On December 1, 2020, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California granted a motion for summary judgment in favor of the plaintiffs that had requested to set aside two new regulations from the U.S....more
12/2/2020
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
E-3 ,
H-1B ,
H-1B1 ,
Interim Rule ,
Motion for Summary Judgment ,
NPRM ,
PERM ,
Prevailing Wages ,
Wage and Hour
On October 1, 2020, President Donald Trump signed into law a stopgap spending measure to fund the U.S. government through December 11, 2020. The spending measure includes a provision titled “Emergency Stopgap USCIS...more
On August 3, 2020, the Trump Administration issued an executive order (EO) directing the secretaries of the Departments of Labor and Homeland Security to “take action...to protect United States workers from any adverse...more
On July 14, 2020, by means of executive order, the Trump administration announced that it will no longer recognize Hong Kong as a distinct autonomous region as compared to the People’s Republic of China (PRC). The executive...more
On April 2, 2020, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced that it is holding off on plans to issue additional H-2B visas. DHS had previously agreed to make an additional 35,000 visas available to seasonal...more
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced on March 20, 2020, that it will relax the in-person verification requirements of the Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification for employers operating remotely due to...more
The continuing spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) throughout the United States has caused employers to consider implementing contingency plans to help curb the spread of the disease and protect their workforces. Many...more
3/17/2020
/ Business Travel ,
Consulate ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Emergency Management Plans ,
H-1B ,
State of Emergency ,
Traveling Employee ,
U.S. Embassies ,
US Department of State ,
Visas
In a 5–4 decision on February 21, 2020, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled in Wolf v. Cook County, Illinois (No. 19A905) in favor of staying an Illinois district court’s injunction blocking the Trump...more
3/4/2020
/ Concurrent Litigation ,
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
Foreign Nationals ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Immigration Reform ,
Irreparable Harm ,
Order to Stay ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Public Charge ,
SCOTUS ,
Trump Administration ,
US Department of State ,
USCIS ,
Wolf v Cook County
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has suspended New Yorkers’ eligibility to apply for or renew their enrollment in four Trusted Traveler Programs (TTPs) administered by Customs and Border Protection (CBP). The...more
On January 4, 2020, U.S. Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) detained and questioned more than 60 individuals of Iranian descent at a Washington State border crossing as they attempted to return to the United States from Canada....more
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has proposed a new fee schedule designed to mitigate an approximate $1.3 billion shortfall in the annual budget of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). According to DHS,...more
On November 12, 2019, the Supreme Court of the United States heard oral argument on the legality of the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) decision to terminate Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), an Obama-era...more
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has announced that it will automatically extend the validity of temporary protected status (TPS) documents and work authorization for qualified beneficiaries from El Salvador, Haiti,...more
11/14/2019
/ Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
El Salvador ,
Foreign Nationals ,
Form I-9 ,
Haiti ,
Honduras ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Injunctions ,
Nepal ,
Nicaragua ,
Sudan ,
Temporary Protected Status ,
Time Extensions
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has finalized plans to charge employers a $10 registration fee for each H-1B petition they submit for registration in the agency’s new electronic H-1B registration system. The...more
The Trump administration’s public charge rule is on hold, at least temporarily. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Department of State each introduced a version of the rule. ...more
On October 11, 2019, the U.S. District Court in the Southern District of New York ordered a preliminary injunction blocking the implementation, by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), of President Donald Trump’s...more
Implementation of the rule rescinding H-4 work authorization has been delayed yet again. According to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the proposed rule is not expected to be published in the Federal Register until...more
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) plans to charge employers a $10 registration fee - per H-1B candidate - to participate in its mandatory electronic H-1B registration system. The new fee will apply to all H-1B...more
On August 14, 2019, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) published the final version of its public charge rule in the Federal Register. According to a statement by DHS, the rule is intended to formalize the way in which...more
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has released its spring 2019 regulatory agenda, highlighting the agency’s rulemaking priorities through 2019. While many of the agenda items appear to be carryovers from agendas past,...more
6/13/2019
/ Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
Electronic Filing ,
Electronic Travel Authorization Program (eTA) ,
F-1 Visa ,
Filing Fees ,
H-1B ,
H-4 Spouses ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Proposed Regulation ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
USCIS ,
Visa Waiver Program ,
Visas
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) recently announced a plan to temporarily transfer approximately 750 Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers from the Canadian border to the Mexican border to help address the...more
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has agreed to stay the termination of temporary protected status (TPS) for Honduras and Nepal pending the outcome of Ramos v. Nielsen. In addition to the stay, DHS has also agreed to...more
5/22/2019
/ Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
E-Verify ,
El Salvador ,
Employment Authorization Documents (EAD) ,
Foreign Nationals ,
Form I-9 ,
Haiti ,
Honduras ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Nepal ,
Nicaragua ,
Sudan ,
Temporary Protected Status ,
Time Extensions
After a tumultuous filing period for the second half of fiscal year (FY) 2019, employers that rely on H-2B seasonal workers received some good news. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has agreed to issue up to...more
President Donald J. Trump has issued a memorandum aimed at reducing the number of visa overstays in the United States. The administration says those overstays undermine the integrity of the immigration system and harm the...more
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Office of Inspector General (OIG) has issued a fraud alert notifying the public of an ongoing phone scam whereby scammers dupe their victims into providing personal information...more