On Wednesday, April 22, President Donald Trump signed a Proclamation suspending the issuance of new immigrant visas in an effort to limit job competition as the U.S. economy reels from the COVID-19 pandemic. The President’s...more
As U.S. employers begin to prepare for the upcoming H-1B cap season, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) has published a new rule in connection with this year’s H-1B cap filings. Here’s what you need to know....more
On Monday, December 3, 2018, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) published in the federal register a proposed new rule that would significantly alter the H-1B cap filing process. The proposed rule (1)...more
The State Department began to implement a new policy on June 11, 2018 that shortens the validity period granted and imposes additional security clearances before a visa is issued to certain Chinese citizens applying for...more
Employers are experiencing changes in the H-1B adjudicative process resulting in challenges in planning supplement professional work force hiring. The specified purpose of the "Hire American" section in President Trump’s...more
What is the new proposed new rule? -
The State Department posted two Federal Register notices that propose to revise questions it asks temporary and permanent visa applicants when applying to come to the U.S. The new...more
As reported on April 6, 2018, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) received more H-1B cap petitions than the statutory available visas for both the general cap of 65,000 available H-1B visas and the additional...more
Now that the FY 2019 H-1B cap has been reached, make sure you have a strong immigration compliance programs in place, particularly when it comes to Department of Homeland Security’s H-1B Site Visit program and Department of...more
Today, April 6, 2018, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) announced that it has received more H-1B cap petitions than the statutory available visas for both the general cap of 65,000 available H-1B visas...more
On March 20, 2018, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that it will again suspend premium processing for all H-1B cap-subject petitions beginning April 2, 2018, the first day filing begins. Premium...more
On February 22, 2018, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued a new policy memo making it more restrictive for H-1B employers who have their consultants work at third party work sites to fulfil client...more
The Visa Waiver Program (“VWP”) allows citizens of 38 countries to travel to the U.S. for business or pleasure without having to obtain a formal visa by obtaining a pre-clearance known as Electronic System of Travel...more
It’s the time of year when U.S. employers are preparing for the upcoming H-1B cap petition filing season. While it appeared that USCIS was considering revising the H-1B lottery process for this fiscal year by adding a new...more
Since taking office, President Donald Trump has issued a series of immigration-related executive orders and proclamations that have become the general framework for the future management of U.S. immigration policy and...more
1/26/2018
/ DACA ,
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
Executive Orders ,
F-1 Visa ,
H-1B ,
H-4 Spouses ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Immigration Reform ,
REAL IDs ,
Trump Administration ,
USCIS ,
Visas
New changes to H-1B Lottery; H-4 EADs on the chopping block; AC 21 H-1B extensions in trouble; and how to plan for it all -
Changes to the H-1B Program and the H-1B Visa Lottery -
The Department of Homeland Security...more
On Monday, October 23, 2017, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) reversed a long-standing policy regarding non-immigrant extension petitions. Historically, as memorialized in an April 23, 2004 USCIS policy...more
As of Tuesday, September 19, 2017, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) resumed accepting requests for premium processing for cap subject petitions. The process is only available for pending petitions, not...more
USCIS has released a new version of the Form I-9, which all employers must use beginning January 22, 2017. Employers should read the new Form I-9 instructions in full and also review the content of the new I-9 version...more
2/14/2017
/ E-Verify ,
Electronic Filing ,
Eligibility ,
Foreign Workers ,
Form I-9 ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Immigrants ,
Required Forms ,
USCIS ,
Verification Requirements ,
Visas
As described in our January 30 and February 7 Immigration Alerts, on January 27, 2017, President Trump issued an Executive Order (“EO”) entitled “Protecting the Nation from Foreign Terrorist Entry into the United States.”...more
2/10/2017
/ Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
Executive Orders ,
Foreign Nationals ,
Green Cards ,
Immigrants ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Immigration Reform ,
Iran ,
Iraq ,
Libya ,
Refugees ,
Restraining Orders ,
Somalia ,
Sudan ,
Syria ,
Travel Ban ,
Trump Administration ,
Visas ,
Yemen
On January 27, 2017, President Trump issued an Executive Order (“EO”) entitled “Protecting the Nation from Foreign Terrorist Entry into the United States.” Among other things, the EO essentially prohibited aliens from seven...more
2/8/2017
/ Customs and Border Protection ,
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
Executive Orders ,
Foreign Nationals ,
Green Cards ,
Immigrants ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Immigration Reform ,
Iran ,
Iraq ,
Libya ,
Refugees ,
Restraining Orders ,
Somalia ,
Sudan ,
Syria ,
Travel Ban ,
Trump Administration ,
Visas ,
Yemen
Within the next week, President Trump is expected to issue another Executive Order (“EO”) concerning high-skilled workers and foreign students, most likely to be titled "Protecting American Jobs and Workers by Strengthening...more
2/1/2017
/ Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
E-Verify ,
Executive Orders ,
Foreign Nationals ,
Foreign Workers ,
H-1B ,
Highly-Skilled Workers Visa ,
Trump Administration ,
Visa Bulletins ,
Visas ,
Wage and Hour
On April 1, 2014, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) will begin accepting new H-1B petitions for employment commencing on October 1, 2014. New H-1B petitions are subject to an annual limit of 65,000 new...more