Immigration Settlement Clears the Way for Thousands of H-1B and L-1 Spouses to Work in the US
The 2025 H-1B visa lottery registration period starts today, March 7, 2025, at 12pm EST and runs until 12pm EST on March 24. The government issues 85,000 H-1B visa numbers each year, 20,000 of which are set aside specifically...more
This year’s H-1B Pre-Registration Filing Period is expected to run from early to mid-March 2025. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will announce the registration dates in the coming weeks. One significant...more
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is finalizing a critical regulatory change to permanently increase the automatic extension period for Employment Authorization Documents (EADs) from 180 days to 540 days for certain...more
Share It is pretty clear what President-elect Donald Trump intends to do regarding border enforcement, honoring his pledge to launch the largest domestic deportation operation in U.S. history, but little has been reported on...more
In January 2025, the settlement agreement that returned USCIS to its practice of “bundling” adjudication of extensions of stay and applications for employment authorization documents (EADs) for dependent spouses of H-1B and...more
It’s that time of year again when employers have to decide who they are sponsoring for an H-1B visa. For a brief background, H-1B work visas are the most common work visas for foreign nationals in professional positions...more
Beginning March 6, 2024, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will conduct its annual H-1B Cap Lottery to award H-1B slots for professional workers in specialty occupations. There are a total of 85,000 visas...more
A recent ruling in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia provides added protection and work authorization safeguards for H-4 spouses of H-1B visa holders facing potential lawsuits and administrative challenges....more
On January 19, 2023, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) reached a settlement in Edakunni v. Mayorkas. As a result of the settlement, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has agreed to resume its...more
As many Employers and Foreign Nationals are likely aware, the H-1B CAP Season for USCIS 2024 Fiscal Year rapidly approaches. On Friday USICS announced it will open H-1B CAP registration at noon (12PM ET) on March 1, 2023, and...more
In the recent legal settlement of Edakunni v. Mayorkas, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has agreed to resume adjudicating H-4 and L-2 dependent and H-4 employment authorization petitions at the same time...more
On January 20, 2023, as part of a settlement agreement with the plaintiffs in Edakunni v. Mayorkas, USCIS agreed to adjudicate Forms I-539 and I-765 for extensions of H-4 and L-2 spouses and employment authorization documents...more
In a settlement, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has agreed to return to processing dependent H-4 and L-2 applications at the same time as the H-1B or L-1 petition when filed concurrently. This...more
Federal immigration officials just agreed to streamline the process by which certain nonimmigrant dependent spouses are able to secure employment, reverting to a previous method that should reduce processing times and...more
In an excellent development, as of January 25, 2023, the U.S. government agreed to resume the process of “bundling” H-4 and L-2 dependent applications, – including I-765 work permission applications, with the H-1B and L-1...more
In a long-awaited effort to address delays and backlogs that have arisen due to consular closures and limited staffing over the last year-and-a-half, on December 23, 2021, the U.S. Department of State announced that it is...more
The USCIS (US Citizenship & Immigration Service) announced a new rule to aid in the recent dilemma many foreign national families and US employers have confronted; namely addressing the gap in work authorization and...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
Federal immigration officials just released helpful guidance that eases the process of spouses of highly skilled workers to receive their work authorization documentation, no doubt welcome news for employers across the...more
Immigration Settlement Clears the way for thousands of H-1B and L-1 spouses to work in the U.S., Ulmer Immigration Group Leader David Leopold explains....more
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is expected to release new guidelines for employment authorization which will affect H-4 and L-2 spouses resulting from a settlement agreement reached in a federal court...more
Spouses of H-1B and L-1 workers have long faced protracted delays by the U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) in processing their work authorization (EAD) renewals. The wait has sometimes exceeded more than a...more
In its first 100 days in office, the Biden administration has advanced its policy priorities, many of which have involved repealing the policy accomplishments of the previous presidential administration. The Biden...more
More than 78 days into the Biden Administration, less dust than expected or hoped has settled on the landscape for business and family immigration to the U.S. This article briefly assesses the state of play concerning...more
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), a division of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), has just closed its annual H-1B registration, and employers are anxiously awaiting news on whether USCIS has selected...more