The Department of State recently updated the Foreign Affairs Manual regarding issuance of F-1 visas. The change puts more emphasis on the applicant’s intent to return to the home country after study in the U.S....more
President Trump rescinded the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program today, September 5, 2017. The program, originally put into place on June 15, 2012, gave people who had entered the U.S. as children and...more
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service has announced that effective October 1, 2017, applicants for “adjustment of status” (the last step in the “green card” process) based on employment sponsorship and for...more
This alert applies to you only if you are in H-1B, H-4, L-1 or L-2 status and you are applying for “adjustment of status” in the United States.
If you have been approved to immigrate (approved PERM or approved Form I-140)...more
It was only six months ago that the new fillable I-9 for went into effect, but just this week (July 17, 2017) U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service published a new version, deleting the November 16, 2016, version from its...more
On June 26, 2017, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear an appeal of the injunction on the Executive Order, “Protecting the Nation from Foreign Terrorist Entry into the United States,” known as the “travel ban,” in its...more
With immigration in the news now more than ever, and a national shift in enforcement strategy by the Trump Administration, it is important to prepare your staff for a visit by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)...more
Besides the wall, another immigration-related theme made a frequent appearance in the presidential campaign: the H-1B visa. This program allows foreign nationals with a bachelor’s degree or higher (or the equivalent in...more
On Wednesday, March 15, 2017, a federal court in Hawaii temporarily enjoined the Executive Order commonly known as the “travel ban” that was to take effect today (Thursday, March 16, 2017). Several other federal courts have...more
U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Service (USCIS) announced its plan to stop premium processing on the first working day of April (Monday April 3, 2017) for all H-1B filings.
Background -
“Premium processing” is a...more
Today the White House released the promised updated “travel ban” Executive Order (“Protecting the Nation from Foreign Terrorist Entry into the United States”). The original Executive Order was enjoined by a federal court on...more
The President issued an Executive Order late Friday, January 27, 2017, banning entry for people from certain countries for 90 days. The situation developed over the weekend and continues to develop. ...more
The new version of the I-9 form is now required for all hires as of January 22, 2017.
The form may be completed online, printed, and signed, or it may be printed and completed manually....more
Despite a wide variety of opinions about immigration, most people agree that a person who will benefit the national interest should be allowed to immigrate. While immigration law includes a path for immigration in the...more
A new I-9 form was released this week, which will become mandatory on January 22, 2017. Until that time, employers may continue to use the “old” version (dated 03/08/2013).
Electronic completion -
The form now can...more
The election of Donald Trump to the presidency will undoubtedly change immigration processes, and could change immigration laws. While it is too early to know anything for certain, we are carefully monitoring developments...more
Employers complying with the Affordable Care Act (“ACA”) by filing Form 1095-C increasingly face another question: Are they in compliance with their I-9 obligations?
The Affordable Care Act (ACA) requires employers with...more
7/27/2016
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Duty to Investigate ,
E-Verify ,
Form 1095 ,
Form I-9 ,
Health Insurance ,
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) ,
IRS ,
Penalties ,
Reasonable Cause Defense ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Social Security Numbers
Both F-1 students and employers have been following the litigation over the F-1 OPT (optional practical training) program. The government was sued by tech workers in Washington, D.C. regarding a part of this program, the...more
4/15/2016
/ Department of Labor (DOL) ,
E-Verify ,
Employment Authorization Documents (EAD) ,
Foreign Students ,
Form F-1 ,
H-1B ,
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) ,
OPT ,
Popular ,
Reporting Requirements ,
STEM ,
Training Requirements ,
USCIS
The H-1B “cap” petition filing deadline is quickly approaching. As a reminder, this is the national deadline for submitted petitions to sponsor workers in “specialty occupations” for those positions that are subject to the...more
An update to the notice we posted last week about the ongoing STEM OPT litigation:
The court, in Washington Alliance of Technology Workers v. U.S. Dept. of Homeland Security, granted the government (Department of...more
The budget bill, which was signed into law in December, disallows “Visa Waiver” entries for nationals of Iran, Iraq, Syria or Sudan (whether or not they have ever visited those countries) and persons from any country who have...more
Many of you are following the STEM OPT saga closely. As the original deadline of February 12, 2016, approaches, we are providing this brief update.
As background, the OPT (optional practical training) program is part...more
Congressional leaders worked late into the night Tuesday to reach agreement on the federal budget (or omnibus appropriations in Washington-speak). Although the bill has not become law, passage is expected this week....more
The Department of State released a revised October Visa Bulletin Friday, September 25. The revision moves back several categories in the new Dates for Filing charts. (For the original dates, please see our previous post...more
Some hoped-for change is finally here. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) and the U.S. Department of State (DOS) have coordinated a system to allow “early” filing of the final step in the green card process for...more