USCIS Releases Revised Version of Form I-9 and Accompanying Form I-9 Handbook for Employers -
On July 17, 2017, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) released a new version of Form I-9. Form I-9 is used...more
7/21/2017
/ Employment Eligibility Verification ,
Executive Orders ,
Form I-9 ,
H-2B ,
International Entrepreneur Rule ,
NAFTA ,
Travel Ban ,
Trump Administration ,
US Department of State ,
USCIS ,
Visa Bulletins ,
Visa Waiver Program
President Trump Notifies Congress of Intent to Renegotiate NAFTA -
On May 18, 2017, President Trump officially notified Congress of the administration’s intention to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement...more
6/2/2017
/ Conrad 30 Waiver ,
Customs and Border Protection ,
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
F-1 Visa ,
H-1B ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Joint Employers ,
Mobile Devices ,
NAFTA ,
Popular ,
Temporary Protected Status ,
TN-Visas ,
Trump Administration ,
US Department of State ,
USCIS ,
Visas
The 2018 H-1B Cap Has Been Reached -
On April 7, 2017, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) announced that it had reached the congressionally mandated H-1B cap for fiscal year 2018 (“FY18”). This...more
President Trump Issues Revised Executive Order on Travel -
Today, President Trump issued a revised executive order on travel that becomes effective at 12:01 a.m. EDT on March 16, 2017 (“March 16 EO”). The March 16 EO...more
3/7/2017
/ Delinquency Status ,
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
Enforcement Guidance ,
Executive Orders ,
Foreign Nationals ,
Form I-9 ,
H-1B ,
IRS ,
Travel Ban ,
Trump Administration ,
USCIS
On January 27, 2017, President Donald J. Trump issued an executive order entitled “Protecting the Nation from Foreign Terrorist Entry into the United States” (“EO”). In pertinent part, the EO...more
2/7/2017
/ Customs and Border Protection ,
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
Dual Citizenship ,
Executive Orders ,
Immigrants ,
New Guidance ,
Refugees ,
Travel Ban ,
TRO ,
Trump Administration ,
US Department of State ,
USCIS
USCIS Updates Fee Schedule for Immigration and Naturalization Benefit Requests -
On October 24, 2016, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) announced a final rule adjusting the fees required for many...more
12/2/2016
/ Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) ,
Class Action ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Disney World ,
Form I-9 ,
Fraud ,
Hiring & Firing ,
New Guidance ,
RICO ,
USCIS ,
Visa Bulletins
Now that the election is over, focus turns to the U.S. immigration policy of President-elect Donald J. Trump’s administration over the next four years. Forecasts of this type are never easy with any new President; the task is...more
11/22/2016
/ Barack Obama ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Customs and Border Protection ,
DACA ,
DAPA ,
Deportation ,
E-Verify ,
EB-1 ,
EB-2 ,
EB-3 ,
Executive Orders ,
F-1 Visa ,
Foreign Nationals ,
Foreign Students ,
Free Trade Agreements ,
H-1B ,
H-4 Spouses ,
I-140 ,
Immigration Reform ,
Inspections ,
L-1B ,
NAFTA ,
OPT ,
PERM ,
Popular ,
STEM ,
Temporary Protected Status ,
Trump Administration ,
US Department of State ,
USCIS ,
Vacated ,
Work Visas ,
Workplace Investigations
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services recently announced that premium processing of cap-subject H-1B petitions selected for fiscal year 2017 will begin on May 12, 2016. This means that, absent a request for evidence,...more
On April 12, 2016, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) announced that it had received more than 236,000 H-1B petitions subject to the quota for fiscal year 2017 (i.e., 65,000 for regular H-1B petitions,...more
On April 7, 2016, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) announced that it had reached the Congressionally mandated H-1B cap for fiscal year 2017 (“FY17”). This announcement applies to both the general cap of...more
On March 31, 2016, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) announced that employers should continue using the current version of Form I-9 until further notice. USCIS guidance was required because the current...more
Today, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) issued its long-awaited final rule regarding highly skilled workers from Australia, Chile, Singapore, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (“CNMI”),...more
The U.S. Department of State (“DOS”) just issued a revised October 2015 Visa Bulletin. As we noted in our last Alert, the DOS recently changed the format of its Visa Bulletin to add cutoffs for application dates. These are...more
On September 9, 2015, the U.S. Department of State (“DOS”) and the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) jointly announced revisions to the process for determining visa availability that will speed up the...more
I. USCIS Issues Guidance on When an Amended H-1B Petition Is Required After Matter of Simeio Solutions, LLC -
On July 21, 2015, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) released a policy memorandum...more
8/17/2015
/ Classification ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
EB-5 ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Form I-9 ,
H-1B ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Labor Contractor ,
Misclassification ,
OCAHO ,
US Department of State ,
USCIS ,
Waivers
I. Premium Processing Option for H-1B Extensions Is Temporarily Suspended -
On May 19, 2015, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) announced that it will temporarily suspend 15-day premium processing...more
AAO Issues Precedent Decision Requiring Employers to File Amended Petitions When an H-1B Employee Changes Work Locations -
On April 9, 2015, the Administrative Appeals Office (“AAO”) issued an important precedent...more
On April 7, 2015, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) announced that it had reached the H-1B cap for fiscal year 2016. The USCIS also announced that it had received more than the limit of 20,000 H-1B...more
On February 24, 2015, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued a final rule that extends eligibility for employment authorization to certain H-4 dependent spouses of H-1B nonimmigrants who are seeking employment-based...more
Happy New Year!!!
All of us in the Immigration Law Group at Epstein Becker Green wish you the very best for a healthy and prosperous 2015. We hope that all your petitions and applications are approved and that...more
1/19/2015
/ Barack Obama ,
Executive Orders ,
H-1B ,
Highly-Skilled Workers Visa ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Immigration Reform ,
J-1 Visas ,
OPT ,
US Department of State ,
USCIS ,
Visa Bulletins ,
Visa Caps ,
Visas
Sixth Circuit Expands the Liability of Health Care Employers for Sponsorship Costs -
On August 20, 2014, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit issued its decision in Kutty v. U.S. Department of Labor, No....more
9/22/2014
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Appeals ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Discrimination ,
EB-2 ,
EB-3 ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Form I-9 ,
H-1B ,
Health Care Providers ,
Highly-Skilled Workers Visa ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Hospitals ,
J-1 Visas ,
National Origin Discrimination ,
Sponsors ,
Staffing Agencies ,
USCIS
On July 21, 2014, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services ("USCIS") released a policy memorandum ("PM"), dated July 11, 2014, which provided the first new guidance on H-1B eligibility for nurses in 12 years!...more
I. USCIS Reaches Fiscal Year 2015 H-1B Cap -
As most H-1B employers know, there is an annual quota on the number of new H-1B petitions that can be approved each federal fiscal year. The quota is 65,000 for regular H-1B...more
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services ("USCIS") announced today that it has received a sufficient number of H-1B petitions to reach the statutory cap for fiscal year ("FY") 2015. USCIS also announced that it had received...more
I. H-1B Nonimmigrant Season Opens on April 1, 2014, for Fiscal Year 2015 -
As most H-1B employers know, there is an annual quota on the number of new H-1B petitions that can be approved each federal fiscal year. The...more
2/4/2014
/ Affordable Care Act ,
E-2 ,
E-3 ,
Employee Rights ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Foreign Nationals ,
Form I-9 ,
H-1B ,
Immigrants ,
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) ,
Non-Immigrant Visas ,
OCAHO ,
Termination ,
Undocumented Immigrants ,
US Department of State ,
USCIS ,
Visas