In an effort to curb the further spread of COVID-19, President Joe Biden has extended restrictions on US admission from the Schengen Area, the United Kingdom, Ireland, and Brazil as of January 26, and expanded the...more
US President Donald Trump has extended the entry ban on H-1B, H-2B, L-1, and specific J-1 statuses as well as certain immigrant entries through March 31, 2021. The original proclamations were set to expire on December 31,...more
1/7/2021
/ Foreign Workers ,
H-1B ,
H-2B ,
Highly-Skilled Workers Visa ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Immigrants ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Immigration Reform ,
J-1 Visas ,
L-1 ,
Trump Administration ,
USCIS ,
Visas
With successive presidential proclamations and executive orders in recent months, there can be considerable confusion around what type of immigration petitions and applications can be filed, and who can enter the United...more
8/12/2020
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Foreign Nationals ,
Foreign Workers ,
H-1B ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Immigrants ,
Immigration Procedures ,
L-1 Visas ,
O Visa Petitions ,
PERM ,
TN-Visas ,
Travel Restrictions ,
USCIS ,
Visa Applications ,
Visas
A federal court on July 29 temporarily halted the public charge rule during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, while the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) on July 31 released a new proposed schedule with...more
The Student and Exchange Visitor Program, a part of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, on July 7 announced several modifications to temporary exemptions for nonimmigrant students taking online classes due to the...more
7/9/2020
/ Colleges ,
Customs and Border Protection ,
F-1 Visa ,
Foreign Exchange Students ,
Foreign Students ,
Immigration Procedures ,
M-1 Visa ,
Online Education ,
Trump Administration ,
Universities ,
US Department of State
President Donald Trump on June 22 issued an amendment to the Presidential Proclamation previously released in April, which suspended the admission of immigrant aliens to the United States. The amendment limits entry into the...more
The US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced Friday that it will resume premium processing for certain petitions in phases over the next month....more
In response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, on April 1, US Citizenship and Immigration Services confirmed that its offices would remain closed to the public until at least May 3....more
US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued a statement on March 13, 2020, clarifying that receipt of any treatment or preventive services related to the coronavirus (COVID-19) will not negatively affect an...more
Due to Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced today that applicants and petitioners who receive a Request of Evidence (RFE) or Notice of Intent to Deny (NOID) dated between...more
In response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) on March 25, 2020, extended suspension of routine in-person services until at least April 7, 2020. USCIS had previously...more
Consular sections of US embassies around the world, as well as US Citizenship and Immigration Services, are beginning to announce cancellations of certain in-person services, including routine nonimmigrant and immigrant visa...more
President Donald Trump expanded the ban on March 14 on US admissions to include all individuals who have traveled to the United Kingdom and/or Ireland during the 14-day period preceding their anticipated entry to the country....more
3/16/2020
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Crisis Management ,
Emergency Management Plans ,
Foreign Nationals ,
Health and Safety ,
Immigrants ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Public Health ,
Screening Procedures ,
Travel Ban ,
Travel Restrictions ,
Trump Administration
As employers prepare plans to handle possible alternate employee work arrangements in light of the 2019 Novel Coronavirus outbreak, it is important to keep in mind how these plans and policies—including telework policies—may...more
3/5/2020
/ Best Practices ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Counsel ,
E-1 ,
E-2 ,
E-3 ,
F-1 Visa ,
Foreign Nationals ,
Foreign Workers ,
H-1B ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Immigrants ,
Immigration Enforcement ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Infectious Diseases ,
L-1 Visas ,
Labor Condition Applications ,
O Visa Petitions ,
OPT ,
Public Health ,
Remote Working ,
Risk Management ,
SEVIS ,
STEM ,
Telecommuting ,
TN-Visas ,
USCIS ,
Visas
A new US Department of State policy that took effect on January 24 makes it more difficult for pregnant women to obtain B nonimmigrant visas to visit the United States if the consular officer has reason to believe that the...more
1/30/2020
/ ESTA ,
Foreign Nationals ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Immigration Reform ,
Non-Immigrant Visas ,
Path To Citizenship ,
Pregnancy ,
Tourism ,
US Department of State ,
Visa Applications ,
Visa Waiver Program ,
Visas
The US District Court for the District of Oregon on November 2 issued a temporary restraining order (TRO) to block the new health insurance requirement for immigrant visa applicants from taking effect on November 3, 2019. As...more
The US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is preparing to implement a new rule next week that makes it more difficult for foreign nationals to extend their stay in the country or receive permanent residence if they...more
The US Department of Homeland Security makes it tougher for foreign nationals who have received public benefits to adjust, renew, or extend their status in the United States. Applicants can be refused temporary or permanent...more
Now is the time for employers to assess their FY2020 H-1B needs and start preparing their petitions for submission on April 1. It is very likely that the cap for H-1B petitions will be reached in early April of this year, so...more
A registration program proposed by US Citizenship and Immigration Services would eliminate the need for paper filings prior to the lottery process for cap-subject H-1B petitions, and increase the chance of selection for...more
US Citizenship and Immigration Services has announced without warning that it will extend its suspension of premium processing for cap-subject H-1B petitions and, beginning September 11, expand it to include additional H-1B...more
The announcement from the US Citizenship and Immigration Services came as a surprise and could create significant uncertainty for H-1B petitioners and the beneficiaries of cap-subject H-1B petitions....more
Most operations are either fee-based or considered “essential” and are therefore expected to proceed normally.
Barring passage of an eleventh-hour spending bill, the current continuing resolution will expire on January 20...more
The travel ban will go into force regarding “foreign nationals who lack any bona fide relationship with a person or entity in the United States.”...more
Two sections of the March 6 executive order regarding US travel by nationals of certain countries and refugee admissions were enjoined pending further litigation....more