Each year at this time we kick off H-1B Cap Season by working with U.S. employers to prepare for registration in the upcoming H-1B Cap Lottery. U.S. employers interested in sponsoring foreign nationals for specialty...more
Beginning Wednesday, November 1, 2023, U.S. employers may only use the 08/01/2023 edition of Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification. USCIS announced a new Form I-9 in July 2023 which became available on August 1,...more
On July 21, 2023, DHS announced a new edition of Form I-9 along with a new rule permitting certain employers to conduct remote inspection of the documents used in the Form I-9 employment eligibility verification process. The...more
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced employers will have 30 days to achieve I-9 compliance with the Form I-9 requirements after the COVID-19 temporary flexibilities sunset on July 31, 2023. The temporary...more
Each year at this time we kick off H-1B Cap Season by working with U.S. employers to prepare for registration in the upcoming H-1B Cap Lottery. U.S. employers interested in sponsoring foreign nationals for specialty...more
Today, ICE announced an extension of the temporary COVID-19 flexibilities for completion of the Form I-9, initially announced in March 2020 and extended multiple times throughout the pandemic....more
USCIS reports the FY 2023 H-1B cap electronic registration process yielded 483,927 H-1B registrations, an increase of approximately 57% compared with FY 2022 which saw 308,613 H-1B cap registrations. For FY 2023, USCIS...more
Getting ready to return to the office in California and need a refresher on what makes California law “special”?
Have plans to open an office/location somewhere in California and want to understand what laws apply and how...more
3/14/2022
/ Anti-Harassment Policies ,
Ban the Box ,
California ,
California Family Rights Act (CFRA) ,
Discrimination ,
Fair Pay Act ,
Over-Time ,
Paid Family Leave Law ,
Pregnancy ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Reimbursements ,
Rest and Meal Break ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour ,
Wage Theft ,
Workplace Safety
After months of uncertainty, the EB-5 Regional Center Program will be revived through passage of the EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act of 2022 as part of the overall Omnibus Spending Bill, expected to be signed by President...more
In response to the ongoing attack on Ukraine, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced today the designation of Ukraine for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for 18 months, to take effect upon publication of an...more
USCIS announced the initial registration period for fiscal year 2023 H-1B cap will open at noon Eastern on March 1, 2022 and run through noon Eastern on March 18, 2022. During this period, prospective petitioners and...more
USCIS issued new guidance today on expedited EADs for healthcare workers. Effective immediately, healthcare workers with pending Employment Authorization Document (EAD) renewal applications where the EAD expires in 30 days...more
The EB-5 Regional Center Program will expire at midnight tonight because Congress has not reached an agreement on reauthorization.
An attempt by Senators Chuck Grassley and Patrick Leahy to pass the EB-5 Reform and...more
On June 22, 2021, Magistrate Judge Jaqueline Scott Corley from the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California ruled that the EB-5 Modernization Final Rule was not lawfully promulgated because the...more
On March 2nd, the State Department rescinded the previous policy for national interest exceptions (NIE) thereby making it more difficult for nonimmigrant workers and business travelers to obtain national interest exceptions...more
3/4/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
EU ,
Foreign Workers ,
Highly-Skilled Workers Visa ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Ireland ,
Presidential Proclamations ,
Travel Restrictions ,
UK ,
US State Departments ,
Visas
The production of certain Employment Authorization Documents (EAD) have been delayed due to to COVID-19. Today, USCIS announced that due to these production delays, employees may use Form I-797, Notice of Action, with a...more
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced on July 18th that it will provide a 30-day extension to its temporary policy allowing flexibility in the rules related to Form I-9 for employers operating 100% remotely...more
The United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement known as the USMCA is effective July 1, 2020. The USMCA replaces the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) which expired June 30, 2020. As it relates to US immigration, the...more
Yesterday, June 22, 2020, President Trump issued the anticipated Proclamation suspending the entry into the US of certain nonimmigrant visa holders. Specifically, the following new restrictions are in effect 6/24/2020
•The...more
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced an extension of restrictions limiting non-essential travel at U.S. land ports of entry with Canada and Mexico for an additional 30 days.The government indicates the...more
Today, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced a 30 day extension to its temporary policy allowing flexibility in the rules related to Form I-9 for employers operating 100% remotely in light of COVID-19. The...more
Petitioners with registrations selected in the FY 2021 H-1B cap lottery may begin filing as of April 1, 2020. The period for filing H-1B cap-subject petitions will be at least 90 days and the submission must include a printed...more
March 27 the USCIS announced it has received enough electronic registrations during the initial period to reach the FY2021 H-1B cap. USCIS conducted a lottery by randomly selecting from the registrations properly submitted. ...more
In an effort to slow the spread of COVID-19, USCIS announced temporary office closures effective March 18, 2020. USCIS is suspending all in-person services at its field offices, asylum offices, and Application Support...more
Due to concerns relating to the spread of the coronavirus, President Trump announced today the upcoming suspension of travel from Europe to the United States, with the exception of the United Kingdom. The travel suspension...more