On Dec. 1, the United States District Court in the Northern District of California set aside two Interim Final Rules affecting the H-1B program, holding that the Rules were promulgated in violation of the Administrative...more
12/4/2020
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Domestic Hiring Policy ,
Foreign Workers ,
H-1B ,
Highly-Skilled Workers Visa ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Immigrants ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Immigration Reform ,
Motion to Set Aside the Verdict ,
Prevailing Wages ,
Trump Administration ,
USCIS ,
Visas
Without notice or the opportunity for public comment, as required by federal law, the Department of Labor (DOL) issued a regulation that will significantly raise the minimum required wages for H-1B, H-1B1, E-3 and PERM labor...more
10/9/2020
/ Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Domestic Hiring Policy ,
E-3 ,
H-1B ,
H-1B1 ,
Immigration Reform ,
Labor Regulations ,
Minimum Wage ,
PERM ,
Prevailing Wages ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Trump Administration ,
Visas ,
Wage and Hour
In a surprise move, the Trump administration has reversed its decision to bar New York state residents from Trusted Traveler Programs such as Global Entry, NEXUS, SENTRI and FAST. ...more
7/27/2020
/ Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
Enrollment ,
Immigration Procedures ,
International Travel ,
Membership Interest ,
Retaliation ,
Screening Procedures ,
Travel ,
Traveling Employee ,
Trump Administration ,
Trusted Traveler
Late last week, Vice President Mike Pence announced that effective Monday at midnight, foreign nationals who have been physically present in the United Kingdom and/or Ireland in the 14 days prior to seeking entry to the...more
Last night, President Trump issued a proclamation suspending entry into the United States of all non-exempt foreign nationals who were physically present within the Schengen Area (Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark,...more
Earlier this week, President Donald Trump signed the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) Implementation Act, which ratifies the trade agreement that will soon replace the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)....more
1/31/2020
/ Canada ,
Cross-Border Transactions ,
Exports ,
Federal Labor Laws ,
Foreign Relations ,
Foreign Workers ,
Free Trade Agreements ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Imports ,
Labor Regulations ,
Mexico ,
NAFTA ,
Non-Immigrant Visas ,
TN-Visas ,
Trade Relations ,
Trump Administration ,
United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) ,
US Trade Policies
Last week, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that an H-1B cap registration system (from which the annual H-1B lottery will be run) will be implemented for the upcoming fiscal year 2021 H-1B cap...more
12/16/2019
/ Conditional Job Offers ,
E-3 ,
F-1 Visa ,
Filing Fees ,
Foreign Workers ,
H-1B ,
Highly-Skilled Workers Visa ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Immigrants ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Immigration Reform ,
J-1 Visas ,
Job Applicants ,
L-1A ,
L-1B ,
Lottery ,
OPT ,
Registration Requirement ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
TN-Visas ,
Trump Administration ,
USCIS ,
Vetting ,
Visa Caps ,
Visas ,
Work Permits
Consulates Now Requesting Social Media Information From Visa Applicants A new State Department policy requires all U.S. visa applicants to submit information about social media accounts (such as Facebook, Twitter or...more
6/5/2019
/ China ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Eligibility Verification ,
Foreign Nationals ,
Foreign Workers ,
Form I-9 ,
H-1B ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Immigration Reform ,
No-Match Letters ,
Personal Data ,
Social Media Policy ,
Social Security Administration (SSA) ,
Social Security Numbers ,
Trump Administration ,
Visa Applications ,
Visas
USCIS Extends and Expands Suspension of H-1B Premium Processing -
Earlier this week, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that it will extend the suspension of Premium Processing for all pending FY...more
8/30/2018
/ F-1 Visa ,
Foreign Workers ,
H-1B ,
Highly-Skilled Workers Visa ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Immigrants ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Immigration Reform ,
OPT ,
STEM ,
Trump Administration ,
USCIS ,
Visas
Here is what we know so far about how this past weekend’s federal government “shutdown” will affect immigration adjudications and other related matters. As U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) operations are...more
1/22/2018
/ Department of Labor (DOL) ,
E-Verify ,
EB-5 ,
EB-5 Regional Centers ,
Employment Eligibility Verification ,
Federal Budget ,
Foreign Workers ,
Form I-9 ,
Government Shutdown ,
H-1B ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Labor Condition Applications ,
Passports ,
PERM ,
Trump Administration ,
US Department of State ,
USCIS ,
Visas
United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has issued a policy memorandum restricting Trade NAFTA (TN) nonimmigrant classification under the profession of Economist. USCIS advises that the TN Economist...more
12/21/2017
/ Customs and Border Protection ,
Foreign Nationals ,
Foreign Workers ,
Immigrants ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Immigration Reform ,
Popular ,
TN-Visas ,
Trump Administration ,
USCIS ,
Visas
The Revised Version of Travel Ban to Take Effect Next Month -
On Sept. 24, President Trump issued a proclamation that indefinitely bans certain citizens of Iran, Libya, Syria, Yemen, Somalia, Chad and North Korea from...more
9/26/2017
/ B-1 ,
B-2 ,
DACA ,
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
Deportation ,
Employment Eligibility Verification ,
Executive Orders ,
Foreign Nationals ,
Foreign Workers ,
Form I-9 ,
Green Cards ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Immigrants ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Immigration Reform ,
National Security ,
Non-Immigrant Visas ,
Refugees ,
Terrorist Threats ,
Travel Ban ,
Trump Administration ,
USCIS ,
Visas
On April 7, only five business days into the filing season, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that it had already received a sufficient number of H-1B petitions to reach the statutory caps for both...more
4/19/2017
/ Executive Orders ,
Foreign Workers ,
Fraud and Abuse ,
H-1B ,
Highly-Skilled Workers Visa ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Immigrants ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Immigration Reform ,
Lottery ,
Trump Administration ,
USCIS ,
Visa Caps ,
Visas