PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - DOL’s Guidance on Continued COVID-19 Timeframe Relief
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - COVID-19 Edition - Deadline Extensions Impacting HIPAA, COBRA and ERISA
What's Next for the Paycheck Protection Program? by Lindsey Berwick and John Wittenberg
On July 12, 2023, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) added eight new qualifying fields of study to the STEM Designated Degree Program List. F-1 nonimmigrant students who complete certain programs of study in the...more
On July 12, 2023, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) added eight fields of study to the Designated Degree Program List qualifying F-1 students to secure a STEM OPT (science, technology, engineering, mathematics...more
Syrian Temporary Protected Status (TPS) has been extended and redesignated until March 31, 2024. Those already holding Syrian TPS must apply for the extension of their status and employment authorization (if desired)...more
On November 30, 2020, a federal district judge in the matter of Washington Alliance of Technology Workers v. U.S. Department of Homeland Security, et al., No. 16-1170, issued an order to uphold the Obama-era program...more
COVID-19 has caused significant disruptions in every aspect of our daily lives. Several policies have been enacted, affecting millions of foreign national workers, both in the U.S. and abroad, along with the businesses that...more
On July 6, 2020, the Student and Exchange Visitors Program (SEVP), part of U.S. Immigration Customs and Enforcement (ICE), published guidance restricting foreign students in F-1 or M-1 status from participating in online...more
The Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) issued a broadcast message on July 6, 2020, announcing an imminent new Temporary Final Rule regarding online coursework permitted for students in F and M nonimmigrant status....more
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has instituted a new compliance activity which could surprise the unprepared employer who has hired a recent graduate on Optional Practical Training (OPT). The site visits are...more
A motion to dismiss a lawsuit challenging the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s new rule governing the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) Optional Practical Training (OPT) program has been granted in part...more
Due to recent changes in the Optional Practical Training (OPT) program, F-1 students currently participating in the STEM OPT extension are eligible to apply for an additional 7-months of work authorization. The deadline to...more
On March 11, 2016, U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) published a final rule pertaining to optional practical training (OPT) for certain students with degrees in science, technology, engineering, or mathematics...more
As HR Legalist has reported, the H-1B Cap has been met for FY2017. USCIS received over 236,000 petitions. From among this number were selected the congressionally mandated limit of 65,000 regular cap H-1B petitions, and an...more
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has published a revised rule which allows foreign students with degrees in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) to extend their 1-year period of Optional Practical...more
The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia gave the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) until May 10, 2016, to correct the procedural defects to its STEM OPT rule. The prior deadline had been February 12, 2016, to...more
To the relief of thousands of foreign nationals and many U.S. businesses and higher education institutions, on January 23, 2016, the federal district court in Washington D.C. presiding over Washington Alliance of Technology...more
On Monday, October 19, 2015, the Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”) published its eagerly anticipated STEM Optional Practical Training (“OPT”) rule in the Federal Register for a 30-day comment period ending on November...more
Last week, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued a proposed rule that would amend its F-1 nonimmigrant student visa regulations regarding optional practical training (OPT) for students with higher education degrees...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
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