On September 4, 2024, U.S. District Judge J. Campbell Barker for the Eastern District of Texas, Tyler Division, signed an Order denying the Motion of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to lift his prior Order...more
Join us for an exciting and informative webinar, "Key Immigration Takeaways for Health Care Professionals: H-1B, J-1, and Conrad/National Interest Waivers" This one-hour webinar is specifically designed for Human Resources...more
10/5/2023
/ Conrad 30 Waiver ,
Dentists ,
H-1B ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare Workers ,
Hospitals ,
Human Resources Professionals ,
J-1 Visas ,
National Interest Waiver ,
Nurses ,
Physical Therapists ,
Physicians ,
Webinars
Even before remote working considerations emerged during the COVID-19 pandemic, employers filing applications for Program Electronic Review Management (“PERM”) were grappling with how to prepare Forms 9141 Application for...more
Without a formal news release, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) started prioritizing pending requests for employment authorization (Form I-765) by adjustment of status (“AOS”) applicants (often referred to...more
On September 14, 2020, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced an extension of its flexibility provisions related to Form I-9 compliance, which ICE granted earlier this year. The extended flexibility...more
On August 20, 2020, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) announced that due to Covid-19 and because of its long delays in producing Employment Authorization Documents, Form I-766 (“EAD”) cards, that...more
On March 24, 2020, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) provided formal notices in the Federal Register of an earlier Trump Administration order, which limited travel between Canada and the U.S. as well as Mexico...more
The Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”) has expanded its travel ban concerning the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) to bar certain foreign national travelers who have been physically present in Iran within the last 14...more
Labor Condition Applications must be filed under the new DOL’S FLAG System -
As part of the U.S. Department of Labor’s (“USDOL”) technology modernization initiative, the FLAG System (Foreign Labor Application Gateway) was...more
On January 31, 2019, the USCIS published its final rule amending H-1B regulations which operate to change two important aspects of filing cap-subject H-1B visa petitions, effective April 1, 2019. ...more
January 2 marked the end of the public comment period on the notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) published on December 3, 2018 by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) regarding a radical change in the annual H-1B...more
On October 10, 2018, the Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”) posted a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (“NPRM”) in the Federal Register related to the public charge grounds of inadmissibility under the Immigration and...more
Certain news reports have hinted that the pursuant to President Trump’s “Buy America, Hire America” Executive Order of April, 2017, the Trump Administration is considering changes to the H Visa Program. ...more
1/10/2018
/ Buy America ,
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
Domestic Hiring Policy ,
Employment Eligibility Verification ,
Executive Orders ,
Foreign Workers ,
H-1B ,
H-4 Spouses ,
Highly-Skilled Workers Visa ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Immigrants ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Immigration Reform ,
STEM ,
Trump Administration ,
USCIS ,
Visas
Federal judges in Hawaii and Maryland have temporarily blocked the implementation of President Trump’s most recent travel ban, which was issued by Presidential Proclamation on September 24, 2017 (Proclamation) and set to take...more
10/25/2017
/ Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
Executive Orders ,
Foreign Nationals ,
Foreign Workers ,
Green Cards ,
Immigrants ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Immigration Reform ,
National Security ,
Refugees ,
Terrorist Threats ,
Travel Ban ,
Trump Administration ,
Visas
USCIS Permits Certain EAD Applicants to apply for a Social Security Number on Form I-765 -
Based on a new information-sharing partnership between U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and the Social Security...more
10/18/2017
/ Buy America ,
Customs and Border Protection ,
Domestic Hiring Policy ,
Employment Authorization Documents (EAD) ,
Executive Orders ,
Foreign Nationals ,
Foreign Workers ,
Form I-765 ,
H-1B ,
Highly-Skilled Workers Visa ,
Immigrants ,
Immigration Reform ,
L-Visas ,
Legal Representatives ,
NAFTA ,
Popular ,
Ports ,
TN-Visas ,
Trump Administration ,
USCIS ,
Visas
With the recent change by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to mandate in-person interviews for employment based adjustment cases along with changes to require the review of social media and to what...more
10/10/2017
/ Employment Eligibility Verification ,
Foreign Affairs Manual (FAM) ,
Hiring & Firing ,
I-140 ,
I-485 Applications ,
Immigrants ,
Immigration and Nationality Act ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Interviews ,
Ombudsman ,
Social Media ,
USCIS ,
Visa Applications ,
Visas
On September 24, 2017, President Trump issued a proclamation entitled, “Enhanced Vetting Capabilities and Processes for Detecting Attempted Entry into the United States by Terrorists or Other Public-Safety Threats” (“the...more
9/29/2017
/ Bona Fide Relationship Test ,
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
Dual Citizenship ,
Executive Orders ,
Foreign Nationals ,
Immigration Reform ,
Lawful Permanent Residents ,
Refugees ,
SCOTUS ,
Travel Ban ,
Trump Administration ,
Visas ,
Waivers
Effective October 1, 2017, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is replacing the GOES (global online enrollment system) website with the new cloud based Trusted Traveler Program (TTP) system website. Users of the various...more
On September 5, 2017, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued the unfortunate Memo to rescind the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program (Memo). DHS Acting Secretary, Elaine C. Duke, noted that...more
9/7/2017
/ DACA ,
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
Deportation ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Authorization Documents (EAD) ,
Executive Orders ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Immigration Reform ,
Obama Administration ,
Path To Citizenship ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Trump Administration ,
USCIS
On August 28, 2017, the USCIS announced that beginning October 1st, the USCIS will begin to phase-in “in-person” interviews for Employment-Based, Adjustment of Status applicants (Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent...more
On August 8, 2017, the Department of State (DOS) updated its Foreign Affairs Manual (FAM) to modify instructions to consular officers considering F-1 student visas. The modified instructions address how a consular officer...more
8/31/2017
/ Buy America ,
F-1 Visa ,
Foreign Affairs Manual (FAM) ,
Immigrants ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Immigration Reform ,
OPT ,
Travel Restrictions ,
Trump Administration ,
US Department of State ,
Visas
On July 17, 2017 U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced the availability of a new version of the Form I-9. The new version has a revision date of 07/17/17....more
In connection with the Trump Administration’s desire to crack-down on its perceived misuse of the H-1B visa category, various U.S. government agencies have announced a coordinated effort in re-interpreting regulations as well...more
4/17/2017
/ Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Foreign Workers ,
H-1B ,
Highly-Skilled Workers Visa ,
Immigrants ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Immigration Reform ,
Labor Condition Applications ,
Popular ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Trump Administration ,
USCIS ,
Visas
International travelers have been reporting that cell phones, computers, and other communication devices are being seized by Officers of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (“USCBP”) branch of the U.S. Department of...more
3/20/2017
/ Confidential Information ,
Customs and Border Protection ,
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
Electronic Devices ,
Executive Orders ,
Fourth Amendment ,
Information Technology ,
International Travel ,
Mobile Devices ,
Search & Seizure ,
Social Networks ,
Telecommunications ,
Terrorist Threats ,
Travel Ban ,
Trump Administration
The USCIS announced on March 3, 2017 that beginning April 3, 2017, it will temporarily suspend premium processing for all H-1B petitions. According to the USCIS, the suspension may last up to 6 months. While H-1B premium...more
3/9/2017
/ F-1 Visa ,
Foreign Workers ,
H-1B ,
Highly-Skilled Workers Visa ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Immigration Reform ,
Lottery ,
USCIS ,
Visa Caps ,
Visas