Immigration Settlement Clears the Way for Thousands of H-1B and L-1 Spouses to Work in the US
It’s that time of year again when employers have to decide who they are sponsoring for an H-1B visa. For a brief background, H-1B work visas are the most common work visas for foreign nationals in professional positions...more
Beginning March 6, 2024, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will conduct its annual H-1B Cap Lottery to award H-1B slots for professional workers in specialty occupations. There are a total of 85,000 visas...more
In the recent legal settlement of Edakunni v. Mayorkas, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has agreed to resume adjudicating H-4 and L-2 dependent and H-4 employment authorization petitions at the same time...more
In an excellent development, as of January 25, 2023, the U.S. government agreed to resume the process of “bundling” H-4 and L-2 dependent applications, – including I-765 work permission applications, with the H-1B and L-1...more
It’s hard to keep up with all the recent changes to labor and employment law. While the law always seems to evolve at a rapid pace, there have been an unprecedented number of changes for the past few years—and this past month...more
Federal immigration officials just released helpful guidance that eases the process of spouses of highly skilled workers to receive their work authorization documentation, no doubt welcome news for employers across the...more
Immigration Settlement Clears the way for thousands of H-1B and L-1 spouses to work in the U.S., Ulmer Immigration Group Leader David Leopold explains....more
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), a division of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), has just closed its annual H-1B registration, and employers are anxiously awaiting news on whether USCIS has selected...more
On January 25, 2021, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) withdrew its proposed rule that sought to eliminate the H-4 employment authorization document (EAD) program for eligible spouses of H-1B workers. The...more
U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) confirmed it will utilize a new electronic registration system for the Fiscal Year 2021 H-1B lottery. By way of background, the H-1B visa program allows companies in the United...more
In April 2017, three months after taking office, President Trump signed the “Buy American and Hire American” Executive Order, which confirmed that his administration would be taking a tough stance on business immigration,...more
Proposed changes to the rule authorizing employment for H-4 status holders could spell an increase in H-1B petitions this upcoming fiscal year, and ultimately, increased sponsorship costs for employers. ...more
U.S. employers who sponsor foreign workers for temporary H-1B work visas should start preparing now for the upcoming H-1B cap filing season commencing this year on Monday, April 2, 2018. Employers should start identifying...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
Seyfarth Synopsis: The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) published its regulatory plan for 2018, which aligns with President Trump’s Executive Order, Buy American Hire American. ...more
USCIS has announced that it will temporarily suspend Premium Processing for all H-1B petitions, beginning April 3, 2017. The suspension will apply to all H-1B petitions, including new H-1B cases filed under the FY18 H-1B cap,...more
We are releasing this Alert to remind employers of the fast-approaching April 1, 2017, opening date for filing H-1B work visa petitions on behalf of foreign employees who need sponsorship for work authorization in the U.S....more
The US Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) published new regulations effective January 17, 2017 which modernize and improve aspects of certain employment-based nonimmigrant and immigrant visa programs. The...more
The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has published its long-awaited “High-Skilled Nonimmigrant Workers” regulation today, Nov. 18, 2016. This regulation was proposed on Dec. 31, 2015. It will become...more
The USCIS received over 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 degree)....more
In November 2014, President Obama issued a number of executive actions designed to make significant changes to the U.S. immigration system. The most controversial initiatives were the deferred action policies aimed at...more
As part of President Obama’s executive action on immigration reform, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced eligibility for select H-4 dependent spouses of H-1B visa holders to obtain employment...more
On February 24, 2015, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued a final rule that extends eligibility for employment authorization to certain H-4 dependent spouses of H-1B nonimmigrants who are seeking employment-based...more
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Director León Rodríguez announced earlier this week that, pursuant to a published regulation effective May 26, 2015, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is extending...more
On November 20, 2014, President Obama announced an Executive Order on Immigration Reform, which will impact U.S. businesses, as well as certain individuals currently present in the U.S. in undocumented status....more