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
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has recently announced a streamlined process for foreign workers to request deferred action. Deferred action is a type of prosecutorial discretion to defer removal action...more
2/5/2024
/ Cooperation ,
Deferred Action ,
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
Employees ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Foreign Nationals ,
Foreign Workers ,
Immigrants ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Immigration Reform ,
Investigations ,
Labor Law Violations ,
USCIS
In anticipation of a possible 2023 government shutdown this weekend, many employers are wondering how a shuttering of U.S. government agencies for budgetary reasons could impact or delay their U.S. immigration processing,...more
10/2/2023
/ Administrative Agencies ,
Customs and Border Protection ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Federal Budget ,
Federal Funding ,
Government Shutdown ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Regulatory Agencies ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
US Department of State ,
USCIS
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
U.S. immigration policy and the Biden administration’s response to the ongoing migration crisis have been hot topics in the news. We break down potential considerations for employers as the pandemic-era immigration policy...more
5/16/2023
/ Asylum ,
Biden Administration ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Eligibility Verification ,
Form I-9 ,
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) ,
Immigration Enforcement ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Public Health Emergency ,
Undocumented Immigrants ,
USCIS
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
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has announced a centralized process whereby undocumented workers who are victims of, or witnesses to, violations of labor rights (including workers’ rights surrounding wage...more
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has announced that the agency will undertake three efforts to increase efficiency and reduce burdens within the legal immigration system. ...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
When filing for an adjustment of status (AOS), which enables individuals to apply for a Green Card while still present in the United States, applicants may simultaneously apply for an employment authorization document (EAD)...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
Following months of crisis-level processing times for Form I-765 Applications for Employment Authorization on behalf of dependent spouses in L-21 and H-42 nonimmigrant visa status, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service...more
11/15/2021
/ Employment Authorization Documents (EAD) ,
Employment Eligibility Verification ,
Foreign Workers ,
Form I-765 ,
H-4 ,
Immigrants ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Immigration Reform ,
L-2 Visas ,
Settlement Agreements ,
USCIS
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. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) have released two new interim final rules affecting immigration. Both rules immediately impact skilled foreign workers in the H-1B specialty...more
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
National universities and states across the country filed multiple federal lawsuits this week seeking to invalidate and enjoin implementation of the Student and Exchange Visitor Program’s (SEVP) Fall 2020 COVID-19 Guidance,...more
7/15/2020
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
F-1 Visa ,
Foreign Students ,
Immigration Procedures ,
M-1 Visa ,
Non-Immigrant Visas ,
SEVP ,
Trump Administration ,
USCIS ,
Visas
The U.S. Supreme Court on June 18, 2020, blocked the Trump administration’s attempt to rescind the DACA program, which protects hundreds of thousands of immigrants brought to the United States as children from potential...more
6/22/2020
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Arbitrary and Capricious ,
Citizenship ,
DACA ,
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
Department of Homeland Security v Regents of the University of California ,
Educational Institutions ,
Path To Citizenship ,
Rescission ,
SCOTUS ,
Trump Administration ,
Trump v NAACP ,
USCIS ,
Wolf v Vidal ,
Work Permits
Updated April 22, 2020: In live remarks during an April 21, 2020 coronavirus task force press briefing, the president provided more detail on the scope of the entry restrictions in the new executive order. Specifically, he...more
As many employers see shifts in business practices to allow teleworking to facilitate continued employee safety during the COVID-19 outbreak, employers of nonimmigrant workers should be mindful of needed steps for continued...more