The White House and U.S. Department of Homeland Security recently announced two new immigration initiatives. One provides a way for undocumented spouses of U.S. citizens and their children to obtain permanent resident status...more
The annual H-1B cap season has begun for Fiscal Year 2025. Once again, there will be a two-step process – the registration step and then, if the registration is selected in the H-1B cap lottery, the petition step. Now is the...more
1/17/2024
/ Beneficiaries ,
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
Foreign Workers ,
H-1B ,
Immigrants ,
Immigration Procedures ,
NAFTA ,
STEM ,
USCIS ,
Visa Caps ,
Visas
Tuesday, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security published its new I-9 regulations, which will take effect next Tuesday, August 1. The regulations have two components: (1) a remote I-9 document examination procedure, and (2)...more
Employers are reportedly urging the Biden Administration to delay the current August 30 deadline for in person re-inspections of I-9 documents that were submitted virtually during the COVID-19 pandemic....more
The filing of an H-1B petition requires submission of a Labor Condition Application certified by the U.S. Department of Labor. The LCA certifies, among other things, that the H-1B beneficiary will be paid the prevailing wage...more
As expected, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced last week that the COVID-19 temporary flexibilities for Form I-9, which allowed for virtual inspections, will not be extended and will end on July 31. ...more
Last week, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced “Process Enhancements for Supporting Labor Enforcement Investigations.” Employers beware. This new process increases the likelihood that undocumented workers will...more
1/20/2023
/ Corporate Counsel ,
DACA ,
Deferred Action ,
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
EEO ,
Employment Authorization Documents (EAD) ,
Exploitation ,
Foreign Workers ,
Investigations ,
Labor Law Violations ,
Prosecutorial Discretion ,
Undocumented Immigrants ,
Wage and Hour
I-9 flexibility for remote workers is being extended again – through July 31, 2023 – but, it appears, only for safety precautions due to COVID-19.
The U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement and Department of Homeland...more
The Social Security Administration has discontinued its COVID-19 extended timetable for employees to take action to resolve Social Security mismatches. The changes apply to anyone whose E-Verify case was referred to the SSA...more
In 2020, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security relaxed some of the I-9 compliance requirements because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Recently, the DHS announced that one of these I-9 compliance flexibilities would end on April...more
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has agreed to make policy changes that will benefit L-2 spouses and certain H-4 nonimmigrants filing renewal applications for Employment Authorization Document cards...more
The Biden Administration is ending worksite raids to catch unauthorized workers, according to a memorandum issued last week by Alejandro Mayorkas, Secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
In doing so, the...more
10/19/2021
/ Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Exploitation ,
Foreign Workers ,
Form I-9 ,
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) ,
Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA) ,
Joe Biden ,
NLRB ,
USCIS ,
Wage and Hour
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services recently took action to update some of its policies. The changes evidence the Biden Administration’s positive view of immigration and its plans to make the operation of the...more
On July 16, a federal judge in Texas vacated the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. Judge Andrew Hanen ruled that the DACA was unlawfully created by the Executive Branch in violation of the Administrative...more
More than one-third of new global cases of COVID-19 have occurred in India, and the numbers are increasing.
As a result, President Biden has added the Republic of India to the list of countries whose nationals and...more
5/6/2021
/ American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) ,
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
Foreign Nationals ,
India ,
Joe Biden ,
Lawful Permanent Residents ,
National Interest Waiver ,
Non-Citizens ,
Presidential Proclamations ,
Travel Ban ,
US Department of State ,
Virus Testing
The U.S. State Department recently issued new guidance on the National Interest Exceptions for international travelers to the United States. The guidance applies to inbound travelers from Ireland, the Schengen Area, and the...more
4/2/2021
/ Business Interruption ,
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Customs and Border Protection ,
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
Foreign Nationals ,
International Travel ,
Ireland ,
Joe Biden ,
National Interest Waiver ,
New Guidance ,
UK ,
US Department of State
For the last year, the fate of the Public Charge Rule, which expanded the ability of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to deny green cards to lower-income foreign nationals, has been uncertain. In addition to the...more
3/17/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
Dismissals ,
Foreign Nationals ,
Green Cards ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Interim Guidance ,
Joe Biden ,
Low-Income Issues ,
Medicaid ,
Permanent Residence Cards ,
Public Charge ,
Request for Evidence (RFEs) ,
SCOTUS ,
SNAP Program ,
USCIS
This is an update to what we reported in December on the status of the “Public Charge Rule.” The rule remains in effect, but it is likely to either be rescinded by the Biden Administration or enjoined by a court. In the...more
2/22/2021
/ Appellate Courts ,
Attorney General ,
Biden Administration ,
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
Executive Orders ,
Green Cards ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Public Charge ,
SCOTUS ,
Secretary of State ,
USCIS
Last year, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services rolled out for the first time a new electronic registration tool for H-1B cap cases as part of its implementation of regulations issued in January 2019. The 2019...more
In filing an H-1B petition, employers must select one of four wage levels for the applicable occupational title in preparing the required Labor Condition Application. (There is an exception when a private wage survey is...more
We reported in October about two new rules that were issued by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. Department of Labor that would affect H-1B specialty occupation visas. The DOL rule significantly raised...more
On Monday, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security issued proposed regulations that would amend the H-1B cap registration selection process by replacing the current random process with one based on wage levels.
The proposed...more
Thursday, the Trump Administration published in the Federal Register two new Interim Final Rules designed to reduce significantly the number of H-1B workers in the United States. They are-
•A rule from the U.S. Department...more
10/12/2020
/ Comment Period ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Federal Register ,
Green Cards ,
H-1B ,
Interim Final Rules (IFR) ,
Prevailing Wages ,
Software Developers ,
Trump Administration ,
USCIS
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services is poised to implement new filing fees on October 2, under regulations published in the Federal Register on August 3. However, two lawsuits were filed in federal court about a...more
In March, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security allowed more flexibility for employers seeking to verify documentation for I-9 forms. The DHS has now extended that flexibility for...more