USCIS has been issuing challenges and even denials to some H-1B petitions based upon allegations of suspected lottery fraud. USCIS appears to be taking the position that fraud occurs when multiple registrations are submitted...more
Proper completion of the Employment Eligibility Verification Form I-9 is one of the most important responsibilities of employers, including retailers, at the beginning of the hiring process. Saying it learned from the...more
8/8/2023
/ E-Verify ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Eligibility Verification ,
Foreign Workers ,
Form I-9 ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Immigrants ,
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Required Forms ,
USCIS
DHS has today, July 25, 2023, published a new Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Form. USCIS has made significant changes to the form and its instructions, including a checkbox to indicate that an employee’s Form I-9...more
On July 21, 2023, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced a final rule, which will be officially published on July 25, 2023, that will provide eligible employers filling out the Employment Eligibility Verification...more
7/24/2023
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
E-Verify ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Eligibility Verification ,
Foreign Workers ,
Form I-9 ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Required Forms ,
USCIS
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has announced that employers will have 30 days to comply with Form I-9 employment eligibility verification physical document examination requirements when COVID-19 flexibility...more
Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has been implementing “Simplified Arrival” at all airports, seaports, and most ports of entry since early 2022. The purpose is to secure and streamline the entry process. But the...more
The H-1B cap season for Fiscal Year 2024 is fast approaching. USCIS announced on January 27th that cap registration begins on March 1st. Employers should assess their hiring needs and determine if they will sponsor foreign...more
The Department of Homeland Security announced the redesignation of Yemen for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) and its extension from March 4, 2023, through Sept. 3, 2024.
Individuals who have not previously held Yemeni TPS...more
Starting on Jan. 5, 2023, COVID-19 travel restrictions are back for those travelling to the United States from China, Hong Kong, or Macau. Individuals will have to show evidence of a negative COVID-19 test or of recovery from...more
Prior to 2021, collegiate student-athletes were not able to make sponsorship deals and profit from their names, images, and likenesses (NILs). However, in 2021, that changed when the NCAA adopted a new policy allowing...more
USCIS has announced that Ukrainian and Afghan parolees with certain classes of admission are employment authorized incident to status which means they can begin working without an EAD....more
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) will continue Form I-9 flexibility for another nine months until July 31, 2023, according to an announcement. DHS guidance remains the same. Employees who, due to COVID-19 policies,...more
In Washington Alliance of Technical Workers v. DHS (WashTech), the D.C. Circuit held that optional practical training programs (OPT) that allow students on the nonimmigrant F-1 visa to work in the United States for up to...more
Responding to the history of legal challenges, the Biden Administration is trying to give the DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) program more heft by changing it from a policy to a regulation. On October 31, 2022,...more
For H-1B visas, employers have been hoping there will be another round of selections for FY 2023, but that is not on the horizon.
USCIS has been sending non-selection notices to registrants’ online accounts. USCIS can...more
For more than two years, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has been allowing employers with remote workers to review Form I-9 Employment Verification Authorization documents virtually...more
Employers whose employees presented expired List B documents for Form I-9 Employment Eligibility Verification purposes between May 1, 2020, and April 30, 2022, must update Form I-9 with unexpired documents by July 31, 2022....more
Some Temporary Protected Status (TPS) holders will once again be able to overcome inadmissibility for adjustment of status purposes by traveling internationally because USCIS is updating its interpretation of MTINA, the...more
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is considering making a change which would permanently allow the flexibility it has extended over employers’ verification of employees’ identity and employment eligibility since March...more
Federal courts could not review the U.S. Attorney General’s decisions denying discretionary relief from removal – even in a case where the alien contends that the decision was based on a factual error, the U.S. Supreme Court...more
As of May 4, 2022, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is increasing the automatic extension of work authorization from 180 days to 540 days for certain individuals. ...more
A new Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification is in the works. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is seeking comments on its proposed changes to the form. ...more
The Department of Homeland Security set out the specifics about the upcoming new premium processing benefits in the Federal Register on March 30, 2022. The details, however, did not include any specific implementation dates,...more
Just as the Biden Administration is proposing increased funding for USCIS to help reduce the agency’s backlog, USCIS is announcing future new actions to improve processing times....more
As of May 1, 2022, employers can no longer accept expired List B documents for Form I-9 Employment Eligibility Verification purposes, and any expired List B documents that were previously accepted must be updated by July 31,...more