The Department of Labor (DOL) announced its H-2A Transition Plan for updating its Foreign Labor Application Gateway (FLAG) system based on the preliminary injunction (known as the Kansas Order) issued by the U.S. District...more
The Department of Labor (DOL) has decided to delay updating its Foreign Labor Application Gateway, or FLAG, case processing system to implement revised H-2A job order and application forms for the new 2024 Farmworkers...more
Seventeen states joined in a suit in June to block the Department of Labor (DOL) from enforcing its new rule providing more protections to farmworkers employed as H-2A temporary visa holders. Now, Judge Lisa Godbey Wood of...more
8/28/2024
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Agricultural Workers ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Farm Workers ,
H-2A ,
Immigrants ,
Labor Certifications ,
NLRA ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Seasonal Workers ,
Temporary Work Visas ,
Working Conditions
USCIS has updated the Aug. 1, 2023, edition of its Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification, solely to extend the expiration date from July 31, 2026, to May 31, 2027. What should employers do?
•Employers must be using...more
USCIS announced that it is extending the validity of certain Employment Authorization Documents (EADs) issued to Temporary Protected Status (TPS) beneficiaries from El Salvador, Honduras, Nepal, Nicaragua, and Sudan until...more
7/1/2024
/ Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
El Salvador ,
Employment Authorization Documents (EAD) ,
Foreign Nationals ,
Form I-9 ,
Honduras ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Nepal ,
Nicaragua ,
Sudan ,
Temporary Protected Status
President Joe Biden announced protections for undocumented foreign national spouses of U.S. citizens who have lived in the United States for 10 years without a legal immigration status. This will protect approximately 500,000...more
President Joe Biden has ordered a temporary suspension of asylum applications for migrants who cross the southern border illegally between ports of entry. This suspension went into effect at midnight on June 5 because the...more
USCIS has released the new Form N-400, Application for Naturalization. The new form must be used to file starting June 3, 2024. Among the form’s various changes, two are particularly notable:
1. Social Security Update:...more
Many USCIS filing fees are being adjusted upward beginning on April 1, 2024. That date, of course, is particularly significant. It is the earliest date that Cap H-1Bs can be filed.
The H-1B filing fee, for example, will rise...more
In response to the Executive Order (EO) on Artificial Intelligence, on December 21, 2023, the Department of Labor (DOL) issued a request for information in the Federal Register asking for public comment on possible additions...more
On October 30, 2023, President Joe Biden issued an Executive Order regarding the “Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy Development and Use of Artificial Intelligence.” The Executive Order (EO) directs departments and agencies...more
11/10/2023
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
Executive Orders ,
H-1B ,
Immigration Procedures ,
J-1 Visas ,
Joe Biden ,
National Security ,
Non-Citizens ,
STEM ,
US State Departments ,
Visas
On October 30, 2023, President Biden issued an Executive Order regarding the Development and Use of Artificial Intelligence across the federal government. The Executive Order (EO) is intended to establish new standards for AI...more
The Department of Labor (DOL) and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) have announced they will be collaborating and sharing information to improve their enforcement efforts....more
10/25/2023
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Equal Pay ,
Equal Pay Act ,
Foreign Workers ,
H-1B ,
Memorandum of Understanding ,
PERM ,
Title I ,
Title VII ,
Wage and Hour
USCIS has published a proposed rule that, once implemented, would significantly reform and modernize the H-1B Program. The Modernizing H-1B Requirements, Providing Flexibility in the F-1 Program, and Program Improvements...more
Beginning on October 19, 2023, eligible Israeli citizens and nationals can apply for visa-free travel to the United States under the Visa Waiver Program (VWP) through the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA)....more
On September 27, 2023, Secretary of State, Antony Blinken and Secretary of Homeland Security, Alejandro Mayorkas announced that Israel will join the Visa Waiver Program (VWP). Pursuant to the designation, beginning on...more
By September 30, 2023, Congress will again have to fund the government. Despite ongoing efforts by the administration and Congress, indications are that a shutdown may occur at the beginning of the fiscal year, on October 1....more
Proper completion of the Employment Eligibility Verification Form I-9 is one of the most important responsibilities of employers, including retailers, at the beginning of the hiring process. Saying it learned from the...more
8/8/2023
/ E-Verify ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Eligibility Verification ,
Foreign Workers ,
Form I-9 ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Immigrants ,
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Required Forms ,
USCIS
DHS has today, July 25, 2023, published a new Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Form. USCIS has made significant changes to the form and its instructions, including a checkbox to indicate that an employee’s Form I-9...more
On July 21, 2023, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced a final rule, which will be officially published on July 25, 2023, that will provide eligible employers filling out the Employment Eligibility Verification...more
7/24/2023
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
E-Verify ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Eligibility Verification ,
Foreign Workers ,
Form I-9 ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Required Forms ,
USCIS
Texas did not have standing to challenge the Biden Administration’s policy priorities regarding removal of noncitizens, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled. United States v. Texas, No. 22-58 (June 23, 2023)....more
On June 13, 2023, the Department of Homeland (DHS) announced that it would extend Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for 18 months for current beneficiaries from El Salvador, Honduras, Nepal and Nicaragua....more
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has announced that employers will have 30 days to comply with Form I-9 employment eligibility verification physical document examination requirements when COVID-19 flexibility...more
Lawful permanent residents may receive temporary evidence of their lawful permanent resident (LPR) status by mail, rather than physically visiting a field office, USCIS has announced.
LPRs eligible for delivery of temporary...more
USCIS has proposed raising its filing fees – and the burden of those increased fees will fall primarily on employers large and small. For example, the filing fee for an H-1B visa would be raised by 70% from $460 to $780....more