As part of our Spotlight series, we invited Shannon Donnelly, a partner in our Washington, DC office who works with clients on a wide range of complex global immigration and mobility issues, to discuss the proposed H1B...more
The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) recently released a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) with respect to the regulations governing the H-1B nonimmigrant visa classification. The proposed rule seeks to improve the...more
A federal government shutdown will impact some, but not all, US immigration and visa programs. The principal distinction is between those programs that are fee-funded and those that rely on congressional appropriations for...more
The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced on May 4, 2023 that employers will have until August 30, 2023 to complete the physical inspection of identity and...more
With the recent announcement from the Biden administration that the COVID-19 national and public health emergencies will end this May, the temporary US Department of Homeland Security guidance that permitted businesses...more
Effective October 8, 2020, the US Department of Labor will determine the prevailing wage for permanent labor certifications and labor condition applications based on a new formula for computing prevailing wage levels,...more
10/9/2020
/ Buy American and Hire American ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
E-3 ,
Foreign Workers ,
H-1B ,
H-1B1 ,
Highly-Skilled Workers Visa ,
LCA ,
Minimum Wage ,
PERM ,
Prevailing Wages ,
Trump Administration ,
USCIS ,
Visas ,
Wage and Hour
The US Department of Homeland Security published new instructions on Form I-9 completion for employees with expired identity documentation on May 1, 2020, as well as a revised employer Form I-9 handbook. ...more
5/13/2020
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
E-Verify ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Eligibility Verification ,
Foreign Workers ,
Form I-9 ,
Handbooks ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Immigrants ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Required Forms ,
USCIS
Now is the time for employers to begin assessing their FY2021 H-1B needs. Employers should review the immigration status of their current and potential foreign national employees and identify any individuals for whom H-1B...more
The US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced on November 7 that it has issued the final rule requiring payment of a $10 nonrefundable fee for each H-1B registration upon implementation of the new electronic...more
The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on November 1 extended the validity of Temporary Protected Status (TPS)-related documentation for beneficiaries under the TPS designations for El Salvador, Haiti, Honduras, Nepal,...more
The US District Court for the Southern District of New York on October 11 enjoined and halted enforcement of the new public charge rule that was due to become effective October 15, 2019. The court not only enjoined the US...more
Now is the time for employers to assess their FY2020 H-1B needs and start preparing their petitions for submission on April 1. It is very likely that the cap for H-1B petitions will be reached in early April of this year, so...more
Most operations across US immigration agencies are either fee based or considered “essential” and therefore would be expected to proceed normally if the government were to shut down on December 22....more
In the January 2019 visa bulletin issued by the US Department of State, EB-1 remains backlogged for all country allotments, advancing by only two-and-a-half to three months....more
12/18/2018
/ China ,
EB-1 ,
EB-2 ,
EB-3 ,
EB-4 ,
EB-5 ,
Filing Deadlines ,
Guatemala ,
Honduras ,
India ,
Mexico ,
Philippines ,
US Department of State ,
USCIS ,
Visa Applications ,
Visa Bulletins ,
Visas
A registration program proposed by US Citizenship and Immigration Services would eliminate the need for paper filings prior to the lottery process for cap-subject H-1B petitions, and increase the chance of selection for...more
In the October 2018 visa bulletin issued by the US Department of State, EB-1 remains backlogged for all countries of chargeability, and EB-2 and EB-3 are once again current for worldwide allotment....more
9/14/2018
/ China ,
EB-1 ,
EB-2 ,
EB-3 ,
EB-4 ,
EB-5 ,
Filing Deadlines ,
Guatemala ,
Honduras ,
India ,
Mexico ,
Philippines ,
US Department of State ,
USCIS ,
Visa Applications ,
Visa Bulletins ,
Visas
US Citizenship and Immigration Services has announced without warning that it will extend its suspension of premium processing for cap-subject H-1B petitions and, beginning September 11, expand it to include additional H-1B...more
Final Action dates for China and India EB-1 categories remain unchanged, while EB-2 India advances slightly....more
6/20/2018
/ China ,
EB-1 ,
EB-2 ,
EB-3 ,
EB-4 ,
EB-5 ,
Filing Deadlines ,
Guatemala ,
Honduras ,
India ,
Mexico ,
Philippines ,
Popular ,
US Department of State ,
USCIS ,
Visa Applications ,
Visa Bulletins ,
Visas
Final Action dates for China and India EB-1 categories remain unchanged, while EB-2 India advances slightly....more
5/18/2018
/ China ,
EB-1 ,
EB-2 ,
EB-3 ,
EB-4 ,
EB-5 ,
Filing Deadlines ,
Guatemala ,
Honduras ,
India ,
Mexico ,
Philippines ,
US Department of State ,
USCIS ,
Visa Applications ,
Visa Bulletins ,
Visas
Final Action dates for China and India EB-1 categories remain unchanged, while EB-2 China and EB-3 India cutoff dates will advance....more
4/19/2018
/ China ,
EB-1 ,
EB-2 ,
EB-3 ,
EB-4 ,
EB-5 ,
Filing Deadlines ,
Guatemala ,
Honduras ,
India ,
Mexico ,
Philippines ,
US Department of State ,
USCIS ,
Visa Applications ,
Visa Bulletins ,
Visas
The announcement from the US Citizenship and Immigration Services came as a surprise and could create significant uncertainty for H-1B petitioners and the beneficiaries of cap-subject H-1B petitions....more
Final Action dates for China and India EB-1 categories will retrogress, while EB-2 China and EB-3 India will advance....more
3/13/2018
/ China ,
EB-1 ,
EB-2 ,
EB-3 ,
EB-4 ,
EB-5 ,
Filing Deadlines ,
Guatemala ,
Honduras ,
India ,
Mexico ,
Philippines ,
US Department of State ,
USCIS ,
Visa Applications ,
Visa Bulletins ,
Visas
Most operations are either fee-based or considered “essential” and are therefore expected to proceed normally.
Barring passage of an eleventh-hour spending bill, the current continuing resolution will expire on January 20...more
Now is the time for employers to assess their FY2019 H-1B needs and start preparing their petitions for submission on April 2....more
Potential change would impact three-year extensions under the American Competitiveness in the Twenty-first Century Act.
Recent press reports suggest that United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), the...more