On July 26, 2024, the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) published Directive (DIR) 2024-01, containing a mechanism for conciliating issues found by OFCCP during compliance evaluations through expedited...more
Some significant planning changes are proposed in a government consultation on ‘An Accelerated Planning System’ launched on 6 March 2024 alongside the Spring Budget (which closes on 1 May). These proposed changes cover new...more
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has started the initial registration period for the FY 2025 H-1B cap. The H-1B program allows employers to petition for highly educated foreign professionals to work in...more
The US Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS), which administers the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) and regulates most exports from the United States, announced further updates to the process...more
State and federal officials move forward plans and policies for water conservation, conveyance, and climate resilience. The winter of 2022-23 brought historic levels of precipitation to California after years of deep...more
The US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) launched the Semiconductor Technology Pilot Program on December 1, 2023 for patent applications for processes or apparatuses for manufacturing semiconductor devices. Applications...more
The Texas Legislature created a statute to protect parties’ rights to freedom of speech and to petition the courts: the Texas Citizen’s Participation Act (TCPA). See Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code Ann. §§ 27.001-.011....more
Sweden is no stranger to innovations – from energy, to furniture, to music – and international arbitration is no exception. Indeed, the SCC Arbitration Institute (SCC) proudly refers to itself as the one of the leading...more
On June 12, 2023, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced an expansion of premium processing service for applicants filing Form I-539 to change their status to F, M, or J status. The initiative is part of...more
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has proposed historic increases to its fee schedule for immigration benefit applications. Under the proposed fee rule, the filing fee for common employment-based applications...more
On March 6, the USPTO announced a new Green Energy Category of its Patents for Humanity Program. Patents for Humanity is an awards competition that recognizes innovators who use technology to meet global humanitarian...more
The Government’s Action Plan on how it proposes to improve the NSIP planning process has some good ideas, most of which amount to fine-tuning rather than a fundamental change. Whilst some of the changes may increase the cost...more
As we move deeper into the new year, the U.S. government continues to try to resolve the challenges facing the immigration system due to the disruptions of the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting processing backlogs. These...more
In a settlement, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has agreed to return to processing dependent H-4 and L-2 applications at the same time as the H-1B or L-1 petition when filed concurrently. This...more
Beginning January 30, 2023, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will accept Form I-907, Request for Premium Processing Service, for Form I-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Workers E-13 (EB-1C) multinational...more
On January 12, 2023, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced implementation of the final phase of premium processing expansion for employment-based first and second preference I-140 petitions. Beginning on...more
On January 5, 2023, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy signed into law an amendment to N.J.S.A. 52:27D-132 (which relates to, among other things inspections of construction projects by an enforcing agency)....more
On January 5, 2023, Governor Phil Murphy signed into law bill A573 which amends the Uniform Construction Code by codifying the requirement that townships complete building inspections within three business days of request by...more
On December 19, 2022, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) released information regarding nonimmigrant workers whose employment is terminated, either voluntarily or involuntarily. USCIS indicated that...more
On December 8, 2022, the US Patent & Trademark Office (PTO) announced the launch of the Cancer Moonshot Expedited Examination Pilot Program (Cancer Moonshot Pilot). This program begins on February 1, 2023, and replaces the...more
This is the third of an eight-part series addressing cutting-edge strategies for Certified Claims under the Contract Disputes Act (CDA). Certified Claims are the primary avenue available to government contractors to recover...more
On May 24, 2022, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) began implementing an expansion of the agency’s premium processing service for certain pending Form I-140 petitions. Specifically, the expansion of premium...more
On June 16, 2022, President Biden signed into law the Ocean Shipping Reform Act of 2022 ("OSRA 2022"), which amended the Shipping Act of 1984 ("the Shipping Act"). Among the various amendments, OSRA 2022 included a new...more
Following Decree No. 34 of 2021 concerning the Dubai International Arbitration Centre (the “Decree”), which effectively (i) abolished the Emirates Maritime Arbitration Centre and the DIFC Arbitration Institute (under which...more
Effective immediately, USCIS will consider requests to expedite processing of applications to renew Employment Authorization Documents (EADs) for health care workers. ...more