This advisory summarizes key travel and employment issues if you are an F-1 student with Optional Practical Training (OPT) employment eligibility valid to April 1, 2017 or later, and an H-1B filing on your behalf has been...more
The United States Citizenship & Immigration Services announced on Friday, March 3, 2017, that effective April 3, 2017, it will suspend premium processing of H-1B petitions, for an expected six months. Its stated reason for...more
The USCIS received more than 236,000 H-1B petitions during this year's FY2017 filing period for the annual supply of 85,000 new H-1B visas (65,000 for regular cap plus an additional 20,000 for workers with a U.S. master's...more
While it may seem early, the holiday season is a good time for employers to start preparing for the H-1B Cap for Fiscal Year 2017, which begins October 1, 2016. Demand for the H-1B has steadily increased so that last year,...more
On October 19, 2015, the Department of Homeland Security published eagerly anticipated proposed STEM OPT Extension rules that, if adopted would allow U.S. employers greater flexibility for employing foreign nationals...more
New rule would extend STEM optional practical training to 24 months. On October 19, the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) published a proposed rule in the Federal Register to amend its F-1 nonimmigrant student...more
The optional practical training (OPT) program allows students here on an F-1 visa (who have either graduated or been pursuing a degree for 9 months) to work in their chosen field of study for one year. In 2008, the U.S....more
In response to Judge Ellen Segal Huvelle’s ruling in Washington Alliance of Technology Workers v. U.S. Department of Homeland Security et al., No. 14-529 (August 12, 2015) that vacated the previous regulations on STEM...more
As students and scholars’ status change from F-1, J-1 or other FICA exempt statuses to H-1B starting October 1, these employees will become subject to FICA taxes upon the effective date of their H-1B status....more
On August 12, 2015, a federal judge in Washington D.C. ruled that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) improperly enacted a 2008 rule extending “Optional Practical Training” (OPT) for eligible foreign students in STEM...more
On Wednesday, August 12, 2015, the US District Court for the District of Columbia ruled that the US Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”) did not follow required procedures when it promulgated regulations allowing for...more
On Wednesday, August 12, 2015, U.S. District Court Judge Ellen Huvelle of the District of Columbia vacated the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) 2008 rule allowing F-1 students in the U.S. with college-level degrees in...more
The Obama administration has touted a number of new initiatives aimed at encouraging immigrant entrepreneurship and retention of high-tech workers in the U.S. These are commendable and this author applauds these efforts....more
Fiscal year 2015 cap-subject H-1B petitions selected and approved by USCIS will be valid starting October 1, 2014. However, as October 1, 2014 approaches, many cap-subject H-1B petitions remain pending at both the California...more
In This Presentation: - Government Agencies Involved - Terms & Definitions - U.S. Citizens - Lawful Permanent Residents (Immigrants or “Green Card” Holders) - Paths to Permanent Residency -...more
This advisory summarizes key travel and employment issues if you are an F-1 student with Optional Practical Training (OPT) employment eligibility and an H-1B filing on your behalf has been accepted by US Citizenship and...more
It is common for companies to hire college students and plan to continue their employment after graduation. Increasingly, many foreign college students are in the United States on F-1, student visas and receive 12 months of...more
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), through the Civil Rights Division’s Office of Special Counsel for Immigration-Related Unfair Employment Practices (OSC), recently settled a claim alleging that the company in question...more
The United States Supreme Court’s June 2013 ruling striking down the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) as unconstitutional has created an opportunity for certain foreign nationals in same-sex marriages to petition for...more
Foreign nationals must meet the regulatory requirements for admission into the U.S. in nonimmigrant status. The purpose of this paper is to provide the Top 10 things to consider with respect to the most common nonimmigrant...more
In a press release dated January 31, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced a number of proposed administrative reforms designed to enable the United States to attract and retain highly skilled foreign...more