On April 1, 2024, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that it had selected sufficient H-1B visa preregistrations to reach the congressionally mandated 65,000 regular H-1B cap (bachelor’s degree cap)...more
Missing out on the H-1B visa lottery can be disheartening, but it’s not necessarily the end of the road. If you employ foreign nationals, the good news is that you can explore certain short-term, long-term, and even some...more
The H-1B Electronic Registration Selection Process debuted in March 2020 for fiscal year 2021 H-1B cap-subject petitions. The barrier to entry dropped significantly with the introduction of the electronic registration...more
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that it has completed its annual H-1B cap lottery selection process for fiscal year 2025. Given the high number of lottery registrations and the fixed number of...more
In just two weeks, on April 1, 2024, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will implement its new filing fee structure. The new fees will vary by visa type with exceptions for small employers and non-profit...more
The Department of Homeland Security published a final rule Jan. 31 adjusting the filing fees for applications for immigration benefits submitted to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). For most application types...more
Last January I posted about "An Unwelcome Update to Start 2023: USCIS Proposing Rule to Raise Filing Fees; Set Specific Filing Fees for Different Types of I-129 Filings". That unwelcome proposal to start 2023 may become an...more
On December 13, 2023, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) announced that it reached the requisite number of H-1B Cap petitions and stopped making further selections for Fiscal Year 2024. Fiscal...more
The nation’s semiconductor chip shortage has far-reaching implications for industries ranging from consumer electronics to national security. The Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors for America Act (CHIPS...more
Federal immigration officials announced on December 13 that the H-1B cap has been reached for FY 2024. Although you most likely expected the announcement, the finality inevitably leaves many employers and foreign national...more
Harris Beach PLLC understands the U.S. Department of State (DOS) will soon revive a long-dormant program that allows a limited number of nonimmigrant visa holders to renew their visas from within the United States, a process...more
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has updated its Policy Manual (PM) to provide guidance to USCIS officers on evaluating eligibility criteria for the EB-1A (extraordinary ability) and EB-1B (outstanding...more
As June comes to a close, employers of the lucky foreign nationals selected in the FY2024 H-1B lottery are working to file their H-1B petitions by the June 30, 2023, deadline. This year, the United States Citizenship and...more
Years ago, people employed in manufacturing were seen as bit players in an industrial machine, but no longer. Many manufacturing jobs today require high-level STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) skills. ...more
Each year in March, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) conducts a lottery to award H-1B slots to enough foreign workers to meet its 85,000 visa annual cap. This number includes 20,000 slots reserved for...more
A basketball player from the Dominican Republic could be the first prospective National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) athlete to secure an O-1 temporary work visa for those with “extraordinary ability” in athletics...more
If you employ foreign nationals, you likely know that the federal government already reached the H-1B visa cap for the fiscal year and informed registrants who were not selected. Although employers expected the August 23...more
On March 29, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that it will expand its premium processing service to include additional immigration benefit case types, pursuant to a final rule issued by the...more
Employers are experiencing incredible challenges recruiting for all types of jobs. Recruiting for that special “make or break” position – often for a C-suite, technology innovator, or creative – has always been tough. U.S....more
A series of significant developments in U.S. immigration law has already marked the beginning of 2022 and more can be expected. In January, the Biden Administration unveiled a series of policies aimed at attracting and...more
Obtaining a “green card” usually requires the sponsorship of a close U.S. family member or U.S. employer. In the employment context, the default process is a specific employer testing the labor market for a specific job to be...more
USCIS has increased the evidentiary burden for petitions for the O-1 Extraordinary Ability visa to mirror that for the EB-1 Extraordinary Ability visa. Both the O-1 nonimmigrant and EB-1 immigrant visa classifications...more
On March 3, 2022, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced that Ukraine will be designated for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for 18 months. TPS is available for those Ukrainian nationals who are already in the...more
USCIS’s new guidance for O-1 petitions provides a detailed overview of the different O-1 classifications: O-1A, O-1B Arts, and O-1B Motion Picture and Television (“MPTV”). The guidance also provides detailed standards for...more
On January 21, 2022, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued two policy alerts, a National Interest Waiver alert and an O-1 alert, detailing welcome changes to the agency's online Policy Manual, which it has...more