On April 10, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued a Policy Alert advising that it has adopted the Department of Labor’s (DOL) regulatory definition of “Science or Art” for Schedule A, Group II cases....more
On December 13, 2023, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) announced that it reached the requisite number of H-1B Cap petitions and stopped making further selections for Fiscal Year 2024. Fiscal...more
With limited immigration options to obtain work authorization in the U.S., intercompany transferee (L-1) work authorization is a strategy used by companies operating throughout Canada and abroad to send key workers to the...more
Employers may find it useful to have an understanding of the H-1B, L-1A, and L-1B maximum periods of stay. As a reminder, H-1B status is granted for certain specialty occupations and fashion models, L-1A status is granted for...more
In Episode 1 of the Hasta La Visa, Baby Podcast, we discuss the characteristics and differences of L-1A and L-1B Intracompany Transferee visas. We also highlight the Employment Based First Preference multinational manager...more
Executive Summary: USCIS has announced the timeline for the H-1B FY22 Cap Petition Cycle. Similar to last year, USCIS will require H-1B sponsor employers to register H-1B candidates online starting March 9, 2021. USCIS will...more
Effective October 2, 2020 employers and immigrant workers can expect changes when filing employment-based petitions with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). Employers will see higher government filing fees,...more
The U.S. Department of State (DOS) released additional guidance expanding the scope of national interest exceptions to the June 24, 2020 Presidential Proclamation (PP 10052) banning the admission of certain J, H and L visa...more
On April 22, 2020, President Trump issued a 60-day visa ban which suspended the issuance of most categories of green cards for persons outside the U.S. Then, on June 22, 2020, he extended and expanded it to include various...more
A new federal rule has created a new electronic registration process for the annual H-1B lottery. The new electronic registration system will significantly change the sequence of the H-1B lottery. There will no longer be a...more
Last week, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that an H-1B cap registration system (from which the annual H-1B lottery will be run) will be implemented for the upcoming fiscal year 2021 H-1B cap...more
As H-1B cap subject petition receipt notices begin to trickle in, and employers are being notified as to whether their foreign employees will obtain an H-1B visa this cap season, it is a necessity to think about other viable...more
We are releasing this Alert to remind employers of the fast-approaching April 1, 2017, opening date for filing H-1B work visa petitions on behalf of foreign employees who need sponsorship for work authorization in the U.S....more
The USCIS received over 236,000 H-1B petitions during this year’s FY2017 filing period for the annual supply of 85,000 new H-1B visas (65,000 for regular cap plus an additional 20,000 for workers with a U.S. Master’s degree)....more
On March 3, 2016, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) launched a pilot program called “Known Employer” to streamline the process by which employers who sponsor foreign national workers send documents and...more
On March 3, 2016, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) launched a pilot program intended to streamline the employment-based immigration process in certain visa categories. The program will modify the process U.S....more
On March 3, 2016, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced its launch of the Known Employer Program, under which certain employers are eligible to use an online platform to submit information that can be used...more
On October 1, 2015 USCIS announced the launch of the Known Employer Pilot Program. Yesterday, March 3, USCIS confirmed the participation of five employers in the pilot. The purpose of the Known Employer Program is to expedite...more
H-1B and L-1 petitions filed on or after Oct. 1, 2015, should not include the additional fee that was previously required by Section 402 of Public Law 111-230, as amended by Public Law 111-347, for certain H-1B and L-1...more
Since 2010, dependent employers have been required to pay an additional filing fee of $2,000 for certain H-1B petitions and $2,250 for certain L-1A and L-1B petitions. Dependent employers are those employers who employ 50 or...more
Over the past three years, the L-1 Intracompany Transferee visa category has come under higher scrutiny from USCIS. Petitions for both L-1A Executive/Manager and L-1B Specialized Knowledge classifications continue to be...more
Foreign nationals must meet the regulatory requirements for admission into the U.S. in nonimmigrant status. The purpose of this paper is to provide the Top 10 things to consider with respect to the most common nonimmigrant...more