The New England winter brings its usual charm in our neck of the wood, but for me, the excitement lies elsewhere - catching up on Oscar-nominated films before the big night. As the Oscar season approaches, I eagerly...more
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has issued a new fee rule that imposes significant increases, particularly for employment-based petitions. The rule, and the higher fees, will apply to any benefit request...more
The annual H-1B cap season has begun for Fiscal Year 2025. Once again, there will be a two-step process – the registration step and then, if the registration is selected in the H-1B cap lottery, the petition step. Now is the...more
1/17/2024
/ Beneficiaries ,
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
Foreign Workers ,
H-1B ,
Immigrants ,
Immigration Procedures ,
NAFTA ,
STEM ,
USCIS ,
Visa Caps ,
Visas
The annual H-1B cap season has begun for Fiscal Year 2024. Once again, there will be a two-step process – the registration step and then, if the registration is selected in the H-1B cap lottery, the petition step. Now is the...more
As Pride Month draws to a close, employers should focus on how to create a more inclusive workplace throughout the year.
From day one of law school, I have revered the Supreme Court Justices and its opinion. I have held...more
Yesterday, my son and his friends were talking through a song they were recording, as I heard him say, “today is Juneteenth, we should put a line in our song about it.” I thought, wow…that’s really awesome. However, another...more
Most companies invest time, energy, and money in marketing strategies to attract and retain their clients or customers. Companies spend significant resources on market research that tells them how to do this best....more
President Biden’s nominee for the United States Supreme Court, Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, begins her Senate confirmation hearing today. It marks a historic moment for our country. If she is confirmed, Judge Jackson will be...more
Building a diverse workforce has become a key business strategy, especially in today’s fast-paced, global marketplace. But, making profound shifts in the makeup of a workforce cannot be achieved overnight. There is also no...more
Like most of you, 2021 has been sort of surreal. After more than a year of some hybrid form of working from home with your “pod” of people (family, friends, or some combination thereof), where our collective 24/7 life cycle...more
10/22/2021
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Equity Plans ,
Executive Orders ,
Gender Identity ,
Home Offices ,
Immigration ,
Joe Biden ,
Remote Working ,
Telecommuting ,
Title VII
The U.S. Supreme Court has unanimously ruled that non-citizens who have been granted temporary humanitarian relief from deportation, known as Temporary Protected Status, and who came to the United States without being...more
Mother’s Day is a day to celebrate all the moms, especially those who have managed through an unprecedented year as CEO of their families. Most days we are tired, beaten down emotionally and physically, feeling overworked and...more
More than one-third of new global cases of COVID-19 have occurred in India, and the numbers are increasing.
As a result, President Biden has added the Republic of India to the list of countries whose nationals and...more
5/6/2021
/ American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) ,
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
Foreign Nationals ,
India ,
Joe Biden ,
Lawful Permanent Residents ,
National Interest Waiver ,
Non-Citizens ,
Presidential Proclamations ,
Travel Ban ,
US Department of State ,
Virus Testing
As we emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic, it is clear we are living at the crossroads of a historical moment; at the precipice of a time where the political, social, economic, technological, and cultural fabric of society is...more
The U.S. State Department recently issued new guidance on the National Interest Exceptions for international travelers to the United States. The guidance applies to inbound travelers from Ireland, the Schengen Area, and the...more
4/2/2021
/ Business Interruption ,
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Customs and Border Protection ,
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
Foreign Nationals ,
International Travel ,
Ireland ,
Joe Biden ,
National Interest Waiver ,
New Guidance ,
UK ,
US Department of State
For the last year, the fate of the Public Charge Rule, which expanded the ability of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to deny green cards to lower-income foreign nationals, has been uncertain. In addition to the...more
3/17/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
Dismissals ,
Foreign Nationals ,
Green Cards ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Interim Guidance ,
Joe Biden ,
Low-Income Issues ,
Medicaid ,
Permanent Residence Cards ,
Public Charge ,
Request for Evidence (RFEs) ,
SCOTUS ,
SNAP Program ,
USCIS
Last week, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced changes that will be good news for foreign students seeking Optional Practical Training in areas related to their major areas of study.
First, the 14...more
3/8/2021
/ Colleges ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
Employment Authorization Documents (EAD) ,
Foreign Students ,
Form I-765 ,
OPT ,
SEVIS ,
STEM ,
Universities ,
USCIS ,
Visas
Last year, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services rolled out for the first time a new electronic registration tool for H-1B cap cases as part of its implementation of regulations issued in January 2019. The 2019...more
Before his inauguration, President Biden expressed his commitment to keeping the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program alive. On his first day in office, he issued an Executive Order directing the Department of...more
Last March, almost from the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the United States put into place restrictions on admission of international travelers. The restrictions applied to most individuals who were physically present...more
The U.S. Department of Labor has again issued a final rule on the computation of prevailing wage levels for high-skilled foreign workers. The rule is intended to replace a prevailing wage rule issued in October that was...more
We reported in October about two new rules that were issued by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. Department of Labor that would affect H-1B specialty occupation visas. The DOL rule significantly raised...more
On Monday, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security issued proposed regulations that would amend the H-1B cap registration selection process by replacing the current random process with one based on wage levels.
The proposed...more
For many years, U.S. employers have benefited from the “B–1 (Business Visitor) in lieu of H” policy. The policy allowed a business visitor to come to the United States as an employee of and on behalf of a foreign employer in...more
Concerns about the spread of COVID-19 led U.S. and Canadian officials to agree that non-essential travel across the land ports of entry along the border should be temporarily suspended. These restrictions have since been...more