Since September of this year, the number one question I have been hearing from clients is, “What will happen with immigration under the new Trump administration?” Individuals wishing to have access to the U.S. and/or work or...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
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
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
In April 2017, three months after taking office, President Trump signed the “Buy American and Hire American” Executive Order, which confirmed that his administration would be taking a tough stance on business immigration,...more
Recent actions by the U.S. Department of State (DOS) and Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) indicate that employers seeking to hire foreign workers will likely face a more stringent visa approval process....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
The Administrative Appeals Office of U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services, otherwise known as the AAO, recently reversed a finding by U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) that had denied approval of an L-1B...more