The U.S. Supreme Court on June 18, 2020, blocked the Trump administration’s attempt to rescind the DACA program, which protects hundreds of thousands of immigrants brought to the United States as children from potential...more
6/22/2020
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Arbitrary and Capricious ,
Citizenship ,
DACA ,
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
Department of Homeland Security v Regents of the University of California ,
Educational Institutions ,
Path To Citizenship ,
Rescission ,
SCOTUS ,
Trump Administration ,
Trump v NAACP ,
USCIS ,
Wolf v Vidal ,
Work Permits
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
As many employers see shifts in business practices to allow teleworking to facilitate continued employee safety during the COVID-19 outbreak, employers of nonimmigrant workers should be mindful of needed steps for continued...more
This article briefly summarizes the recent governmental guidance on Form I-9 requirements, travel, and visa processing and services, among other matters, in response to the national emergency caused by the COVID-19 outbreak....more
3/20/2020
/ Border Security ,
Canada ,
Consulate ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Cross-Border ,
Foreign Nationals ,
Foreign Workers ,
Form I-9 ,
Immigrants ,
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Mexico ,
Travel Restrictions ,
U.S. Embassies ,
United States ,
USCIS
Littler’s Global Mobility and Immigration practice group assists employers as they face unprecedented day-to-day business challenges, including an unpredictable economy, stepped-up government enforcement, and myriad...more
3/13/2020
/ Best Practices ,
Business Travel ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Filing Requirements ,
Foreign Workers ,
Form I-9 ,
Health and Safety ,
Immigrants ,
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Infectious Diseases ,
No-Match Letters ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Public Charge ,
Public Health ,
Raids ,
Required Forms ,
Social Security Administration (SSA) ,
Traveling Employee ,
USCIS ,
W-4
In late 2019, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that it would implement the registration process for the fiscal year 2021 H-1B cap. The H-1B visa is used by businesses that want to employ foreign...more
2/24/2020
/ Conditional Job Offers ,
Deadlines ,
Foreign Workers ,
H-1B ,
Highly-Skilled Workers Visa ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Immigrants ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Immigration Reform ,
Job Applicants ,
OPT ,
Registration Requirement ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
USCIS ,
Visa Caps ,
Visas
On January 31, 2020, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) published a new edition of Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification, approved by the Office of Management and Budget on October 21, 2019....more
On December 6, 2019, USCIS announced that it officially plans to implement the electronic H-1B registration process for petitioners seeking to submit H-1B cap-subject petitions for FY 2021....more
12/17/2019
/ Beneficiary Designations ,
Electronic Filing ,
Employee Mobility ,
Employer Identification Number (EIN) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Foreign Workers ,
H-1B ,
Highly-Skilled Workers Visa ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Immigration Reform ,
Labor Condition Applications ,
Lottery ,
Registration Requirement ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Strategic Planning ,
USCIS ,
Visa Caps ,
Visas ,
Work Permits
Labor Day became an official federal holiday in 1894. Although the world of employment has obviously changed significantly over the last 125 years, the pace of workplace transformation seems to have accelerated in the past...more
9/3/2019
/ #MeToo ,
Affordable Care Act ,
Ban the Box ,
Employer Mandates ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Health Insurance ,
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Independent Contractors ,
Joint Employers ,
Labor Regulations ,
Labor Shortage ,
LGBTQ ,
Marijuana ,
Misclassification ,
OFCCP ,
Pay Equity Laws ,
Rate of Pay ,
Right to Work ,
Salary/Wage History ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Silica ,
Transgender ,
Unemployment ,
USCIS ,
Visas ,
Wage and Hour ,
Workplace Safety
On April 25, 2019, the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) issued a practice alert announcing that the nationwide immigration association had “been in discussions with CBP [Customs and Border Protection] related...more
5/8/2019
/ Canada ,
Employee Transfers ,
Foreign Nationals ,
Foreign Workers ,
Immigrants ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Immigration Reform ,
L-1 Visas ,
NAFTA ,
Non-Immigrant Visas ,
Port of Entry ,
Renewal Options ,
USCIS ,
Visas
Employers seeking to sponsor H-1B workers for fiscal year 2020 can begin filing petitions on April 1, 2019, for a start date of October 1, 2019. The H-1B visa is used by businesses that want to employ foreign nationals to...more
E-Verify, the electronic immigration system that employers use to confirm employees’ eligibility to work in the United States, has resumed operation. E-Verify was unavailable during the longest federal government shutdown in...more
1/30/2019
/ Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
E-Verify ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Eligibility Verification ,
Federal Budget ,
Federal Contractors ,
Federal Funding ,
Foreign Workers ,
Form I-9 ,
Government Shutdown ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Immigrants ,
Required Forms ,
Trump Administration ,
US-Mexico Border Wall ,
USCIS
When the federal government partially shut down on December 22, 2018, so did E-Verify, the online system for verifying a new hire’s eligibility to work. Employers that are obligated to or have chosen to use E-Verify have...more
1/15/2019
/ E-Verify ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Eligibility Verification ,
Federal Budget ,
Federal Funding ,
Foreign Workers ,
Form I-9 ,
Government Shutdown ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Immigrants ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Trump Administration ,
US-Mexico Border Wall ,
USCIS
Earlier this month, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued a Policy Memorandum providing guidance on Executive Order 13768, which called for enhancing public safety in the United States through...more
7/24/2018
/ Executive Orders ,
Foreign Nationals ,
Foreign Workers ,
Immigrants ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Immigration Reform ,
National Security ,
Policy Memorandums ,
Terrorist Threats ,
Trump Administration ,
USCIS ,
Visas
On July 4, 2018, the U.S. Department of Justice obtained a partial victory in its challenge of California’s Immigrant Worker Protection Act ("Assembly Bill 450" or "AB 450") and other sanctuary laws when a California federal...more
7/16/2018
/ Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Deportation ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Federal v State Law Application ,
Immigrant Protection Laws ,
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) ,
Immigration Enforcement ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Immigration Reform ,
Motion To Enjoin ,
Privately Held Corporations ,
Sanctuary Cities ,
State and Local Government ,
Supremacy Clause ,
Trump Administration ,
USCIS ,
Worker Protection Standard ,
Workplace Investigations
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) have partnered to establish a framework to efficiently manage and maintain information sharing to better detect and eliminate fraud, abuse,...more
5/17/2018
/ Buy American Act ,
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Domestic Hiring Policy ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Foreign Workers ,
Fraud and Abuse ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Immigrants ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Immigration Reform ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Trump Administration ,
USCIS ,
Visas
The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) recently made subtle changes to its eligibility definitions for companies seeking to employ STEM OPT F-1 visa holders. The subtle changes have major implications...more
Employers seeking to sponsor H-1B workers for Fiscal Year 2019 can begin filing petitions on April 2, 2018 (April 1 is a Sunday), for a start date of October 1, 2018. ...more
2/9/2018
/ Corporate Counsel ,
Filing Deadlines ,
Foreign Workers ,
H-1B ,
Highly-Skilled Workers Visa ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Immigrants ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Labor Condition Applications ,
Lottery ,
USCIS ,
Visa Caps ,
Visas
On October 23, 2017, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) rescinded policy guidelines in effect since April 2004 regarding requests for the extension of certain nonimmigrant visas (i.e., visa petitions...more
As a reminder, on July 17, 2017, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) released a revised version of the Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification, which employers must begin using no later than...more
Recent actions by the U.S. Department of State (DOS) and Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) indicate that employers seeking to hire foreign workers will likely face a more stringent visa approval process....more
8/18/2017
/ Buy America ,
Foreign Affairs Manual (FAM) ,
Foreign Workers ,
H-1B ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Immigrants ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Immigration Reform ,
L-1B ,
Trump Administration ,
USCIS ,
Visas
On May 4, 2017, Congress passed an appropriations bill to fund the federal government through Fiscal Year 2017. The bill also extended four immigration programs through September 30, 2017. These programs are E-VERIFY, the...more
5/11/2017
/ Appropriations Bill ,
Conrad 30 Waiver ,
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
E-Verify ,
EB-5 ,
EB-5 Regional Centers ,
Federal Budget ,
H-2B ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Legislative Agendas ,
USCIS ,
Visa Caps ,
Visas
On April 18, 2017, President Trump signed the "Buy American and Hire American" executive order (EO), which addresses H-IB visas. The EO calls for the application of existing U.S. laws to visa recipients and the revaluation...more
4/19/2017
/ Buy America ,
Executive Orders ,
Foreign Workers ,
H-1B ,
Highly-Skilled Workers Visa ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Immigrants ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Immigration Reform ,
Lottery ,
Trump Administration ,
USCIS ,
Visa Caps ,
Visas
On March 31, 2017, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued a policy memorandum that provides new guidance regarding H-1B visas for computer-related positions. This document supersedes and rescinds a...more
This is a reminder that, as of March 31, 2017, employers will not have access to E-Verify records that were created on or before Dec. 31, 2006.
E-Verify is an internet-based system that compares information from the...more