Once again, at the last moment, ICE has extended “flexibility” for I-9 employment verification. This time, for four more months, until the end of the year, December 31, 2021, due to continuing COVID-19 precautions...more
ICE has announced that I-9 flexibility will be continued for another 60 days, until May 31, 2021. Here is ICE’s full announcement.
With this extension, ICE specifically noted that employees hired on or after April 1,...more
The gap between jobs needing to be filed and the skilled talent pool capable of filling them continues to grow wider in many industries, particularly in the U.S. manufacturing industry.
The ability to retain labor from...more
3/4/2021
/ Citizenship ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
DACA ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Pilot Programs ,
Foreign Workers ,
H-1B ,
Immigrants ,
Labor Shortage ,
Manufacturers ,
National Association of Manufacturers ,
STEM ,
Temporary Protected Status ,
USCIS
Once again, ICE has announced a further extension of flexibility in its rules related to I-9 compliance. The extension will continue through March 31, 2021.
This means that:
•Employers may continue to inspect Section...more
Premium processing fees are going up (the bad news), but premium processing will be available for more types of cases (the good news) according to changes included in the recently passed Continuing Resolution (CR) that will...more
Judge Jeffrey S. White has granted the plaintiffs’ request for preliminary injunction preventing the continued enforcement of the Presidential Proclamation suspending the entry of certain individuals in H, L, and J status...more
The “Strengthening the H-1B Nonimmigrant Visa Classification Program” rule has been submitted to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) for review and could be published by the end of the year – or earlier....more
Due to the continuation of the COVID-19 national emergency, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has decided to continue its temporary loosening of H-2A rules to make it easier to employ temporary, seasonal agricultural...more
The USCIS is in the process of entering a Consent Order to produce, on a specific schedule, Employment Authorization Document (EAD) cards for those 75,000 foreign nationals who have approved employment authorization...more
The White House has issued an amendment to the June 22, 2020, Presidential “Proclamation Suspending Entry of Aliens Who Present a Risk to the U.S. Labor Market Following the Coronavirus Outbreak” to clarify an issue regarding...more
The day before his previous Proclamation on immigrant visa was to expire, President Donald Trump signed the “Proclamation Suspending Entry of Aliens Who Present a Risk to the U.S. Labor Market Following the Coronavirus...more
6/24/2020
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Executive Orders ,
Foreign Workers ,
H-1B ,
H-2B ,
J-1 Visas ,
L-1 Visas ,
PERM ,
Presidential Proclamations ,
Trump Administration ,
Visas ,
Work Visas
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) once again is extending its flexibility regarding the physical presence requirements for I-9 inspection for another 30 days until July 19, 2020, due to the ongoing precautions related...more
The Department of Homeland Security announced that on May 14, 2020, a new temporary rule will go into effect giving employers in the food processing industry more flexibility to hire H-2B workers who are essential to...more
Federal law does not preempt a state’s ability to bring criminal prosecutions against individuals for providing false or fraudulent information in connection with their employment, the U.S. Supreme Court has decided. Kansas...more
The long-promised new Form I-9 is now available for use and downloading from the USCIS website. Although it became available for use starting January 31, 2020, there is a grace period. Employers have up to 90 days (until May...more
It is time to start preparing for the upcoming H-1B visa lottery, which begins April 1, 2020, and will be the first one to require an electronic registration for each case.
To be eligible to file a cap-subject H-1B...more
2/3/2020
/ Foreign Workers ,
H-1B ,
Highly-Skilled Workers Visa ,
Immigrants ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Lottery ,
OPT ,
STEM ,
USCIS ,
Visa Caps ,
Visas
Beginning in October 2020, employers in the construction industry in Pennsylvania will be required to use E-Verify, the federal government’s web-based program that allows employers to verify an employee’s work-authorization...more
Six hundred and eighty workers from seven poultry processing plants across Mississippi were arrested by ICE in what was the largest workplace raid in a decade. Raids of this size require complex logistics and months of...more
Employers will have until February 11, 2019, to create cases in E-Verify for employees hired during (or just prior to) the government shutdown.
Because of the month-long interruption in services, E-Verify anticipates that...more
After gathering feedback and extensive testing, USCIS has unveiled an updated and modernized E-Verify system to improve the user experience, efficiency, and reduce errors.
Enhanced features include:-...more
The USCIS is requesting some applicants for Adjustment of Status to submit copies of the I-9 Employment Eligibility Verification forms that they (and their employers) completed for current or former employment. These requests...more
In the wake of the lowest number of H-1B visa petitions filed in five years (199,000), President Donald Trump has signed an Executive Order dubbed “Buy American, Hire American.” It is focused on reform of the H-1B...more