The Trump administration, in response to a lawsuit filed by Harvard University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology, as well as several other suits, agreed to rescind its surprise Immigration and Customs Enforcement...more
7/16/2020
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
F-1 Visa ,
Foreign Students ,
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) ,
Immigration Procedures ,
M-1 Visa ,
Non-Immigrant Visas ,
SEVP ,
Trump Administration ,
USCIS ,
Visas
Seyfarth Synopsis: The President’s Proclamation will pause the issuance of immigrant visas for those seeking lawful permanent residence (Green Card) status through consular processing at posts outside of the U.S. for the...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: Following a late-night tweet from the President on suspending immigration into the U.S., we have learned today that the President’s executive order (“EO”) on immigration will be limited in scope. ...more
Seyfarth Blog Synopsis: In today’s posting we discuss the impact that COVID-19 related changes in working conditions, furloughs and layoffs have on businesses with employees currently working on H-1B, H-1B1 or E-3 work...more
4/13/2020
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Counsel ,
E-3 ,
Furloughs ,
H-1B ,
H-1B1 ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Labor Condition Applications ,
Telecommuting ,
Visas ,
Wage and Hour
With the closure of Social Security Administration (SSA) offices in the wake of COVID-19, we are receiving questions concerning the impact on work authorization for individuals who may have recently entered the U.S. in a...more
3/31/2020
/ Business Closures ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
E-Verify ,
Foreign Nationals ,
Foreign Workers ,
Form I-9 ,
H-1B ,
Hiring & Firing ,
I-94 Cards ,
Immigration Procedures ,
L-1 Visas ,
Social Security Administration (SSA) ,
Social Security Numbers ,
Temporary Work Visas ,
TN-Visas ,
USCIS ,
Visas
Seyfarth Synopsis: The outbreak of the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) has resulted in unprecedented travel restrictions, U.S. consular appointment cancellations, and changes to USCIS operations. To help navigate these...more
3/27/2020
/ Business Closures ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
E-Verify ,
Foreign Nationals ,
Form I-129 ,
Form I-9 ,
H-1B ,
I-140 ,
Immigration Procedures ,
PERM ,
Travel Restrictions ,
USCIS ,
Visas
Seyfarth Synopsis: Within the last few days, the Trump Administration has expanded an existing travel ban and initiated a new one related to the Coronavirus; similarly other countries have added entry restrictions to try to...more
2/6/2020
/ China ,
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
Executive Orders ,
Failure to Comply ,
Foreign Nationals ,
Immigrants ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Information Sharing ,
International Travel ,
Iran ,
Myanmar ,
Nigeria ,
Non-Immigrant Visas ,
North Korea ,
Public Health ,
Public Safety ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Risk Management ,
Somalia ,
Sudan ,
Syria ,
Tanzania ,
Travel Ban ,
Trump Administration ,
Venezuela ,
Verification Requirements ,
Visas ,
Yemen
Seyfarth Synopsis: USCIS released a revised version of Form I-9 that employers must use to verify identity and employment authorization of new hires effective September 18, 2017. There are no substantive changes from the...more
7/19/2017
/ E-Verify ,
Electronic Filing ,
Eligibility ,
Foreign Workers ,
Form I-9 ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Immigrants ,
Required Forms ,
USCIS ,
Verification Requirements ,
Visas
Seyfarth Synopsis: If Congress fails to pass a funding bill by midnight on Friday, April 28, resulting in a federal government shutdown, it would trigger numerous immigration-related ripple effects on employers, both large...more
4/25/2017
/ Customs and Border Protection ,
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
E-Verify ,
Foreign Nationals ,
Foreign Workers ,
Form I-9 ,
Government Shutdown ,
H-1B ,
Highly-Skilled Workers Visa ,
Immigrants ,
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Labor Condition Applications ,
Popular ,
USCIS ,
Visas