On Dec. 18, 2024, USCIS released the Modernizing H-1B Requirements, Providing Flexibility in the F-1 Program, and Program Improvements Affecting Other Nonimmigrant Workers Final Rule. First proposed in October 2023, the Biden...more
Many USCIS filing fees are being adjusted upward beginning on April 1, 2024. That date, of course, is particularly significant. It is the earliest date that Cap H-1Bs can be filed.
The H-1B filing fee, for example, will rise...more
On October 30, 2023, President Joe Biden issued an Executive Order regarding the “Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy Development and Use of Artificial Intelligence.” The Executive Order (EO) directs departments and agencies...more
11/10/2023
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
Executive Orders ,
H-1B ,
Immigration Procedures ,
J-1 Visas ,
Joe Biden ,
National Security ,
Non-Citizens ,
STEM ,
US State Departments ,
Visas
The Department of Labor (DOL) and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) have announced they will be collaborating and sharing information to improve their enforcement efforts....more
10/25/2023
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Equal Pay ,
Equal Pay Act ,
Foreign Workers ,
H-1B ,
Memorandum of Understanding ,
PERM ,
Title I ,
Title VII ,
Wage and Hour
USCIS has published a proposed rule that, once implemented, would significantly reform and modernize the H-1B Program. The Modernizing H-1B Requirements, Providing Flexibility in the F-1 Program, and Program Improvements...more
The H-1B cap season for Fiscal Year 2024 is fast approaching. USCIS announced on January 27th that cap registration begins on March 1st. Employers should assess their hiring needs and determine if they will sponsor foreign...more
For H-1B visas, employers have been hoping there will be another round of selections for FY 2023, but that is not on the horizon.
USCIS has been sending non-selection notices to registrants’ online accounts. USCIS can...more
USCIS has announced that H-1B Cap registration will start on March 1, 2022, at noon (Eastern) and will continue through noon (Eastern) on March 18, 2022.
If enough registrations to fill the cap are received by March 18...more
Nonimmigrant spouses of H-1B and L-1 visa holders with long-pending EAD applications have finally received some relief. Based upon a settlement in Shergill v. Mayokas, USCIS is making major policy changes. Going forward,...more
USCIS made more random Cap H-1B selections on July 28, 2021. Notifications started to go out today – July 29, 2021. Due to a glitch in the USCIS system, attorneys do not yet have access to the notices (although some employers...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
USCIS has announced that the Cap H-1B Electronic Registration will open on March 9, 2021 at noon EST and will close on March 25, 2021 at noon EST.
The process will mirror last year’s process.
USCIS also announced its...more
On the same day his nominee for Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Alejandro Mayorkas, was confirmed, President Joe Biden signed several Executive Orders regarding immigration, including one that directs...more
On January 25, 2021, the Biden administration withdrew from review the Trump administration’s proposed rule that would have rescinded the H-4 EAD program.
For close to five years, spouses of H-1B workers holding H-4 EADs...more
USCIS has released its final rule on the modification of the H-1B cap selection process (“Modification Rule”) to prioritize petitions with the highest wage levels in the Federal Register.
Unless the Biden administration...more
On December 1, Judge Jeffrey S. White granted the plaintiffs’ request to set aside two separate rules issued by the Trump Administration that would have drastically undermined the ability of employers to utilize both the H-1B...more
Having instituted a new on-line registration process for Cap H-1B petitions last year, on November 2, 2020, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued a notice of proposed rulemaking to replace the random selection...more
Business groups, universities, and technology consulting firms have filed suits seeking to enjoin the new rules on H-1B and PERM labor certification programs issued by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the...more
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has released yet another rule that will make it harder and more costly for U.S. companies to employ highly skilled workers.
As a companion regulation to the “Strengthening Wage...more
Foreign students soon may find themselves subject to new policies and processes regarding their status in the United States.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has released for comment its proposed rule...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
Employers need to ready themselves for investigations from the Department of Labor (DOL) into the use of H-1B visas.
Without Congressional oversight or legislative changes, the Trump Administration has changed the policies...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
As businesses begin to reopen after shutdowns to help stop the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, employers should anticipate heightened scrutiny by USCIS, ICE, and the Departments of Labor and Justice regarding wage and hour...more