Nonimmigrant spouses of H-1B and L-1 visa holders with long-pending EAD applications have finally received some relief. Based upon a settlement in Shergill v. Mayokas, USCIS is making major policy changes. Going forward,...more
The country dodged a government shutdown at the end of September, but we may be faced with the same problem on December 3, 2021, when Congress will again have to fund the government. Because we often come close to a shutdown...more
USCIS made more random Cap H-1B selections on July 28, 2021. Notifications started to go out today – July 29, 2021. Due to a glitch in the USCIS system, attorneys do not yet have access to the notices (although some employers...more
The United States Citizenship Act was introduced on February 18, 2021. Sponsored in the House by Representative Linda Sanchez (D-Calif) and in the Senate by Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), the bill calls for broad immigration...more
2/23/2021
/ Citizenship ,
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employment Authorization Documents (EAD) ,
Green Cards ,
Highly-Skilled Workers Visa ,
Immigration Reform ,
Joe Biden ,
STEM ,
Temporary Protected Status ,
Undocumented Immigrants ,
Visas
USCIS has announced that the Cap H-1B Electronic Registration will open on March 9, 2021 at noon EST and will close on March 25, 2021 at noon EST.
The process will mirror last year’s process.
USCIS also announced its...more
USCIS has released its final rule on the modification of the H-1B cap selection process (“Modification Rule”) to prioritize petitions with the highest wage levels in the Federal Register.
Unless the Biden administration...more
On December 1, Judge Jeffrey S. White granted the plaintiffs’ request to set aside two separate rules issued by the Trump Administration that would have drastically undermined the ability of employers to utilize both the H-1B...more
Having instituted a new on-line registration process for Cap H-1B petitions last year, on November 2, 2020, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued a notice of proposed rulemaking to replace the random selection...more
Business groups, universities, and technology consulting firms have filed suits seeking to enjoin the new rules on H-1B and PERM labor certification programs issued by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the...more
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has released yet another rule that will make it harder and more costly for U.S. companies to employ highly skilled workers.
As a companion regulation to the “Strengthening Wage...more
Premium processing fees are going up (the bad news), but premium processing will be available for more types of cases (the good news) according to changes included in the recently passed Continuing Resolution (CR) that will...more
Judge Jeffrey S. White has granted the plaintiffs’ request for preliminary injunction preventing the continued enforcement of the Presidential Proclamation suspending the entry of certain individuals in H, L, and J status...more
While it typically uses the “Final Action Dates” chart for accepting adjustment of status application filings, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has announced that for October 2020, it will allow...more
The “Strengthening the H-1B Nonimmigrant Visa Classification Program” rule has been submitted to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) for review and could be published by the end of the year – or earlier....more
Acting quickly, as he promised, Judge Ahmit P. Mehta in Gomez v. Trump, recognized the particular urgency of the Diversity Visa plaintiffs’ situation and granted them injunctive relief. Judge Mehta ordered the Department of...more
Employers need to ready themselves for investigations from the Department of Labor (DOL) into the use of H-1B visas.
Without Congressional oversight or legislative changes, the Trump Administration has changed the policies...more
The White House has issued an amendment to the June 22, 2020, Presidential “Proclamation Suspending Entry of Aliens Who Present a Risk to the U.S. Labor Market Following the Coronavirus Outbreak” to clarify an issue regarding...more
The day before his previous Proclamation on immigrant visa was to expire, President Donald Trump signed the “Proclamation Suspending Entry of Aliens Who Present a Risk to the U.S. Labor Market Following the Coronavirus...more
6/24/2020
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Executive Orders ,
Foreign Workers ,
H-1B ,
H-2B ,
J-1 Visas ,
L-1 Visas ,
PERM ,
Presidential Proclamations ,
Trump Administration ,
Visas ,
Work Visas
Additional restrictions on entry into the U.S. may be expected soon. Initial indications are that the Administration is considering barring H-1B, H-2B, L-1, and J-1 status among other non-immigrant visa categories.
On...more
In addition to the COVID-19-related travel restrictions and consular closures, Chinese graduate students and post-doctoral researchers will now face another hurdle in coming to the U.S. As of noon (EDT) on June 1, 2020,...more
The Department of Homeland Security announced that on May 14, 2020, a new temporary rule will go into effect giving employers in the food processing industry more flexibility to hire H-2B workers who are essential to...more
The administration appears to be close to issuing an executive order to broadly and temporarily suspend all immigration to the United States.
On the evening of April 20, 2020, President Donald Trump tweeted:
In light of...more
Recognizing that current travel restrictions and the closure of consulates and embassies abroad has made it nearly impossible to bring new H-2A workers to the United States, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is...more
It is time to start preparing for the upcoming H-1B visa lottery, which begins April 1, 2020, and will be the first one to require an electronic registration for each case.
To be eligible to file a cap-subject H-1B...more
2/3/2020
/ Foreign Workers ,
H-1B ,
Highly-Skilled Workers Visa ,
Immigrants ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Lottery ,
OPT ,
STEM ,
USCIS ,
Visa Caps ,
Visas
Poland will become the 39th member of the Visa Waiver Program (VWP) on November 11, 2019.
Polish citizens and nationals will be able to apply to travel to the United States for tourism or business purposes for up to 90...more