PERM can be one of the most confusing and frustrating portions of the employment-based Green Card process for employers. PERM is driven by numerous regulatory requirements and the slightest mistake can doom a Green Card...more
7/11/2019
/ Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Filing Requirements ,
Foreign Workers ,
Green Cards ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Job Applicants ,
Labor Certifications ,
PERM ,
Prevailing Wages ,
Recruitment Policies ,
USCIS ,
Visas ,
Wage and Hour
Now that the April 1, 2019 H-1B visa deadline has passed, thousands of employers may find themselves looking for an alternative to employ valuable foreign workers. While not receiving as much media popularity as the H-1B...more
4/16/2019
/ E-2 ,
Foreign Investment ,
Foreign Nationals ,
Foreign Workers ,
Highly-Skilled Workers Visa ,
Immigrants ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Investors ,
L-Visas ,
USCIS ,
Visas
While students across the country are getting ready for spring break, school districts are already preparing to hire teachers for the next academic cycle. Many districts are suffering from a nationwide teaching shortage and...more
With April 1, 2019 and the H-1B cap deadline quickly approaching, employers seeking to use H-1B workers in third-party worksite arrangements will likely continue to see increased scrutiny from USCIS. Third-party worksite...more
In early January, the Burr & Forman, LLP immigration team outlined a major change to the H-1B visa lottery system proposed by the Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”) (DHS Proposes Major Lottery Changes Ahead of H-1B...more
2/6/2019
/ Amended Regulation ,
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
Diversity Lottery ,
Electronic Filing ,
Final Rules ,
Foreign Workers ,
H-1B ,
Highly-Skilled Workers Visa ,
Labor Condition Applications ,
Registration Requirement ,
USCIS ,
Visa Applications ,
Visa Caps ,
Visas
The current government shutdown does not affect the vast majority of USCIS’s activities. Their offices are open, and interviews and appointments are proceeding as normal. USCIS continues to accept petitions and applications...more
1/17/2019
/ Conrad 30 Waiver ,
E-Verify ,
EB-5 ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Eligibility Verification ,
Filing Deadlines ,
Foreign Nationals ,
Foreign Workers ,
Government Shutdown ,
Immigrant Investor Program ,
Immigration Procedures ,
J-1 Visas ,
Religious Workers ,
Tentative Nonconfirmation ,
Time Extensions ,
USCIS
Recent ICE activity has demonstrated the importance of properly completing Form I-9 and the consequences that result from not doing so. One of the best ways for a company to feel confident upon receipt of an audit notice from...more
1/16/2019
/ Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Eligibility Verification ,
Foreign Nationals ,
Foreign Workers ,
Form I-9 ,
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) ,
Immigration Enforcement ,
Immigration Records ,
Risk Mitigation ,
Undocumented Immigrants ,
Voluntary Self-Audit
Every January, employers begin making preparing for the H-1B visa filing season so they will be ready for the H-1B cap filing deadline on April 1st. Filing H-1B petitions typically come with a degree of anxiety given the visa...more
1/9/2019
/ Comment Period ,
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
Filing Deadlines ,
Filing Requirements ,
Foreign Nationals ,
Foreign Workers ,
H-1B ,
Highly-Skilled Workers Visa ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Lottery ,
Proposed Rules ,
Public Comment ,
Registration Requirement ,
USCIS ,
Visa Caps ,
Visas
Employers who use E-Verify to confirm their employees are eligible to work in the United States will be required to reset their E-Verify password, security questions, and answers when they log in to the system on or after...more
Even the simplest tasks tend to be chaotic around the holidays, and a trip to the U.S. Consulate for a visa interview is no exception. With no school for children and a desire to be with extended family during the holidays,...more
11/8/2018
/ Background Checks ,
Consulate ,
Family-Based Visas ,
Foreign Nationals ,
Holidays ,
International Travel ,
Interviews ,
Non-Immigrant Visas ,
Passports ,
Travel Permits ,
Travelers ,
Visa Applications ,
Visas ,
Work Visas
USCIS has implemented a new Policy Memorandum affecting foreign national students (F-1 and M-1) and exchange visitors (J-1). The memo, “Accrual of Unlawful Presence and F, J, and M Nonimmigrants,” became effective on August...more
Hear from McNair's Jon Eggert on the special green card rules as it relates to Colleges & Universities....more
Every year, U.S. employers seeking highly skilled foreign professionals submit their petitions to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) with the hope of receiving an H-1B number. Since 1990, Congress has limited...more
6/27/2018
/ Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Foreign Students ,
Foreign Workers ,
H-1B ,
Highly-Skilled Workers Visa ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Labor Condition Applications ,
Third-Party ,
USCIS ,
Visa Caps ,
Visas
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is planning a nationwide increase of Form I-9 audits this summer, and employers should prepare for the increased possibility of a government audit.
ICE is the federal agency...more
6/25/2018
/ Audits ,
E-Verify ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Eligibility Verification ,
Form I-9 ,
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) ,
Immigration Enforcement ,
Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA) ,
Undocumented Immigrants ,
Voluntary Self-Audit ,
Workplace Investigations
After months of anticipation, it appears the first major H-1B program-related change will be the recession of employment authorization for certain H-4 spouses. The change should have the largest effect on Chinese and Indian...more
1/24/2018
/ DACA ,
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
Employment Authorization Documents (EAD) ,
Executive Orders ,
Foreign Nationals ,
Green Cards ,
H-1B ,
H-4 Spouses ,
Recessions ,
Time Extensions ,
Trump Administration ,
Work Visas
With changes in late 2017, many employers are gearing up for H-1B season on April 1, 2018. The H-1B visa allows foreign nationals to work in occupations that require at least a U.S. Bachelor’s Degree (or foreign equivalent)...more
1/22/2018
/ Diversity Lottery ,
Filing Deadlines ,
Filing Requirements ,
Foreign Nationals ,
Green Cards ,
H-1B ,
Trump Administration ,
USCIS ,
Visa Applications ,
Visa Caps ,
Work Visas
While students across the country are heading back to finish the school year, school districts are already preparing to hire teachers for the next academic term. Districts are suffering from a nationwide teaching shortage and...more
1/10/2018
/ Colleges ,
Diversity Lottery ,
Employee Retention ,
Filing Deadlines ,
Foreign Nationals ,
Green Cards ,
H-1B ,
New Hires ,
New Rules ,
School Districts ,
Teachers ,
Universities ,
USCIS ,
Visas
E-Verify undergoes an early ‘spring cleaning’ each year when USCIS disposes of E-Verify records more than 10 years old. E-Verify users who have been using the online employment verification system for 10 years or more should...more
On October 1, 2017, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) began phasing-in interviews for all employment-based green card applicants. Interviews have always been mandatory, but historically USCIS has...more
10/25/2017
/ Employees ,
Executive Orders ,
Foreign Nationals ,
Green Cards ,
I-485 Applications ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Interviews ,
Trump Administration ,
USCIS ,
Visas ,
Waivers
The H-2B visa program allows businesses in the United States to sponsor foreign nationals for a temporary visa to work in nonagricultural jobs. The H-2B program is popular among employers in the hospitality, tourism, and...more
9/29/2017
/ Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
Exemptions ,
Final Rules ,
Foreign Nationals ,
H-2B ,
Hospitality Industry ,
Irreparable Harm ,
J-1 Visas ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Temporary Work Visas ,
Visa Caps ,
Visas
On September 5, 2017, the Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”) issued a memorandum rescinding an Obama-era program known as Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (“DACA”). DACA permits certain undocumented aliens that...more
9/28/2017
/ DACA ,
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Authorization Documents (EAD) ,
Form I-9 ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Memorandum of Guidance ,
Obama Administration ,
Rescission ,
Temporary Work Visas ,
Trump Administration
In early August, President Trump voiced support for a bill introduced earlier this year by Senators Tom Cotton (R-AR) and David Perdue (R-GA) to effectively overhaul the current immigration system. The Reforming American...more
8/24/2017
/ Diversity Lottery ,
EB-5 ,
Green Cards ,
H-1B ,
Highly-Skilled Workers Visa ,
Immigration Reform ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Non-Immigrant Visas ,
Popular ,
Proposed Legislation ,
RAISE Act ,
Trump Administration ,
Visas ,
Work Visas
Most employers have now implemented the use of the highly publicized, newly revised Form I-9 which United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) mandated as the only acceptable Form I-9 version (rev 11/14/16)...more
Corporate mergers and acquisitions are typically complex and expensive transactions. While financial matters typically comprise the core of an acquiring company’s due diligence efforts during a merger or acquisition,...more
The United States Supreme Court recently stayed portions of two (2) U.S. Circuit Court opinions and allowed parts of President Trump’s travel ban to go into effect. Foreign nationals from Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria,...more
7/12/2017
/ B-1 ,
B-2 ,
Bona Fide Relationship Test ,
Business Visitor ,
Executive Orders ,
Foreign Nationals ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Immigration Reform ,
International Travel ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
SCOTUS ,
Travel Ban ,
Traveling Employee ,
Trump Administration ,
Trump v Hawaii ,
Trump v International Refugee Assistance Project ,
Visas ,
Work Visas