The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has started the initial registration period for the FY 2025 H-1B cap. The H-1B program allows employers to petition for highly educated foreign professionals to work in...more
On May 1, the White House announced that it will end the COVID-19 vaccine requirements for federal employees, federal contractors, and international air travelers at the end of the day on May 11. The Department of Homeland...more
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has proposed historic increases to its fee schedule for immigration benefit applications. Under the proposed fee rule, the filing fee for common employment-based applications...more
5/1/2023
/ Employment Authorization Documents (EAD) ,
Expedited Actions Process ,
Fees ,
Filing Fees ,
Foreign Workers ,
H-1B ,
Immigration Procedures ,
L-1 Visas ,
Proposed Rules ,
USCIS ,
Visas
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) began accepting electronic registrations for H-1B candidates, subject to the annual quota, beginning at noon Eastern on March 1, 2023. The registration period will run through...more
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that it will begin accepting electronic registrations for H-1B candidates, subject to the annual quota, beginning on noon Eastern on March 1, 2022. The registration...more
Starting Monday, November 8, foreign nationals traveling for nonessential reasons will be permitted to enter the United States at land or ferry border crossings with proof of full vaccination against COVID-19. The Department...more
The Biden administration announced this week that, beginning November 8, noncitizen, nonimmigrants traveling to the United States by air must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 except in limited circumstances. The...more
10/28/2021
/ Airlines ,
Biden Administration ,
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Foreign Nationals ,
International Travel ,
Non-Citizens ,
Non-Immigrant Visas ,
Presidential Proclamations ,
Vaccinations ,
World Health Organization
Manufacturers are likely to face a tighter definition of American-made products and a stricter process for securing waivers as a result of President Joe Biden’s executive order this week. But the exact details will come from...more
1/28/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Buy America ,
Buy American Act ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Manufacturers ,
OMB ,
Public Procurement Policies ,
Suppliers ,
Transparency
Several new travel restrictions impacting business immigration are now in effect.
As of 12:01 a.m. EST today, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention require all passengers flying into the United States to show a...more
1/26/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Business Travel ,
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Foreign Nationals ,
Immigrants ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Presidential Proclamations ,
Public Health Emergency ,
Quarantine ,
Travel Restrictions ,
Virus Testing
The U.S. Department of Labor recently announced changes that will make it harder for employers to meet the prevailing wage standard to bring in temporary professional workers under H-1B visas. The changes are also likely to...more
The federal government has started alleviating certain business immigration pressures that have built up over the past few months amid the coronavirus pandemic. Consulates have resumed limited activities with respect to...more
On July 14th, the U.S. Department of State announced plans to reopen consular posts for routine visa services. DOS indicates that consulates will reopen on a phased post-by-post basis, depending on local conditions concerning...more
The Trump administration reversed a previous directive that would have barred students in F-1 and M-1 nonimmigrant status from remaining in the United States this fall while taking courses entirely online. Earlier this month,...more
7/16/2020
/ Colleges ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Deportation ,
F-1 Visa ,
Foreign Students ,
Harvard University ,
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) ,
M-1 Visa ,
Massachusetts Institutie of Technology (MIT) ,
Remote Learning ,
SEVP ,
Trump Administration ,
Universities
President Donald J. Trump and The White House has announced a further proclamation that now suspends the entry into the United States of certain foreign workers pursuant to H-1B or H-2B, J, and L visas and their dependents...more
Starting today, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services will allow in-person visits for non-emergencies for the first time in more than two months. USCIS is also phasing premium processing back in this month for businesses...more
President Donald Trump’s executive action putting a temporary hold on the entry of certain immigrants to the United States has so far had a limited impact on most business immigration. That is primarily because the majority...more
President Donald Trump’s executive action on immigration is not as broad and far-reaching as his tweet from Monday night indicated, but it does have some key factors that will impact both business and family based immigration...more
President Donald Trump announced in a tweet last night that he plans to suspend all immigration into the United States. The U.S. has also extended the closure of all “non-essential” travel across its northern and southern...more
The federal government made clear this week it still expects temporary workers and others in the U.S. on nonimmigrant visas to use the usual federal channels to comply with immigration laws, including with respect to...more
As several provisions of the CARES Act are being implemented and more states are putting shelter in place orders into effect, the past week has been less active with respect to further guidance and accommodation impacting...more
Over the past week, we have continued to see a significant number of processing changes with respect to U.S. immigration largely in response to the coronavirus pandemic....more
In these quickly evolving times, there is a constant flow of emails and announcements that are coming from all directions. In order to provide a single source for current updates as to major processing changes and...more
President Donald Trump has issued a presidential proclamation suspending entry to the United States of certain additional immigrants and nonimmigrants who may pose a risk of transmitting the novel coronavirus (COVID-19). The...more
Last October, Thomas Homan, the acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), announced that 2018 would see a significant increase in worksite related investigations. He pledged a four-fold increase in...more
The federal government recently implemented new tariffs on steel and aluminum pursuant to Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962. Effective March 23, the government imposed a 25 percent tax on steel and a 10 percent...more