On December 31, 2020, the Trump Administration extended the proclamations suspending entry of foreign nationals outside the United States seeking certain nonimmigrant (temporary) work visas and immigrant visas (green cards)...more
On December 1, 2020, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California set aside the Interim Final Rules issued in October 2020 by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security...more
Online registration for the 2022 DV Lottery (DV2022) opened Wednesday, October 7, 2020 at 12:00 PM (noon) Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) (GMT-4), and closes Tuesday, November 10, 2020 at 12:00 PM (noon) Eastern Standard Time...more
On October 8, 2020, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) published an Interim Final Rule (IFR) that significantly revises the "specialty occupation" H-1B legal standard, among other changes. The regulation is...more
On October 8, 2020, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) published an Interim Final Rule (IFR) that impacts prevailing wage programs for H-1B, H-1B1, and E-3 temporary classifications, as well as for certain permanent residence...more
On June 22, 2020, President Trump issued a Presidential Proclamation temporarily suspending entry into the United States of foreign nationals seeking certain nonimmigrant (temporary) work visas. The Proclamation also extends...more
On April 22, 2020, President Trump issued a Presidential Proclamation temporarily suspending entry into the United States of certain foreign nationals outside the United States seeking immigrant visas. The Proclamation has...more
COVID-19 is rapidly affecting business immigration in multiple ways. Below is an outline of key impacts to date.
International Travel-
•Most U.S. embassies and consular posts have temporarily suspended visa...more
3/27/2020
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
ESTA ,
H-1B ,
Immigration Procedures ,
PERM ,
Travel Ban ,
Travel Restrictions ,
Traveling Employee ,
USCIS ,
Visa Waiver Program ,
Visas ,
Work Permits
USCIS has announced that it will utilize a new electronic registration process for FY2021 H-1B cap petitions. Registrations must be submitted from March 1 through March 20, 2020. USCIS will charge a $10 registration fee. We...more
H-1B season is underway! U.S. employers can file for new H-1B visas on behalf of prospective or existing employees beginning April 1, 2019. The anticipated window for filing new H-1B petitions under the USCIS H-1B quota for...more
There is still time to register for the 2020 Diversity Immigrant Visa Program (DV Lottery). Online registration for the DV Lottery began Wednesday, October 3, 2018 at 12:00 noon, Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) (GMT-4), and will...more
On April 6, 2018, USCIS announced that the H-1B cap for FY2019 was reached within the five business day filing window running from April 2-6, 2018. This includes both the U.S. advanced degree cap preference limit of 20,000...more
The U.S. Department of State (DOS) has announced registration dates for the Diversity Immigrant Visa Program 2019 (DV Lottery). Online registration for the DV Lottery opens Tuesday, October 3, 2017 at 12:00 noon, Eastern...more
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that it has resumed premium processing for all H-1B petitions subject to the Fiscal Year (FY) 2018 cap.
Who can use Premium Processing?
Premium...more
On April 18, 2017, President Trump signed an Executive Order (EO) entitled "Buy American and Hire American," which addresses the H-1B visa program, among other topics.
Increased Enforcement; New Regulations and Guidance...more
On April 7, 2017, USCIS announced that the H-1B cap for fiscal year 2018 was reached within the five business day filing window running from April 3-7, 2017. This includes both the U.S. advanced degree cap preference limit of...more
The Trump Administration issued a new Executive Order (EO) on March 6, revoking the January 27 Executive Order banning U.S. entry of nationals from seven countries (see prior news alert here).
The new EO becomes effective...more
On March 3, 2017, USCIS announced it will suspend Premium Processing of all H-1B petitions filed April 3, 2017 and later. The suspension may last up to six months, and is intended to reduce the processing times for H-1B...more
February 28, 2017 U.S. employers that wish to pursue new H-1B visas on behalf of prospective or existing employees should do so as soon as possible, and contact counsel for assistance if desired. April 3 through 7, 2017 is...more
3/2/2017
/ Adjustment of Status ,
E-3 ,
Employment Authorization Documents (EAD) ,
F-1 Visa ,
Filing Deadlines ,
Foreign Nationals ,
H-1B ,
J-1 Visas ,
Visa Caps ,
Visas ,
Work Visas