On April 30, 2021, the Biden administration issued a proclamation that implements restrictions for travelers from India, due to concerns regarding COVID-19. Pursuant to the proclamation, noncitizens who have been physically...more
On December 14, 2020, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia granted a motion for partial summary judgment in favor of the plaintiffs to invalidate recent regulations from the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL),...more
On August 12, 2020, the U.S. Department of State issued guidance on scenarios that may qualify for a “national interest exception” under Presidential Proclamation 10052 of June 22, 2020 (“Proclamation Suspending Entry of...more
On August 3, 2020, the Trump Administration issued an executive order (EO) directing the secretaries of the Departments of Labor and Homeland Security to “take action...to protect United States workers from any adverse...more
On July 31, 2020, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced a final rule that will adjust fees for specific immigration and naturalization benefit requests to “ensure U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services...more
On June 22, 2020, the Trump administration issued a presidential proclamation suspending the entry of individuals to the United States on select nonimmigrant visas, including H-1B, H-2B, J-1, and L-1 visa holders, as well as...more
On April 22, 2020, the Trump administration issued an executive order suspending the entry of individuals seeking entry to the United States on an immigrant visa. “Immigrant visa” refers to an application for permanent...more
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced on March 20, 2020, that it will relax the in-person verification requirements of the Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification for employers operating remotely due to...more
On March 20, 2020, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced the immediate and temporary suspension of premium processing services for all Forms I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker and Forms I-140,...more
In a 5–4 decision on February 21, 2020, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled in Wolf v. Cook County, Illinois (No. 19A905) in favor of staying an Illinois district court’s injunction blocking the Trump...more
3/4/2020
/ Concurrent Litigation ,
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
Foreign Nationals ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Immigration Reform ,
Irreparable Harm ,
Order to Stay ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Public Charge ,
SCOTUS ,
Trump Administration ,
US Department of State ,
USCIS ,
Wolf v Cook County
On January 31, 2020, the Trump administration expanded the list of countries affected by Presidential Proclamation 9645, more commonly referred to as “Travel Ban 3.0.” Nigeria, Eritrea, Kyrgyzstan, Myanmar, Sudan, and...more
On January 30, 2020, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that it will begin implementing the new public charge regulations on February 24, 2020. The regulations broadly expand the list of public...more
On January 27, 2020, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled 5-4 in favor of allowing the Trump administration to begin applying its revised public charge rule. The rule’s implementation was blocked in October 2019 by...more
1/30/2020
/ Appeals ,
Department of Homeland Security v New York ,
Foreign Nationals ,
Green Cards ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Immigration Reform ,
Pending Litigation ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Proposed Rules ,
Public Charge ,
Residency Status ,
SCOTUS ,
Trump Administration ,
Updated Forms
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) recently announced that it would begin accepting electronic registrations for H-1B candidates subject to the annual quota for fiscal year (FY) 2021 on March 1, 2020. The...more
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has confirmed that it will implement the new electronic H-1B registration system for the upcoming cap season. Employers seeking to file cap-subject H-1B petitions will be...more
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has proposed a new fee schedule designed to mitigate an approximate $1.3 billion shortfall in the annual budget of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). According to DHS,...more
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has announced that it will automatically extend the validity of temporary protected status (TPS) documents and work authorization for qualified beneficiaries from El Salvador, Haiti,...more
11/14/2019
/ Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
El Salvador ,
Foreign Nationals ,
Form I-9 ,
Haiti ,
Honduras ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Injunctions ,
Nepal ,
Nicaragua ,
Sudan ,
Temporary Protected Status ,
Time Extensions
The Trump administration’s public charge rule is on hold, at least temporarily. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Department of State each introduced a version of the rule. ...more
On August 14, 2019, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) published the final version of its public charge rule in the Federal Register. According to a statement by DHS, the rule is intended to formalize the way in which...more
On July 10, 2019, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 1044, the Fairness for High-Skilled Immigrants Act of 2019, by a vote of 365 to 65. The bill is intended to reduce lengthy immigrant visa (green card) wait times...more
7/12/2019
/ Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
EB-2 ,
EB-3 ,
Green Cards ,
H-1B ,
Highly-Skilled Workers Visa ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Labor Condition Applications ,
Pending Legislation ,
Visa Caps ,
Visas
Foreign nationals are now required to provide a five-year history of social media usernames, telephone numbers, and email addresses when applying for U.S. nonimmigrant or immigrant visas. The plan to require more information...more
6/18/2019
/ B-1 ,
Customs and Border Protection ,
Electronic Communications ,
Electronic Devices ,
Foreign Nationals ,
H-1B ,
Immigration Procedures ,
L-1 Visas ,
Social Networks ,
US Department of State ,
Visas
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has released its spring 2019 regulatory agenda, highlighting the agency’s rulemaking priorities through 2019. While many of the agenda items appear to be carryovers from agendas past,...more
6/13/2019
/ Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
Electronic Filing ,
Electronic Travel Authorization Program (eTA) ,
F-1 Visa ,
Filing Fees ,
H-1B ,
H-4 Spouses ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Proposed Regulation ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
USCIS ,
Visa Waiver Program ,
Visas
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has completed the selection process for H-1B cap subject petitions filed for fiscal year (FY) 2020. On April 10, 2019, the agency ran computerized lotteries for both regular...more
4/15/2019
/ F-1 Visa ,
Filing Requirements ,
Foreign Students ,
Foreign Workers ,
H-1B ,
Highly-Skilled Workers Visa ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Immigrants ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Lottery ,
Request for Evidence (RFEs) ,
Travelers ,
USCIS ,
Visa Caps ,
Visas
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ (USCIS) processing times continue to lag compared to previous years, according to data recently released by the agency. This is especially true for foreign nationals with pending...more
On November 20, 2017, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced the termination of the temporary protected status (TPS) designation for Haiti. Under the TPS program, the secretary of homeland security “may...more