U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that it has completed its annual H-1B cap lottery selection process for fiscal year 2025. Given the high number of lottery registrations and the fixed number of...more
In just two weeks, on April 1, 2024, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will implement its new filing fee structure. The new fees will vary by visa type with exceptions for small employers and non-profit...more
Federal immigration officials announced on December 13 that the H-1B cap has been reached for FY 2024. Although you most likely expected the announcement, the finality inevitably leaves many employers and foreign national...more
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has updated its Policy Manual (PM) to provide guidance to USCIS officers on evaluating eligibility criteria for the EB-1A (extraordinary ability) and EB-1B (outstanding...more
As June comes to a close, employers of the lucky foreign nationals selected in the FY2024 H-1B lottery are working to file their H-1B petitions by the June 30, 2023, deadline. This year, the United States Citizenship and...more
Each year in March, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) conducts a lottery to award H-1B slots to enough foreign workers to meet its 85,000 visa annual cap. This number includes 20,000 slots reserved for...more
If you employ foreign nationals, you likely know that the federal government already reached the H-1B visa cap for the fiscal year and informed registrants who were not selected. Although employers expected the August 23...more
Employers are experiencing incredible challenges recruiting for all types of jobs. Recruiting for that special “make or break” position – often for a C-suite, technology innovator, or creative – has always been tough. U.S....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
USCIS Resumes Premium Processing - USCIS has announced here that beginning the month of June 2020, it will again start accepting certain petitions for premium processing. Premium processing was indefinitely suspended as...more
Healthcare workers – critical to the U.S. response to the COVID-19 pandemic – are needed more now than ever, yet the bureaucracy surrounding employment of foreign national healthcare workers creates roadblocks....more
Hiring the best talent can maximize the success of your company. Sometimes that means hiring a foreign national on a work visa. We prepared this booklet to help you navigate the complex U.S. employment-based visa options....more
It's March and here we are in the middle of another H-1B cap season. So I did what I do almost every day this time of year: I got up to head in to the office. But first I went for a run to clear my head. It is Saturday. It is...more
During the Trump administration’s 22 months in office, no new laws or regulations have been passed governing the O-1 nonimmigrant visa for foreign nationals with extraordinary ability in the arts, sciences, education,...more
Procedural History - In August 2016, the Department of Homeland Security proposed an “International Entrepreneur” parole rule that would allow qualifying foreign entrepreneurs to develop and grow their start-up companies...more
On April 18, President Trump signed an Executive Order labeled the “Buy American and Hire American” initiative. Federal agencies are already subject to certain laws and regulations which require or give preference to American...more
Effective yesterday, January 17, 2017, a new USCIS rule seeks to improve multiple employment-based temporary nonimmigrant and immigrant visa (“green card”) programs. The new regulations are designed to help U.S. employers...more
USCIS has published a final rule focused on the retention of EB-1, EB-2, and EB-3 immigrant workers and the improvement of existing temporary visa programs for high-skilled nonimmigrant workers. The new rule takes effect on...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: Employers and foreign nationals should take note of critical changes to DHS’ regulations impacting employment-based immigration for highly skilled workers. On January 17, 2017, the Department of...more
USCIS has published a final rule to modernize and improve several aspects of certain employment-based nonimmigrant and immigrant visa programs and to better enable U.S. employers to hire and retain certain foreign workers who...more
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act will do many things to alter health care delivery in the United States. One thing it will not do, however, is significantly increase the supply of physicians. The new law calls...more