Immigration Insights Podcast: International Entrepreneur Parole Program & Biometrics Requirement
The H-1B visa is among the most popular working visas in the U.S. for individuals filling professional positions. Most H-1B visas are subject to an annual quota or “cap.” Because demand exceeds the number of available visas,...more
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that it has completed its annual H-1B cap lottery selection process for fiscal year 2025. Given the high number of lottery registrations and the fixed number of...more
Beginning March 6, 2024, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will conduct its annual H-1B Cap Lottery to award H-1B slots for professional workers in specialty occupations. There are a total of 85,000 visas...more
The increasing need for talented workers in the United States has more and more employers considering eliminating bachelor’s degree requirements from job descriptions. A recognition of the value of skills and experience over...more
Federal immigration officials announced on December 13 that the H-1B cap has been reached for FY 2024. Although you most likely expected the announcement, the finality inevitably leaves many employers and foreign national...more
Each year in March, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) conducts a lottery to award H-1B slots to enough foreign workers to meet its 85,000 visa annual cap. This number includes 20,000 slots reserved for...more
The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will soon announce the fiscal year 2024 H-1B registration period. This is an important time of the year for employers wishing to sponsor a candidate for a cap...more
The H-1B visa is among the most popular working visas in the U.S. for individuals filling professional (degree-requiring) positions. Most H-1B visas are subject to an annual quota or “cap.” These are often referred to as...more
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), a division of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), has just closed its annual H-1B registration, and employers are anxiously awaiting news on whether USCIS has selected...more
USCIS’s FY 2022 H-1B Cap Electronic Registration Begins Beginning 12:00 p.m. ET (9:00 a.m. PT) on March 9, 2021, until 12:00 p.m. ET (9:00 a.m. PT) on March 25, 2021, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) will...more
On February 24, 2021, USCIS announced it is adding I-129 petitions for E-3 status to the list of case types eligible for Premium Processing. The USCIS Premium Processing service allows petitioners to pay an additional filing...more
Effective February 24, 2021, US Citizenship and Immigration Services will allow those filing a petition for E-3 status to request premium processing. E-3s are available only to nationals of Australia who are coming to the...more
Executive Summary: USCIS has announced the timeline for the H-1B FY22 Cap Petition Cycle. Similar to last year, USCIS will require H-1B sponsor employers to register H-1B candidates online starting March 9, 2021. USCIS will...more
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that it will hold the H-1B electronic registration process for the fiscal year 2022 H-1B cap (from which the annual H-1B lottery will be run). Registration begins at...more
On December 1, 2020, a U.S. Federal District Court in California set aside the two Interim Final Rules announced in October by the U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) and the Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”). ...more
The US District Court for the Northern District of California on Tuesday set aside two Interim Final Rules (IFRs) that sought to restrict severely eligibility for the H-1B Specialty Occupation nonimmigrant category....more
Effective October 8, 2020, the US Department of Labor will determine the prevailing wage for permanent labor certifications and labor condition applications based on a new formula for computing prevailing wage levels,...more
Hiring the best talent can maximize the success of your company. Sometimes that means hiring a foreign national on a work visa. We prepared this booklet to help you navigate the complex U.S. employment-based visa options....more
Last week, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that an H-1B cap registration system (from which the annual H-1B lottery will be run) will be implemented for the upcoming fiscal year 2021 H-1B cap...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: On February 11, 2019, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that it revised Form I-539 and that the new version will be released on March 11, 2019. ...more
On April 2, 2018, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will begin accepting new H-1B petitions for professional positions. We note that these petitions will have a start date of Oct. 1, 2018....more
We are releasing this Alert to remind employers of the fast-approaching April 1, 2017, opening date for filing H-1B work visa petitions on behalf of foreign employees who need sponsorship for work authorization in the U.S....more
Effective yesterday, January 17, 2017, a new USCIS rule seeks to improve multiple employment-based temporary nonimmigrant and immigrant visa (“green card”) programs. The new regulations are designed to help U.S. employers...more
USCIS has published a final rule focused on the retention of EB-1, EB-2, and EB-3 immigrant workers and the improvement of existing temporary visa programs for high-skilled nonimmigrant workers. The new rule takes effect on...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: Employers and foreign nationals should take note of critical changes to DHS’ regulations impacting employment-based immigration for highly skilled workers. On January 17, 2017, the Department of...more