On January 8, 2021, the Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”) published a final rule that would dramatically change how H-1B cap petitions are selected in the annual “lottery.” Under this final rule, the current random...more
1/14/2021
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
Final Rules ,
H-1B ,
Highly-Skilled Workers Visa ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Lottery ,
Trump Administration ,
USCIS ,
Visas ,
Wage and Hour
The Justice Department announced on November 10, 2020 that it signed a settlement agreement with Fleetlogix Inc. (“Fleetlogix”) resolving claims that the company discriminated against work-authorized, non-U.S. citizens by...more
11/16/2020
/ Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Eligibility Verification ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Form I-9 ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Immigration and Nationality Act ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Settlement ,
Undocumented Immigrants
On October 8, 2020, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) published new regulations that could dramatically tighten the eligibility requirements for H-1B visa petitions and...more
10/13/2020
/ Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Executive Orders ,
Foreign Nationals ,
Foreign Workers ,
H-1B ,
Highly-Skilled Workers Visa ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Trump Administration ,
USCIS ,
Visas
Last night, President Trump signed a Presidential Proclamation imposing entry restrictions on certain foreign nationals in temporary work visa statuses, including H-1B, L-1, J-1 and H-2B, and related categories for...more
On Thursday, June 18, the Supreme Court rejected the Trump Administration’s attempt to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program for undocumented immigrants brought to the country as children, known as...more
6/22/2020
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Arbitrary and Capricious ,
Citizenship ,
DACA ,
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
Department of Homeland Security v Regents of the University of California ,
Educational Institutions ,
Path To Citizenship ,
Rescission ,
SCOTUS ,
Trump Administration ,
Trump v NAACP ,
USCIS ,
Wolf v Vidal ,
Work Permits
According to media and other sources, the Trump Administration will likely issue a Presidential Proclamation instituting additional immigration restrictions by the end of this month. The Proclamation is likely to extend the...more
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) today announced that it will resume premium processing for Form I-129 and Form I-140 petitions in phases over the next month. On March 20, USCIS announced the temporary...more
On April 22, 2020, President Trump issued a proclamation suspending the entry of certain immigrants for 60 days. The proclamation applies only to a limited group of new immigrants who are currently outside the United States...more
The spread of COVID-19 is taking the world by storm with unprecedented and far-ranging consequences. During this extraordinary time, many employers are dealing with difficult issues regarding their workforces amidst office...more
In response to the significant challenges related to the COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Department of State (DOS) have recently implemented temporary operational changes and...more
On January 9, 2020, USCIS published a notice in the Federal Register to formally announce the implementation of the new registration process for H-1B cap-subject (lottery) petitions for fiscal year 2021. According to USCIS,...more
As we approach the holiday season, immigration practitioners, interested employers, and foreign nationals are gearing up for yet another H-1B lottery season. The upcoming lottery season will be significantly different than in...more
12/11/2019
/ Electronic Filing ,
Filing Requirements ,
Foreign Nationals ,
H-1B ,
Highly-Skilled Workers Visa ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Lottery ,
Registration Requirement ,
USCIS ,
Visa Caps ,
Visas
Poland has been designated into the Visa Waiver Program (VWP). Starting November 11, 2019, eligible citizens and nationals of Poland will be able to travel to the United States without a visa for tourism and business trips of...more
On September 3, 2019, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced a notice of proposed rulemaking that would require employers seeking to file H-1B cap subject petitions to pay a $10 fee for each electronic...more
A staffing and recruiting company based in El Segundo, California recently paid $58,815 in fines to two H-1B workers after an investigation by the Department of Labor (DOL)’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) found that the...more
Criminal investigations/arrests and I-9 audits surged in fiscal year 2018 following the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)’s announcement of its intent to increase its worksite enforcement efforts. A few FY2018...more
On January 30, 2019, the Department of Homeland Security announced a final rule amending regulations governing H-1B cap-subject petitions. The final rule reverses the order by which U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services...more
As 2018 draws to a close and much of the world is celebrating the holiday season, the immigration world is preparing to enter another H-1B lottery season. For an overview of the H-1B program and H-1B lottery, please see our...more
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) published today in the Federal Register a notice of proposed rulemaking that would change how employers file cap-subject H-1B petitions and how USCIS conducts the H-1B lottery...more
In the evening of July 13, 2018 (Friday), U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) posted new policy guidance giving immigration adjudicators marching orders to deny an immigration application or petition without...more
In a Policy Memorandum issued on May 10, 2018 (USCIS Policy Memorandum), the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (“USCIS”) proposed a substantial change in the manner in which it will calculate periods of unlawful...more
Miles & Stockbridge lawyer Sufen Zhang covers steps employers can take to prepare for a potential enforcement action by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. ...more
Federal regulations prohibit “related entities” from filing more than one H-1B petition on behalf of a foreign national unless there is a legitimate business need to do so. This rule is designed to prevent H-1B petitioners...more
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that it will accept credit card payments at no additional cost for the USCIS filing fees associated with filing most of its forms. The credit card payment option is...more
A “seriously delinquent tax debt” will affect the ability of a U.S. citizen to use, or apply for, a passport.
Section 7345 of the Internal Revenue Code (“IRC”) permits the Secretary of State to deny, revoke or limit a...more