Employers wishing to sponsor a candidate for an H-1B visa in Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 are approaching an important time of year. United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) recently announced the H-1B cap lottery...more
2/8/2024
/ Corporate Counsel ,
Foreign Workers ,
H-1B ,
Highly-Skilled Workers Visa ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Immigrants ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Job Applicants ,
Lottery ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
USCIS ,
Visa Caps ,
Visas
United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) recently announced all available visas in the Fiscal Year 2024 H-1B lottery program have been utilized. Each year, 65,000 H-1B visas are available for positions...more
The Department of State (DOS) appears primed to renew the practice of domestic visa renewal for at least some foreign nationals in 2024. DOS sent a Federal Register notice titled Pilot Program to Resume Renewal of H-1B...more
11/9/2023
/ Federal Pilot Programs ,
Foreign Nationals ,
Foreign Workers ,
H-1B ,
Highly-Skilled Workers Visa ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Immigrants ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Immigration Reform ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Renewal Options ,
US Department of State ,
USCIS ,
Visas
United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has instituted a revised Form I-9 that is mandatory for all employers, starting November 1, 2023.
USCIS announced the new version in August, in part to aid with...more
In an effort to address the ongoing Employment Authorization Document (more commonly known as an “EAD”) processing backlog, USCIS recently announced it would lengthen the maximum validity period for certain EAD categories to...more
10/11/2023
/ Adjustment of Status ,
Employment Authorization Documents (EAD) ,
Foreign Nationals ,
Foreign Workers ,
Green Cards ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Immigrants ,
Immigration Procedures ,
USCIS ,
Validity ,
Visas
On May 4, 2022, the Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”) issued a rule temporarily increasing the Employment Authorization Document (“EAD”) automatic extension period for certain renewal applicants. Under the temporary...more
9/6/2023
/ Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
E-Verify ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Authorization Documents (EAD) ,
Employment Eligibility Verification ,
Filing Deadlines ,
Form I-9 ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Popular ,
Required Forms ,
USCIS
Last month, DHS announced E-Verify employers would be eligible to utilize an alternative remote document verification procedure when completing Section 2 of Form I-9, starting August 1, 2023. Only a few days later, DHS...more
8/22/2023
/ Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
E-Verify ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Eligibility Verification ,
Foreign Workers ,
Form I-9 ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Immigrants ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Required Forms ,
USCIS
USCIS recently announced the annual registration period for the FY2024 H-1B cap will open at noon (ET) on March 1, 2023, and remain open until noon (ET) on March 17, 2023. Registration is an annual electronic process through...more
It is no secret that certain sectors of U.S. employers have engaged in significant layoffs over the last six months. Meta—the parent company of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp—laid off more than 11,000 employees in November...more
1/17/2023
/ Adjustment of Status ,
E-3 ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Foreign Nationals ,
Foreign Workers ,
Green Cards ,
H-1B ,
H-1B1 ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Layoffs ,
Visas
Employers wishing to sponsor a candidate for an H-1B visa in Fiscal Year 2024 are approaching an important time of year. United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is expected to announce the H-1B cap...more
Since its introduction in 2001, the Premium Processing service offered by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) has seen notable changes. Premium Processing was originally introduced as an option for certain...more
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) announced a Temporary Final Rule that will increase the 180-day automatic extension period for some Employment Authorization Documents (“EADs”) to 540 days beyond the EAD’s...more
5/11/2022
/ Employment Authorization Documents (EAD) ,
Employment Eligibility Verification ,
Final Rules ,
Foreign Workers ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Immigrants ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Immigration Reform ,
Temporary Regulations ,
Time Extensions ,
USCIS
Last week, USCIS announced the H-1B visa cap registration deadlines for FY2023. Registration is mandatory for employers wishing to sponsor a candidate for an H-1B visa in the FY2023 H-1B cap cycle. Registration is an annual...more
Resources -
FAR Council Issues Ensuring Adequate COVID-19 Safety Protocols For Federal Contractors Clause The Federal Acquisition Regulatory (“FAR”) Council has published a new clause (“COVID Clause”), and has asked...more
With the 2021-2022 school year around the corner, Melissa Azallion Kenny has put together a podcast for public school districts interested in using the H-1B visa strategy for teacher shortage occupations. Melissa addresses...more
Last month, President Joe Biden (“President Biden”) wrapped up his first 100 days as President of the United States – focusing on a myriad of issues from the Coronavirus pandemic (“COVID-19”) to America’s immigration system....more
5/20/2021
/ DACA ,
Foreign Nationals ,
Green Cards ,
H-1B ,
H-2B ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Immigration Reform ,
J-1 Visas ,
L-1 Visas ,
Popular ,
Presidential Proclamations ,
Prevailing Wages ,
Public Charge ,
USCIS ,
Wage and Hour
After federal courts blocked their first attempt in December, the U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) recently published a new final rule seeking to again increase the minimum wage paid to foreign workers when sponsored for an...more
1/25/2021
/ Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Foreign Workers ,
H-1B ,
Highly-Skilled Workers Visa ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Immigrants ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Immigration Reform ,
Labor Regulations ,
Minimum Wage ,
PERM ,
Prevailing Wages ,
USCIS ,
Visas ,
Wage and Hour
COVID-19 has affected nearly all areas of immigration, including the speed at which the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) is able to produce the Employment Authorization Document (“EAD card”). ...more
It’s official, almost. Implementation of the new H-1B filing process for 2020 is fast approaching and more details have been released. DHS published a notice in the Federal Register on January 9, 2020, which officially...more
1/29/2020
/ Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
Foreign Workers ,
H-1B ,
Highly-Skilled Workers Visa ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Immigration Reform ,
Lottery ,
New Regulations ,
USCIS ,
Visas
On August 7, 2019, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) conducted a raid of seven Mississippi food processing plants, arresting 680 employees suspected of working without...more
The Social Security Administration (SSA) resumed sending Employer Correction Request Notices, more commonly referred to as “No-Match Letters”, to employers in the Spring of 2019, following a seven-year period with no issuance...more
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
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
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
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