On Thursday evening, November 20, 2014, President Obama announced that he was taking executive action that will primarily shield up to five million illegal immigrants from deportation. U.S. employers will benefit from...more
The filing period for “new” H-1B petitions to be counted against the annual H-1B quota (the “H-1B cap”) for FY 2015 begins on Tuesday, April 1, 2014. Note that petitions need to be mailed on March 31 to ensure receipt by the...more
“E-Verify” is an internet-based system, operated by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in partnership with the Social Security Administration (SSA). Used in conjunction with Form I-9, Employment Eligibility...more
At the federal level, E-Verify is mandatory only for certain federal contractors and subcontractors who must use E-Verify to confirm that particular employees are authorized to work in the United States. At the state level,...more
The filing period for “new” H-1B petitions to be counted against the annual H-1B quota (the “H-1B cap”) for FY 2015 begins on Monday, March 31, 2014. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will accept cap-subject...more
Earlier this year, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) introduced a revised Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification, the form that must be completed by all employers to verify the employment...more
Since the creation of the L visa category in 1970, the L-1 statutory provisions have been modified several times. In recent years, L-1 cases have been subject to heightened scrutiny both by the U.S. Citizenship and...more
The L visa allows qualifying multinational companies with a parent, subsidiary, branch, or affiliate abroad to transfer managers and executives (L-1A) and employees with “specialized knowledge” (L-1B) to work in the United...more
On June 26, 2013, the Supreme Court of the United States struck down a provision of the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) that denied federal benefits to same-sex partners....more
On April 5, 2013, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that, for the first time since 2008, the H-1B cap for FY 2014 had been met within the first week of the filing period. According to the agency, it...more
On March 1, 2013, the Budget Control Act, including sections mandating across-the-board budget cuts to federal agencies (known as “sequestration”), went into effect. The sequester is likely to negatively impact immigration...more
According to a final regulation, published on January 3, 2013, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has established a new process for certain individuals to apply for provisional unlawful presence waivers...more
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has announced that, beginning February 1, 2013, the agency will collect a $165 Immigrant Visa Department of Homeland Security Domestic Processing Fee (USCIS Immigrant Fee)...more
The initiative to defer the deportation of eligible young persons without lawful immigration status was officially implemented on August 15, 2012, when the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) began accepting...more
On August 13, 2012, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that the Employment Eligibility Verification Form I-9, the form that must be completed by all employers to verify the employment eligibility...more
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has announced that, as of June 11, 2012, it had received enough H-1B cap-subject petitions to reach the annual 65,000 “regular cap” limit. On June 7, 2012, USCIS also...more