The U.S. Supreme Court has lifted an April 14, 2025, temporary injunction blocking the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS’s) decision to terminate humanitarian parole for individuals from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and...more
6/2/2025
/ Appeals ,
Cuba ,
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
Employment Authorization Documents (EAD) ,
Foreign Nationals ,
Haiti ,
Humanitarian Assistance ,
Immigrants ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Immigration Reform ,
Injunctions ,
Judicial Authority ,
Nicaragua ,
Noem v National TPS Alliance ,
Parole ,
SCOTUS ,
Stays ,
Venezuela ,
Visas
On May 22, 2025, Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem ordered the Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”) to terminate Harvard University’s Student and Exchange Visitor Program (“SEVP”) certification for alleged...more
5/27/2025
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
Educational Institutions ,
Foreign Nationals ,
Foreign Students ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Injunctions ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Students ,
Terrorist Organizations ,
Universities ,
Visas
Following his inauguration on Jan. 20, 2025, President Trump issued a number of immigration-related Executive Orders (EOs) sure to have impact on employers and their business operations. So far, the focus in the media has...more
1/30/2025
/ Citizenship ,
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Authorization Documents (EAD) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Executive Orders ,
Foreign Workers ,
Green Cards ,
H-1B ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Migrants ,
Temporary Protected Status ,
Trump Administration ,
Undocumented Immigrants ,
USCIS ,
Vetting ,
Visas
Humanitarian parole programs for individuals from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela have been cancelled by President Trump’s Executive Order (EO) on Securing Our Borders. USCIS’s Uniting for Ukraine application process has...more
1/29/2025
/ Advance Parole Documents ,
DACA ,
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
Executive Orders ,
Foreign Nationals ,
Immigrants ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Temporary Protected Status ,
Trump Administration ,
USCIS ,
Visas
As many expected, President Donald Trump has not only issued Executive Orders (EOs), but he has also rescinded many EOs issued by the Biden Administration concerning immigration, including the following: “The Restoring Faith...more
1/24/2025
/ Biden Administration ,
Compliance ,
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Donald Trump ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Employment Policies ,
Enforcement ,
Executive Orders ,
Foreign Workers ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Immigration Reform ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Rescission ,
Trump Administration ,
USCIS ,
Visas
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) updated its policy guidance on Jan. 15, 2025, to clarify how it will evaluate candidates’ eligibility for second preference employment based (EB-2) immigrant visa with a...more
This order directs federal agencies to refuse to recognize U.S. citizenship for children born in the United States to mothers in the country illegally, or who are present in the United States on non-immigrant visas, if the...more
1/21/2025
/ Cartels ,
Catch and Release ,
Customs and Border Protection ,
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
Executive Orders ,
Foreign Workers ,
Immigrants ,
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) ,
Immigration Enforcement ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Immigration Reform ,
Ports of Entry ,
Refugees ,
Terrorist Organizations ,
Trump Administration ,
USCIS ,
Vetting ,
Visas
The Department of State (DOS) revised the J-1 Skills List, which lists home countries to which foreign nationals are subject to a two-year foreign home residency requirement.
•The 37 countries that have been removed from...more
1/15/2025
/ Foreign Nationals ,
Foreign Workers ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Immigration Reform ,
International Relations ,
J-1 Visas ,
Non-Immigrant Visas ,
Policy Updates ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Residency Requirements ,
US Department of State ,
USCIS ,
Visas
The U.S. Supreme Court held in Bouarfa v. Mayorkas, No. 23-583 (Dec. 10, 2024), that one cannot appeal a U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) revocation of an approved visa petition in federal court because such...more
12/12/2024
/ Administrative Appeal Office ,
Administrative Authority ,
Appeals ,
Bouarfa v Mayorkas ,
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
Discretionary Functions ,
Form I-130 ,
Judicial Review ,
Revocation ,
SCOTUS ,
USCIS ,
Visa Applications ,
Visas
Some colleges and universities, out of an abundance of caution, are advising their foreign national students and staff who are traveling abroad for winter break to consider returning before President Donald Trump’s...more
President Joe Biden announced protections for undocumented foreign national spouses of U.S. citizens who have lived in the United States for 10 years without a legal immigration status. This will protect approximately 500,000...more
Many USCIS filing fees are being adjusted upward beginning on April 1, 2024. That date, of course, is particularly significant. It is the earliest date that Cap H-1Bs can be filed.
The H-1B filing fee, for example, will rise...more
USCIS has published a proposed rule that, once implemented, would significantly reform and modernize the H-1B Program. The Modernizing H-1B Requirements, Providing Flexibility in the F-1 Program, and Program Improvements...more
The H-1B cap season for Fiscal Year 2024 is fast approaching. USCIS announced on January 27th that cap registration begins on March 1st. Employers should assess their hiring needs and determine if they will sponsor foreign...more
On April 18, 2022, USCIS announced that it had received 483,927 registrations for the FY 2023 H-1B Cap. This is the largest number ever received – almost 200,000 more than the total count of 308,613 for FY 2022....more
Just as the Biden Administration is proposing increased funding for USCIS to help reduce the agency’s backlog, USCIS is announcing future new actions to improve processing times....more
USCIS has increased the evidentiary burden for petitions for the O-1 Extraordinary Ability visa to mirror that for the EB-1 Extraordinary Ability visa.
Both the O-1 nonimmigrant and EB-1 immigrant visa classifications...more
USCIS has announced that H-1B Cap registration will start on March 1, 2022, at noon (Eastern) and will continue through noon (Eastern) on March 18, 2022.
If enough registrations to fill the cap are received by March 18...more
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
In a surprising and welcome development to U.S. employers, USCIS today announced that employers filing E-3 visa petitions on behalf of Australian nationals will have the option of requesting premium processing when requesting...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
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) continues to push forward a proposed rule that would set a maximum period of authorized stay for students. Although the details of the rule are unknown, the draft reportedly has been...more