Effective Friday, March 13, 2020 at midnight, the United States will for 30 days suspend the entry of most foreign nationals who have been in certain European countries at any point during the 14 days prior to their scheduled...more
The following are some immigration enforcement and compliance trends we are watching closely heading into the New Year—as well as some steps employers can take to stay a step ahead of these fast-moving regulatory and...more
1/8/2020
/ Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Form I-9 ,
H-1B ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) ,
Immigration Enforcement ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Immigration Reform ,
L-1 Visas ,
No-Match Letters ,
Social Security Administration (SSA) ,
Trump Administration ,
Undocumented Immigrants
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has announced that it has received a sufficient number of H-1B petitions to meet the congressionally-mandated 65,000 regular cap for fiscal year 2020...more
U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) has announced that it will begin to accept Fiscal Year (FY) 2020 H-1B cap cases on April 1, 2019, but not all FY 2020 cap cases will be permitted to request premium processing...more
On April 18, 2017, President Trump signed the Buy American and Hire American (BAHA) Presidential Executive Order. The mandate is designed to create higher wages and employment rates for U.S. workers by administering and...more
9/7/2018
/ Buy American Act ,
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Executive Orders ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
H-1B ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Human Resources Professionals ,
Immigration Reform ,
Trump Administration ,
USCIS
In his first State of the Union address, President Trump described four “pillars” to his immigration plan, with mixed reception. The pillars reinforce his campaign slogan to “Buy American, Hire American” and track with the...more
Temporary Protected Status (TPS) is a humanitarian benefit available to foreign nationals who are unable to return to their home countries because of certain temporary conditions including ongoing armed conflict such as civil...more
Congress was unable to agree on a spending bill and the US government has shut down as of midnight, January 19th. This leaves many wondering how immigration benefits are impacted. The general rule is that those services that...more
1/23/2018
/ Department of Labor (DOL) ,
E-Verify ,
Employment Eligibility Verification ,
Foreign Nationals ,
Foreign Workers ,
Government Shutdown ,
H-1B ,
Immigration Procedures ,
OFLC ,
USCIS ,
Visas
This past week’s U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement nationwide I-9 Employment Eligibility Verification Audit of 7-Eleven stores reminds us that no one is above the law. In the early morning hours of January 10, 2018,...more
1/19/2018
/ 7-Eleven ,
Audits ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Eligibility Verification ,
Form I-9 ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) ,
Immigration Enforcement ,
Raids ,
Trump Administration ,
Undocumented Immigrants
Best Practices for Managing U.S. Border Searches of Electronic Devices -
Effective October 18, 2017, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS), Immigration & Customs...more
11/8/2017
/ Border Searches ,
Customs and Border Protection ,
Data Protection ,
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
Electronic Devices ,
Electronically Stored Information ,
Fourth Amendment ,
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) ,
New Regulations ,
Port of Entry ,
Search & Seizure ,
USCIS
In immigration news, the U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) announced on Tuesday, October 3, 2017 that it has resumed its premium processing program for all H-1B visa petitions. USCIS had previously suspended...more
10/6/2017
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Delays ,
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
EB-6 ,
Executive Orders ,
Foreign Affairs Manual (FAM) ,
H-1B ,
International Entrepreneur Rule ,
Notice and Comment ,
Trump Administration ,
US Department of State ,
USCIS ,
Visas
President Trump has issued another update to the travel ban first introduced on January 27, 2017 and reissued on March 6, 2017. Presidential Proclamation 9645 Enhancing Vetting Capabilities and Processes for Detecting...more
The U.S. Department of State (DOS) has announced key details regarding the Diversity Immigrant Visa Program for Fiscal Year 2018 (DV-2019). This is an annual, Congressionally-mandated program that allows participants to enter...more
On the heels of the Trump Administration’s Tuesday, September 5th announcement that the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program will end, news leaked that U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE) had plans...more
9/12/2017
/ Audits ,
DACA ,
Deportation ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Eligibility Verification ,
Form I-9 ,
Hurricane Harvey ,
Hurricane Irma ,
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) ,
Immigration Enforcement ,
Raids ,
Trump Administration
Today, the Trump Administration announced rescission of the Obama Administration’s 2012 Executive Order which created the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. As of March 5, 2018, DACA will fully end with...more
9/6/2017
/ DACA ,
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
Deportation ,
Executive Orders ,
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) ,
Immigration Reform ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Obama Administration ,
Rescission ,
Students ,
Temporary Work Visas ,
Trump Administration ,
Universities ,
USCIS
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has announced that, effective October 1, 2017, it will begin expanding in-person interviews for certain immigration benefit applications that currently do not require...more
9/1/2017
/ Adjustment of Status ,
Asylum ,
Executive Orders ,
Green Cards ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Immigration Reform ,
Interviews ,
Permanent Residence Cards ,
Refugees ,
Trump Administration ,
USCIS