From proposals to overhaul OPT to decreasing the number of H-1Bs, 2016 is already proving to be an interesting year for business immigration. In a series of posts, the Mintz Levin team will provide an overview of the cases,...more
2/26/2016
/ Arbitrary and Capricious ,
Class Action ,
Corporate Counsel ,
H-1B ,
Highly-Skilled Workers Visa ,
OPT ,
Rescission ,
US Department of State ,
USCIS ,
Visa Bulletins ,
Visas
From proposals to overhaul OPT to decreasing the number of H-1Bs, 2016 is already proving to be an interesting year for business immigration. In a series of posts, the Mintz Levin team will provide an overview of the cases,...more
As of April 1, 2016, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will begin accepting H-1B petitions for Fiscal Year 2017 (FY2017). Upon approval, petitions for FY2017 will allow foreign nationals to work for...more
United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) will begin accepting cap-subject H-1B petitions on April 1, 2015, for start dates of October 1, 2015 or later. ...more
The Senate remains at a stalemate over funding of the Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”), with funding running out on Friday, February 27. A full budget was passed for the rest of the US government in December. However,...more
On February 2, USCIS announced that the congressionally mandated H-2B cap for the first half of fiscal year 2015 has been reached. January 26, 2015 was the final receipt date for new H-2B worker petitions requesting an...more
The Department of Homeland Security announced this week that the final rule, Notices of Decisions and Documents Evidencing Lawful Status, published for comment on October 29, 2014, is effective as of January 27, 2015....more
This alert is a reminder of the rapidly approaching April 1, 2015 deadline for the filing of H-1B visa petitions for Fiscal Year 2016. Petitions for the new fiscal year, which starts on October 1, 2015, will be accepted by...more
It’s a little known fact that U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) won’t approve an employment-based visa petition before checking the company information against the Dun and Bradstreet (D&B) database via the...more
On Thursday, November 20th, coinciding with President Obama’s announcement regarding his forthcoming executive action on immigration, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Jeh Johnson issued a memo to the directors...more
11/25/2014
/ Barack Obama ,
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
E-Verify ,
Executive Orders ,
Green Cards ,
H-1B ,
H-4 Spouses ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Immigration Reform ,
L-1 Visas ,
OPT ,
STEM ,
USCIS ,
Visa Caps
During last week's primetime television broadcast, President Obama announced steps to fix what he termed the “broken” US immigration system. The president focused his speech on increasing border security and providing a...more
11/24/2014
/ Barack Obama ,
Customs and Border Protection ,
DACA ,
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
Deportation ,
Executive Orders ,
Green Cards ,
Highly-Skilled Workers Visa ,
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) ,
Immigration Reform ,
PERM ,
STEM ,
USCIS
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has implemented changes recently that affect many individuals seeking to travel to the United States, US employers of H-1B and L-1 workers, and users of some USCIS services. This...more
US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) empowers its Fraud Detection and National Security (FDNS) officers to make unannounced site visits to employers of H-1B and L-1 workers. The stated purpose of these site visits...more
On October 28th, US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued a new policy, clarifying the definition of “mother” and “parent” under the Immigration and Nationality Act, to include a gestational mother who (a) gave...more
In recent days, the Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”) has published several proposed rules in the Federal Register, which, if adopted, will bring welcome and much needed regulatory changes....more
On May 12, 2014, US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) published two notices of proposed rulemaking in the Federal Register. The public is able to comment on the proposed rules during the 60-day comment period. The...more
This advisory summarizes key travel and employment issues if you are an F-1 student with Optional Practical Training (OPT) employment eligibility and an H-1B filing on your behalf has been accepted by US Citizenship and...more
On April 7, 2014, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that it had received more than enough H-1B petitions to meet the numerical limit for fiscal year 2015 cap-subject H-1B visas, which includes both...more
As of April 1, 2014, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will begin accepting H-1B petitions for Fiscal Year 2015 (FY2015). Upon approval, petitions for FY2015 will allow foreign nationals to work for...more
The April 1, 2014 deadline for filing H-1B visa petitions for Fiscal Year 2015 will be here before you know it. We recently published an alert with more information on when you should file and H-1B caps....more
This alert is a reminder of the rapidly approaching April 1, 2014 “deadline” for the filing of H-1B visa petitions for Fiscal Year 2015. Petitions for the new fiscal year, which starts on October 1, 2014, will be accepted by...more
In a welcome move that acknowledges the hardships caused by the government shutdown, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has advised that if an H-1B petitioner submits evidence establishing that the...more
As of October 17, 2013, the government shutdown in effect since October 1, 2013 has come to an end. The shutdown had negatively impacted immigration processing in matters handled by the Department of State, United States...more
The impending shutdown of the U.S. federal government on October 1st will impact immigration services across a number of different government agencies. In this alert we address the impact of a shutdown on petitions, visas,...more
In recent weeks there have been increased instances of a new telephone scam targeting USCIS applicants and petitioners. Scammers are calling applicants and petitioners using a technique called “Caller ID spoofing” to display...more