Immigration - General

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has announced that it plans to add mandatory social media collection to the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) process. ESTA is an automated online system that makes an initial determination about a visitor’s eligibility to travel to the Unite

In the context of the pandemic, if there is a question that employers have frequently faced, it is whether employees who decide to work remotely from Québec are covered under Québec’s Act Respecting Labour Standards , which sets out minimal conditions of work.

The U.S. House of Representatives passed the Build Back Better Act (BBBA) ( H.R. 5376 ) by a vote of 220–213. Supported by the Biden Administration and congressional Democrats, the controversial bill heads to the Senate with key immigration reform provisions. Lawful Permanent Residence Section 60001

More business immigrant visas may become available if the latest version of the Build Back Better reconciliation bill passes . If approved by the Parliamentarian and passed as it stands, the bill would make more immigrant visas available by: Recapturing unused visa numbers from 1992 to 2021; Retaini

Efforts to pass “Dreamers” bills that would provide a pathway to citizenship for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients have remained stagnant. In an effort to stabilize the DACA program, absent congressional action, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has published a propose

The PERM Labor Certification Process (PERM) has been used since 2005 by U.S. employers to sponsor foreign national employees for Lawful Permanent Residence, also known as “green cards.” Through the PERM process, employers are required to test the U.S. labor market through a very structured, highly r

On October 25, 2021, the White House issued a presidential proclamation revoking the following proclamations with country-specific COVID-19 travel restrictions: Proclamation 9984 (China); Proclamation 9992 (Iran); Proclamation 10143 (Brazil, Ireland, the Schengen Area, South Africa, and the United K

The decades-old I-9 Employment Eligibility Verification process may be in for some changes. The Department of Homeland Security is requesting “public input” regarding the document examination process. Employers interested in the permanent continuation of Form I-9 flexibility might be encouraged by t

The United States will open its northern and southern land borders to fully vaccinated foreign nationals sometime in November 2021. When this happens, it will be the first time since March 2020 that these individuals will be able to enter the United States from Canada and Mexico for “non-essential”

The country dodged a government shutdown at the end of September, but we may be faced with the same problem on December 3, 2021, when Congress will again have to fund the government. Because we often come close to a shutdown (and sometimes shutdowns happen), it is important to remember

Reacting to a ruling from a federal district court judge in Texas, the Biden Administration proposed a new DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) rule that would strengthen protections for the “Dreamers.” DACA has been under attack since 2017, when the Trump Administration announced it would

In June 2021, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce released the America Works Report , which is based on an analysis of more than 20 years of federal jobs and employment data. Among the findings is that there are approximately half as many available workers for every open job and the ratio continues

Effective September 4, 2021, USCIS permits the receipt notice given to Conditional Permanent Residents for the Petition to Remove Conditions (Form I-751 or Form I-829) to serve as evidence of lawful immigration status for travel and employment for twenty-four months from the date of issue. Prior rec

The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic are far reaching. The labor shortage plaguing America has been one of the most publicized. Why is it so difficult for some employers to find employees? The 2020 United States Census offers possible reasons : an aging population, decreased fertility rates, and low

A non-genetic, non-gestational legal parent of a child born through assisted reproductive technology (ART) outside of the United States may transmit U.S. citizenship to the child under certain circumstances, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Director Ur Mendoza Jaddou has announced.

In a tweet on August 20, 2021, the Department of Homeland Security announced that : “To minimize the spread of COVID19, including the Delta variant, the United States is extending restrictions on non-essential travel at our land and ferry crossing with Canada and Mexico through September 21, while c

One of the themes of this year’s USCIS Ombudsman Annual Report is that the agency has been through “a year like no other.” USCIS faced “unprecedented challenges.” With the COVID-19 pandemic came temporary office closures, reduced capacity, and budget cuts. This led to previously unseen levels of bac

On August 12, 2021, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that it will temporarily extend the validity period for Form I-693, Report of Medical Examination and Vaccination Record, from the current two-year period to four years, due to processing delays related to COVID-19.

On July 22, 2021, the Biden administration extended travel restrictions affecting travel between U.S., Canadian, and Mexican land ports of entry until August 21, 2021. In so doing, the Biden administration confirmed that it is “maintaining cross-border activities with Canada and Mexico that support

The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival program (DACA) is not legal, U.S. District Court Judge Andrew Hanen has ruled in State of Texas et al. v. U.S. et al. Judge Hanen issued an injunction preventing the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) from accepting new DACA applications. However, recogni