Leading in a Lonely World Podcast: Meet Dr. Marc Williams
[IP Hot Topics Podcast] Innovation Conversations: Dr. Wayne A.I. Frederick
Dr. Tonya Matthews From Wayne State On Strengthening Intersectional Inclusion In STEM Careers
Breaking Mindsets with Dr. Tonya Matthews from Wayne State on Creating Equitable Access to STEM Careers
Employment Law This Week: Equal Pay, Union Fees, Negative Publicity by Employees, “Commissions” Under FLSA, F-1 STEM OPT Program
Over the past several months, international students in F-1 status have experienced heightened scrutiny. Increasing numbers of reports indicate that students are facing visa revocations and the termination of their records in...more
President Trump’s new administration takes charge this week with a renewed focus on enforcing federal immigration law. In fact, as explained in today’s companion article, one of President Trump’s first action items on...more
The H-1B cap registration and lottery for Fiscal Year 2026 is expected to begin in early March – only two months from now. Although the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has not yet announced the exact registration...more
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security issued its H-1B modernization Final Rule this Wednesday. The rule is intended to improve the H-1B program by providing clarifications to make the program more efficient, improving the...more
On December 17, 2024, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced the final implementation of the long-anticipated H-1B modernization rule. This rule, titled “Modernizing H-1B Requirements, Providing Flexibility in...more
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has published a final rule with key updates to the H-1B specialty occupation nonimmigrant visa program. The final rule is aimed at modernizing the H-1B program by improving efficiency...more
The 540-day automatic extensions of expiring employment authorization documents (EADs) will be permanent policy, according to a DHS final rule scheduled to be published on Dec. 13, 2024. The new rule will become effective on...more
On July 23, 2024, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) added the category of Environmental/Natural Resource Economics (03.0204) as a qualifying field of study to the DHS STEM Designated Degree Program List. DHS did...more
The annual H-1B cap season has begun for Fiscal Year 2025. Once again, there will be a two-step process – the registration step and then, if the registration is selected in the H-1B cap lottery, the petition step. Now is the...more
On October 30, 2023, President Biden issued a comprehensive Executive Order directing several federal agencies to undertake numerous initiatives related to artificial intelligence (AI). The Executive Order includes several...more
Second Round of H-1B Cap Registration Selection – United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) conducted a second round of the H-1B cap lottery between July 28th and 31st for Fiscal Year (FY) 2024. The new...more
On July 12, 2023, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) added eight fields of study to the Designated Degree Program List qualifying F-1 students to secure a STEM OPT (science, technology, engineering, mathematics...more
Consistent with its goal of removing barriers to legal immigration, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) recently issued guidance and launched initiatives related to individuals in the science, technology,...more
On July 28, 2022, USCIS published online resources to provide an overview of some temporary and permanent pathways for foreign nationals to remain in the United States (U.S.) and work in the sciences, technology, engineering,...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
Obtaining a “green card” usually requires the sponsorship of a close U.S. family member or U.S. employer. In the employment context, the default process is a specific employer testing the labor market for a specific job to be...more
The Department of Homeland Security recently added 22 new qualifying fields of study to its STEM Designated Degree Program List, which will greatly expand opportunities for international students to remain in the U.S. – and...more
On January 21, 2022, the Department of State and the Department of Homeland Security jointly announced a flurry of new actions and policy changes relating to various visa classifications that open new potential pathways and...more
Effective January 21, 2022, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security updated and expanded the list of STEM fields of study falling within the regulatory definition of “STEM field.” The list, known as the “DHS Stem Designated...more
The Departments of State and Homeland Security announced today new immigration actions to expand opportunities for foreign STEM scholars, students, researchers, and experts and the U.S. businesses that seek to employ them, as...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
Last week, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced changes that will be good news for foreign students seeking Optional Practical Training in areas related to their major areas of study. First, the 14...more
Last year, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services rolled out for the first time a new electronic registration tool for H-1B cap cases as part of its implementation of regulations issued in January 2019. The 2019...more
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has announced the arrest of 15 individuals who claimed to work on Optional Practical Training (OPT) for nonexistent companies. In addition, USCIS notified 700 OPT recipients suspected...more
As the spread of COVID-19 prompts increasing travel restrictions, and as layoffs become an unfortunate reality in many industries, both U.S. employers and employees holding temporary work visas in the United States need to be...more