The past year has brought sweeping changes to the world of work. Federal agencies finalized rules on minimum wage and overtime exemptions, union representation elections, pregnancy accommodations, OSHA inspections, and...more
USCIS has officially announced the dates for the fiscal year (FY) 2025 H-1B cap lottery, which will open on Wednesday, March 6, 2024 at noon ET and end on Friday, March 22, 2024, at noon ET. This annual lottery is meant to...more
2/15/2024
/ Foreign Workers ,
H-1B ,
Highly-Skilled Workers Visa ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Immigrants ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Job Applicants ,
Lottery ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
USCIS ,
Visa Caps ,
Visas
On August 1, 2023, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) released a revised version of the Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification, which may be used now but must be used for all new hires and rehires...more
In an ever-evolving digital landscape, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has given employers a new option for verifying employment eligibility. On July 21, 2023, the USCIS announced a final rule,...more
The state of Florida recently enacted legislation that will have a significant impact on employers across the state. Senate Bill 1718 (SB1718), which Governor Ron DeSantis signed into law on May 10, 2023, requires private...more
7/18/2023
/ E-Verify ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Eligibility Verification ,
Florida ,
Foreign Workers ,
Form I-9 ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Immigrants ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Immigration Reform ,
New Legislation ,
USCIS
On May 10, 2023, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed into law a new immigration bill (SB 1718) that will make sweeping changes for private employers with 25 or more employees. Passed by the Florida Senate on April 28, 2023...more
On March 3, 2023, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued new policy guidance, Evaluating Eligibility for O-1B Visa Category, which describes new updates made to the USCIS Policy Manual. The new USCIS...more
In November 2021, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced it would recognize nonimmigrant spouses of those holding E and L visas as employment authorized incident to their valid status. Qualified E and...more
It’s that time of the year again: the H-1B cap season is around the corner! On January 28, 2022, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that the registration period for Fiscal Year 2023 will open at noon...more
The Biden administration decided to let a highly publicized temporary worker visa ban expire on March 31, 2021. Proclamation 10052 of June 22, 2020 (“Proclamation Suspending Entry of Aliens Who Present a Risk to the U.S....more
4/2/2021
/ E-Verify ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Eligibility Verification ,
Foreign Workers ,
Form I-9 ,
H-1B ,
H-2B ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Immigrants ,
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) ,
Immigration Procedures ,
L-1 Visas ,
Required Forms ,
Temporary Work Visas ,
USCIS
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) will delay the effective date of a rule issued two weeks prior to the end of the Trump administration that seeks to change how H-1B “specialty occupation” visa applications are...more
2/8/2021
/ Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
Final Rules ,
Foreign Workers ,
H-1B ,
Highly-Skilled Workers Visa ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Immigrants ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Immigration Reform ,
USCIS ,
Visa Applications ,
Visas
Last summer the state of Florida enacted a new law requiring public and private employers to comply with new state E-Verify requirements starting January 1, 2021....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
12/3/2020
/ Chamber of Commerce ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Domestic Hiring Policy ,
Foreign Workers ,
Good Cause ,
H-1B ,
Highly-Skilled Workers Visa ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Immigration and Nationality Act ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Immigration Reform ,
Motion to Set Aside the Verdict ,
Trump Administration ,
USCIS ,
Visas
While the U.S. presidential election has come to an end, we continue to monitor changes in the Trump administration’s handling of ongoing agency immigration reforms through the end of 2020 and into early 2021 that may impact...more
11/24/2020
/ Biden Administration ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Foreign Workers ,
H-1B ,
Highly-Skilled Workers Visa ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Immigrants ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Immigration Reform ,
Popular ,
Trump Administration ,
USCIS ,
Visas
The U.S. Departments of Labor (DOL) and Homeland Security (DHS) have jointly announced a new initiative to share data and records on immigrant and nonimmigrant petitions and workers....more
8/6/2020
/ Anti-Fraud Provisions ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Data-Sharing ,
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
EB-2 ,
EB-3 ,
Foreign Workers ,
H-1B ,
Highly-Skilled Workers Visa ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Immigration Procedures ,
PERM ,
USCIS ,
Visas
On August 3, 2020, the White House issued an Executive Order on Aligning Federal Contracting and Hiring Practices with the Interests of American Workers, directing federal agencies to contract with those who prioritize the...more
On June 22, 2020, and citing economic recovery needs and unemployment due to the pandemic, President Trump issued “Proclamation Suspending Entry of Aliens Who Present a Risk to the U.S. Labor Market Following the Coronavirus...more
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has announced new guidance for Form I-9 completion, including implementing a temporary policy for acceptance of List B expired documents in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. List B...more
In late 2019, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that it would implement the registration process for the fiscal year 2021 H-1B cap. The H-1B visa is used by businesses that want to employ foreign...more
2/24/2020
/ Conditional Job Offers ,
Deadlines ,
Foreign Workers ,
H-1B ,
Highly-Skilled Workers Visa ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Immigrants ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Immigration Reform ,
Job Applicants ,
OPT ,
Registration Requirement ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
USCIS ,
Visa Caps ,
Visas
On January 31, 2020, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) published a new edition of Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification, approved by the Office of Management and Budget on October 21, 2019....more
On December 6, 2019, USCIS announced that it officially plans to implement the electronic H-1B registration process for petitioners seeking to submit H-1B cap-subject petitions for FY 2021....more
12/17/2019
/ Beneficiary Designations ,
Electronic Filing ,
Employee Mobility ,
Employer Identification Number (EIN) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Foreign Workers ,
H-1B ,
Highly-Skilled Workers Visa ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Immigration Reform ,
Labor Condition Applications ,
Lottery ,
Registration Requirement ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Strategic Planning ,
USCIS ,
Visa Caps ,
Visas ,
Work Permits
On August 7, 2019, more than 600 agents from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raided several companies across Mississippi. With the help of the local district attorney’s office, these raids resulted in the...more
8/24/2019
/ Business Interruption ,
Deportation ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Eligibility Verification ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Form I-9 ,
Government Investigations ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) ,
Immigration Enforcement ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Immigration Reform ,
Raids ,
Risk Management ,
Trump Administration ,
Undocumented Immigrants
In an announcement on Thursday, May 16, 2019, President Trump unveiled an outline of his new legislative plan to modernize the nation’s immigration framework, promising to “establish a new legal immigration system that...more
Citing a rise in the use of electronic communications in the workplace and an increase in the number of employers providing documents to employees electronically, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division issued a...more
3/27/2019
/ Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Electronic Communications ,
Field Assistance Bulletins ,
Foreign Workers ,
H-1B ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Immigration and Nationality Act ,
Labor Condition Applications ,
Notice Requirements ,
Wage and Hour
Employers seeking to sponsor H-1B workers for fiscal year 2020 can begin filing petitions on April 1, 2019, for a start date of October 1, 2019. The H-1B visa is used by businesses that want to employ foreign nationals to...more