Immigration - General

On the heels of a surprise announcement, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has conducted a second round of H-1B cap lottery selections. This move was much-anticipated by employers and foreign national workers alike.

On July 12, 2023, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security added eight new qualifying fields of study to the STEM Designated Degree Program List. F-1 nonimmigrant students who complete certain programs of study in the fields of science, technology, engineering, or mathematics (STEM) are eligible to

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 documentation was examined using a DHS-authorized alternative procedure. USCIS has st

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services recently announced the expansion of the myProgress tool to include Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization, and Form I-131, Application for Travel Document.

As part of the Biden Administration’s initiative to retain high-skilled foreign nationals in the United States, the Department of Homeland Security announced that it is adding eight new fields as qualifying fields of study for STEM (science, technology, engineering, or mathematics) Optional Practica

Calling the USCIS Contact Center to reschedule most biometrics appointments is no longer necessary. As part of its effort to streamline services, USCIS launched a new self-service biometrics appointment rescheduling tool . The new tool can be used for both paper-filed and on-line-filed benefit reque

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). In February 2021, recognizing that, of the more than 11 million removable noncitizens in the

On June 21, 2023, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) announced the launch of a mobile app that will allow travelers from forty countries to apply for visa-free travel authorization directly on their handheld devices.

In an opinion issued on June 20, 2023, the United States Court of Federal Claims reminded taxpayers that they must obtain a certificate of coverage in order to claim an exemption from Social Security and Medicare taxes (FICA) under a totalization agreement.

In April 2023, the long-anticipated new and modernized PERM Form 9089 was introduced to the public by the U.S. Department of Labor, Foreign Labor Certification (FLC) unit. The PERM process permits an employer to hire a foreign worker to work permanently in the United States. The FLC unit held

Beginning on June 1, 2023, filers submitting PERM Applications for Permanent Employment Certification must submit the revised ETA-9089 in the Foreign Labor Application Gateway (FLAG) system, the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) Office of Foreign Labor Certification (OFLC) has announced . A U.S. empl

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Foreign Labor Certification has postponed the date for submission of permanent labor certification (PERM) applications and CW-1 applications for temporary employment certification in the Foreign Labor Application Gateway system from May 16, 2023, to June 1, 2

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Foreign Labor Certification recently issued guidance regarding the trend of permanent labor certification application denials based on how employers completed section H.10-B, “Acceptable Alternate Occupation Job Title,” of Form ETA-9089, Application for Perma

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Foreign Labor Certification has announced plans to revise the permanent labor certification (PERM) process in an effort to streamline the program, improve the employer experience, and speed up the processing of labor certification applications.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has officially implemented its “Simplified Arrival” program that was piloted in various cities from 2021 to 2022 to streamline the arrival process for international travelers at all 238 arriving airports, 34 seaports, and all southern pedestrian and most nort

As a part of various USCIS immigration applications, the U.S. government requires the applicants’ biometrics to be collected in order to conduct relevant background checks and services prior to granting the requested immigration benefits. In the past, mobile biometrics services ( e.g., photographs a

On March 27, 2023, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that the agency had received enough electronic registrations to reach the fiscal year (FY) 2024 annual limit. The current year saw 780,884 registrations, up 61 percent from 483,927 last year, which was a 57 percent jump f

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has been implementing “Simplified Arrival” at all airports, seaports, and most ports of entry since early 2022. The purpose is to secure and streamline the entry process. But the elimination of paper documentation is raising issues for foreign nationals. One outco

USCIS announced that it is no longer necessary to provide supporting documentation to change or update a prior gender selection on immigration forms. The intention is to “reduce barriers to travel, employment, services, and benefits by eliminating delays and preventing discrimination and harassment