Immigration Settlement Clears the Way for Thousands of H-1B and L-1 Spouses to Work in the US
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
It’s time to start preparing for the H-1B cap season. The H-1B cap registration period for Fiscal Year 2024 will open at noon Eastern on March 1, 2023, and run through noon on March 17, 2023....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
The first two weeks of the Biden Administration have seen a flurry of activity indicating it will move away from the more restrictive immigration environment of the Trump era, including for employment-based immigration...more
On January 25, 2021, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) withdrew its proposed rule that sought to eliminate the H-4 employment authorization document (EAD) program for eligible spouses of H-1B workers. The...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: The Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs within the Office of Management and Budget announced that the long-pending rule to rescind work authorization for certain H-4 holders has been withdrawn. The...more
On Monday, June 22, 2020, the White House issued a long-expected executive order outlining new U.S. immigration restrictions. The order extends and expands upon the earlier restrictions put in place by President Trump in...more