On April 1, 2024, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that it had selected sufficient H-1B visa preregistrations to reach the congressionally mandated 65,000 regular H-1B cap (bachelor’s degree cap)...more
The H-1B Electronic Registration Selection Process debuted in March 2020 for fiscal year 2021 H-1B cap-subject petitions. The barrier to entry dropped significantly with the introduction of the electronic registration...more
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
The Department of Homeland Security published a final rule Jan. 31 adjusting the filing fees for applications for immigration benefits submitted to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). For most application types...more
Last January I posted about "An Unwelcome Update to Start 2023: USCIS Proposing Rule to Raise Filing Fees; Set Specific Filing Fees for Different Types of I-129 Filings". That unwelcome proposal to start 2023 may become an...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
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
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
A series of significant developments in U.S. immigration law has already marked the beginning of 2022 and more can be expected. In January, the Biden Administration unveiled a series of policies aimed at attracting and...more
USCIS’s new guidance for O-1 petitions provides a detailed overview of the different O-1 classifications: O-1A, O-1B Arts, and O-1B Motion Picture and Television (“MPTV”). The guidance also provides detailed standards for...more
On January 21, 2022, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued two policy alerts, a National Interest Waiver alert and an O-1 alert, detailing welcome changes to the agency's online Policy Manual, which it has...more
In an effort to attract global talent to strengthen the economy, the Biden-Harris administration recently announced several immigration policy expansions geared towards students in Science, Technology, Engineering, and...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: U.S. employers, applicants for immigration benefits, and other stakeholders should be aware of United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) application fee increases and form changes...more
I have an appointment at the local USCIS office. What should I do? All USCIS offices have been closed to the public at least until June 4, 2020. USCIS is preparing to reopen its offices on or after June 4, 2020. USCIS will...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
As employers work through issues related to the COVID-19 pandemic, it is important to evaluate the immigration considerations for employees on various work visas. Some of the most common alternatives to H-1B visas include...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
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) has started returning H-1B petitions to employers whose cases were not selected in the recent H-1B lottery selection process. The USCIS reported that a total of 195,000 H-1B...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