Earlier this year, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) published an interim final rule (IFR) that provides a new online process for unregistered foreign nationals to comply with the decades-old but rarely enforced...more
On Monday, September 9, 2024, the U.S. Department of State (DOS), working in close collaboration with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), announced publicly that all available immigrant visas in the...more
On August 2, 2024, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit upheld a rule allowing the spouses of H-1B visa holders to work in the United States. In doing so, the Court rejected a longstanding challenge...more
Looking back at 2023, many of the employment-based immigration changes proposed and implemented by various U.S. government agencies focused on increasing efficiency and alleviating strain on our immigration system. ...more
On November 6, 1986, the U.S. Government enacted the Immigration Reform and Control Act requiring employers to verify the identity and employment eligibility of all individuals hired to perform labor or services in the United...more
In 1986, the Immigration and Nationality Act (“INA”) was amended to require all employers to verify the employment eligibility of all newly hired workers. The regulations interpreting the INA require employers to physically...more
On September 6, 2022, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) filed a Court Declaration indicating that the agency has used nearly all available employment-based (EB) immigrant visas for this fiscal year (ending...more
At the beginning of each federal fiscal year (October), the Department of State conducts a lottery called the Diversity Immigrant Visa Program. If a person is selected, they are eligible to submit an application for permanent...more
In its waning hours, the Trump Administration announced comprehensive, burdensome changes to H-1B visa requirements for multiple firms across virtually all industries. Fortunately, however, the changes are set to detonate on...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
In a much-anticipated decision, on December 1, 2020, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California ruled in favor of business and university plaintiffs (led by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce), setting aside...more
On November 17, 2020, U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) issued a Policy Alert, informing stakeholders of an update to its existing policy guidance in the USCIS Policy Manual regarding the discretionary factors...more
On October 8, 2020, the Departments of Labor and Homeland Security issued interim final rules changing the regulations governing the H-1B visa program. These rules sought to restrict access to H-1B visas by redefining the...more
The U.S. Department of State recently released its October 2020 Visa Bulletin reflecting an all-time high allocation of approximately 261,500 employment-based immigrant visas and signaling an unusually quick advancement of...more
On August 3, 2020, the president issued Executive Order No. 13940 on Aligning Federal Contracting and Hiring Practices with the Interests of American Workers....more
The trend of recent months to curtail employment-based immigration, purportedly prompted by the coronavirus pandemic, continues unabated. On August 3, 2020 President Trump issued yet another executive order, this one...more
Quick Hit: On August 3, 2020, President Trump issued an “Executive Order on Aligning Federal Contracting and Hiring Practices With the Interests of American Workers” (the “Order”), which requires federal agencies to perform...more
In 2018, marijuana was legalized for recreational use nationwide in Canada. New York state is also in the process of legalizing marijuana for recreational use; however, it remains illegal under federal law. As noted...more
As another year of medical residency registration begins across the U.S., J-1 physicians in their final year of training find themselves at a critical crossroads: they can return to their respective home countries at the...more