U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced the reinstatement of the premium processing program for a limited number of H-1B petitions. Premium processing will resume on January 28, 2019, for fiscal year (FY)...more
The holiday season may already feel like a distant memory and five-day workweeks may once again be the norm, but not everything is back to business as usual for U.S. employers this January. E-Verify, the electronic system...more
There may be a partial government shutdown if Congress cannot come to an agreement on a spending bill before midnight on December 21, 2018. Without an agreement, roughly 25 percent of funding for the federal government will...more
On December 6, 2018, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) reached the statutory numerical limit or “cap” on the number of petitions for temporary nonagricultural workers “who may be issued H-2B visas or otherwise...more
The busy holiday travel season is upon us. With it comes the potential for longer processing times and altered holiday schedules at airports and U.S. consulates and embassies abroad. Foreign nationals who plan to travel...more
U.S. Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) is encouraging international travelers to apply for Electronic System Travel Authorization (ESTA) as early as possible, but no later than 72 hours before they plan to travel to the United...more
On December 3, 2018, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) introduced a new plan that would require employers to pre-register all potential H-1B candidates for selection in the H-1B lottery. Pursuant to the proposal,...more
On November 16, 2018, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Director L. Francis Cissna suggested that USCIS will discontinue its policy of denying certain pending I-131, Application for Travel Document...more
A federal judge has blocked the Trump administration’s recent immigration policy barring individuals from seeking asylum if they entered the United States anywhere other than at an official port of entry. Judge Jon S. Tigar...more
A three-judge panel for the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld a nationwide preliminary injunction issued by a California district court, temporarily preventing the Trump administration from ending the Deferred Action...more
On October 31, 2018, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced in the Federal Register that it will continue to honor, at least temporarily, the temporary protected status (TPS) designations for nationals of Sudan,...more
On October 17, 2018, Canada’s federal Cannabis Act went into effect, legalizing the use and possession of a limited amount of marijuana for adults over the age of 18. The new law makes good on a campaign promise by Prime...more
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) released its fall 2018 regulatory agenda, laying out its rulemaking goals through 2019. The published timeline is aspirational and does not represent a strict schedule....more
10/26/2018
/ B-1 ,
B-2 ,
Biometric Information ,
Comment Period ,
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
F-1 Visa ,
Facial Recognition Technology ,
H-1B ,
H-4 Spouses ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Proposed Regulation ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Students ,
USCIS
The United States has reached a new trade deal with Canada and Mexico, replacing the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) with the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA). The new deal is largely focused on...more
Beginning October 1, 2018, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) will begin a staggered rollout of a new notice to appear (NTA) policy. The first phase of the rollout does not include employment-based petitions....more
There were no lazy days of summer to be had in 2018—at least not when it came to the introduction of new immigration policies by the Trump administration. The momentum with which it announced and implemented new policies over...more
9/21/2018
/ Corporate Counsel ,
Deportation ,
Foreign Nationals ,
Foreign Workers ,
H-1B ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Notice to Appear ,
OPT ,
Popular ,
STEM ,
Students ,
USCIS ,
Visas
Chief executive officers (CEOs) from more than 50 companies signed a letter sent to Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen expressing their concern about the current course of immigration policy in the United States....more
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced the extension of its suspension of premium processing for all H-1B cases subject to the annual quota (also known as “cap cases”) for fiscal year 2019. The suspension...more
A recent court filing by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) reaffirms the agency’s commitment to rescinding the H-4 rule, which provides work authorization to eligible spouses of certain H-1B visa holders who are...more
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has revised its website and announced that it will now allow F-1 students participating in the optional practical training (OPT) extension for individuals in science,...more
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has issued a revised final policy memorandum updating the recently implemented unlawful presence policy that changed the way USCIS calculated unlawful presence for foreign...more
On August 3, 2018, Judge John D. Bates of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia ruled in favor of fully reinstating the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program but stayed the effective date of the...more
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that it is postponing the enforcement of its June 28, 2018, policy memorandum allowing USCIS officers to issue notices to appear to those deemed unlawfully present...more
The rate of requests for evidence (RFEs) and denials issued for H-1B and L-1 petitions by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is up considerably, according to a new report by the National Foundation for American...more
A recent announcement by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) shows that the agency is making good on its promise to quadruple the number of worksite inspections it conducts. Data released by ICE shows that between...more