On June 9, 2025, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued a new policy memorandum instructing USCIS officers to adjudicate all pending applications filed by individuals paroled into the United...more
On Monday, January 20, the first day of the new presidential term, President Donald Trump issued a flurry of new executive orders related to immigration action items. Many of these orders address humanitarian and southern...more
1/23/2025
/ Border Security ,
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Executive Orders ,
Foreign Nationals ,
Foreign Workers ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Immigration Reform ,
Refugees ,
Sanctuary Cities ,
United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) ,
USCIS ,
Visas
On June 20, 2024, USCIS extended the validity of certain work permits issued to Temporary Protected Status (TPS) beneficiaries under the TPS designations for El Salvador, Honduras, Nepal, Nicaragua, and Sudan. All impacted...more
USCIS has officially announced the dates for the fiscal year (FY) 2025 H-1B cap lottery, which will open on Wednesday, March 6, 2024 at noon ET and end on Friday, March 22, 2024, at noon ET. This annual lottery is meant to...more
2/15/2024
/ Foreign Workers ,
H-1B ,
Highly-Skilled Workers Visa ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Immigrants ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Job Applicants ,
Lottery ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
USCIS ,
Visa Caps ,
Visas
In anticipation of a possible 2023 government shutdown this weekend, many employers are wondering how a shuttering of U.S. government agencies for budgetary reasons could impact or delay their U.S. immigration processing,...more
10/2/2023
/ Administrative Agencies ,
Customs and Border Protection ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Federal Budget ,
Federal Funding ,
Government Shutdown ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Regulatory Agencies ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
US Department of State ,
USCIS
A lawsuit filed on August 10, 2023 against the U.S. Department of Homeland Security alleges that the agency violated the Administrative Procedure Act (APA), 5 U.S.C. § 702, by exceeding its authority and determining that a...more
9/6/2023
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
Employment Authorization Documents (EAD) ,
F-1 Visa ,
Foreign Nationals ,
Foreign Students ,
Foreign Workers ,
H-1B ,
Immigrants ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Information Technology ,
OPT ,
Regulatory Violations ,
STEM ,
Visas
U.S. immigration policy and the Biden administration’s response to the ongoing migration crisis have been hot topics in the news. We break down potential considerations for employers as the pandemic-era immigration policy...more
5/16/2023
/ Asylum ,
Biden Administration ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Eligibility Verification ,
Form I-9 ,
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) ,
Immigration Enforcement ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Public Health Emergency ,
Undocumented Immigrants ,
USCIS
On March 3, 2023, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued new policy guidance, Evaluating Eligibility for O-1B Visa Category, which describes new updates made to the USCIS Policy Manual. The new USCIS...more
On April 26, 2021, the U.S. Department of State issued updated guidance on “National Interest Exceptions for Certain Travelers from China, Iran, Brazil, South Africa, Schengen Area, United Kingdom, and Ireland,” which should...more
The Biden administration decided to let a highly publicized temporary worker visa ban expire on March 31, 2021. Proclamation 10052 of June 22, 2020 (“Proclamation Suspending Entry of Aliens Who Present a Risk to the U.S....more
4/2/2021
/ E-Verify ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Eligibility Verification ,
Foreign Workers ,
Form I-9 ,
H-1B ,
H-2B ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Immigrants ,
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) ,
Immigration Procedures ,
L-1 Visas ,
Required Forms ,
Temporary Work Visas ,
USCIS
Last week, President Biden’s comprehensive immigration reform proposal, the U.S. Citizenship Act of 2021, was introduced in the House and Senate. As officials in the administration initially reported, the provisions for the...more
3/4/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
DACA ,
F-1 Visa ,
Foreign Nationals ,
Foreign Workers ,
H-4 ,
Immigrants ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Immigration Reform ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Path To Citizenship ,
Popular ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
STEM ,
Temporary Protected Status ,
Visas
On February 24, 2021 President Biden officially lifted restrictions on entry to the United States stemming from former President Trump’s Proclamation 10014 of April 22, 2020 (“Suspension of Entry of Immigrants Who Present a...more
3/3/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Diversity Lottery ,
Foreign Nationals ,
Foreign Workers ,
Immigrants ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Immigration Reform ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Travel Ban ,
Visas
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) will delay the effective date of a rule issued two weeks prior to the end of the Trump administration that seeks to change how H-1B “specialty occupation” visa applications are...more
2/8/2021
/ Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
Final Rules ,
Foreign Workers ,
H-1B ,
Highly-Skilled Workers Visa ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Immigrants ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Immigration Reform ,
USCIS ,
Visa Applications ,
Visas
Former President Trump’s administration made countless policy changes that have transformed the U.S. immigration landscape over the past four years. With President Biden now in office after running a presidential campaign...more
1/25/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
DACA ,
Executive Orders ,
Foreign Workers ,
H-1B ,
Highly-Skilled Workers Visa ,
Immigrants ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Immigration Reform ,
Infectious Diseases ,
L-1 Visas ,
Muslims ,
Popular ,
Regulatory Freeze ,
Travel Ban ,
Visas
On January 18, 2021, the Trump administration officially lifted widespread travel restrictions barring the entry of foreign national travelers physically present in the 26 countries of the European Schengen Area, the United...more
1/20/2021
/ Brazil ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
EU ,
Foreign Nationals ,
H-1B ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Infectious Diseases ,
International Travel ,
Ireland ,
L-1 Visas ,
Travel Ban ,
UK ,
Virus Testing ,
Visas
Last summer the state of Florida enacted a new law requiring public and private employers to comply with new state E-Verify requirements starting January 1, 2021....more
In a much-anticipated decision, on December 1, 2020, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California ruled in favor of business and university plaintiffs (led by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce), setting aside...more
12/3/2020
/ Chamber of Commerce ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Domestic Hiring Policy ,
Foreign Workers ,
Good Cause ,
H-1B ,
Highly-Skilled Workers Visa ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Immigration and Nationality Act ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Immigration Reform ,
Motion to Set Aside the Verdict ,
Trump Administration ,
USCIS ,
Visas
While the U.S. presidential election has come to an end, we continue to monitor changes in the Trump administration’s handling of ongoing agency immigration reforms through the end of 2020 and into early 2021 that may impact...more
11/24/2020
/ Biden Administration ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Foreign Workers ,
H-1B ,
Highly-Skilled Workers Visa ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Immigrants ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Immigration Reform ,
Popular ,
Trump Administration ,
USCIS ,
Visas
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) have released two new interim final rules affecting immigration. Both rules immediately impact skilled foreign workers in the H-1B specialty...more
The U.S. Departments of Labor (DOL) and Homeland Security (DHS) have jointly announced a new initiative to share data and records on immigrant and nonimmigrant petitions and workers....more
8/6/2020
/ Anti-Fraud Provisions ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Data-Sharing ,
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
EB-2 ,
EB-3 ,
Foreign Workers ,
H-1B ,
Highly-Skilled Workers Visa ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Immigration Procedures ,
PERM ,
USCIS ,
Visas
On June 22, 2020, and citing economic recovery needs and unemployment due to the pandemic, President Trump issued “Proclamation Suspending Entry of Aliens Who Present a Risk to the U.S. Labor Market Following the Coronavirus...more
On May 29, 2020, the White House issued a new proclamation on the admission of certain nonimmigrant students and researchers from the People’s Republic of China (PRC). The proclamation took effect on June 1, 2020, and will...more
6/3/2020
/ China ,
F-1 Visa ,
Immigrants ,
Immigration Procedures ,
J-1 Visas ,
National Security ,
Non-Immigrant Visas ,
Nuclear Power ,
Renewable Energy ,
Research and Development ,
Students ,
Trump Administration ,
Visas
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has announced new guidance for Form I-9 completion, including implementing a temporary policy for acceptance of List B expired documents in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. List B...more
Updated April 22, 2020: In live remarks during an April 21, 2020 coronavirus task force press briefing, the president provided more detail on the scope of the entry restrictions in the new executive order. Specifically, he...more
On April 10, 2020, the president issued a new memorandum, Memorandum on Visa Sanctions, focused on immigration compliance measures and enforcement....more