Immigration - Visas

Business groups, universities, and technology consulting firms have filed suits seeking to enjoin the new rules on H-1B and PERM labor certification programs issued by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Department of Labor (DOL) on October 8, 2020. Those rules, both issued as Interim

On October 8, 2020, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) published its long-speculated interim final rule, “Strengthening the H-1B Nonimmigrant Visa Classification Program.” According to the interim final rule’s summary, the purpose of the new rule is to “strengthen the integrity of the H-

On October 1, 2020, the United States District Court for the Northern District of California issued a limited preliminary injunction enjoining the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) from “implementing, enforcing, or otherwise carrying out” Section 2 of Presidential Proclamation 10052 of June

On October 1, 2020, President Donald Trump signed into law a stopgap spending measure to fund the U.S. government through December 11, 2020. The spending measure includes a provision titled “Emergency Stopgap USCIS Stabilization Act,” which authorizes U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS

On October 8, 2020, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) published its long-speculated interim final rule, “Strengthening Wage Protections for the Temporary and Permanent Employment of Certain Aliens in the United States.” The new rule will update how the existing “four-tiered wage structure based on

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has released yet another rule that will make it harder and more costly for U.S. companies to employ highly skilled workers. As a companion regulation to the “Strengthening Wage Protections for the Temporary and Permanent Employment of Certain Aliens in the U

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) have released two new interim final rules affecting immigration. Both rules immediately impact skilled foreign workers in the H-1B specialty occupation visa program and employment-based immigrants, and make major refor

Premium processing fees are going up (the bad news), but premium processing will be available for more types of cases (the good news) according to changes included in the recently passed Continuing Resolution (CR) that will fund the government until December 11, 2020. The changes are meant to provid

The entry period for the 2022 Diversity Immigrant Visa (DV) Program will open on Wednesday, October 7, 2020 at noon, Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) and will close at noon EDT on Tuesday, November 10, 2022. There is no cost to register. Individuals born in the following countries are not eligible

Foreign students soon may find themselves subject to new policies and processes regarding their status in the United States. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has released for comment its proposed rule Establishing a Fixed Time Period of Admission and an Extension of Stay Procedures for

Judge Amit Mehta in Gomez v. Trump ordered the Department of State (DOS) to make good faith efforts to “expeditiously process and adjudicate DV-2020 diversity visa and derivative beneficiary applications” and issue visas to those eligible by September 30, 2020 – the deadline for the Diversity Visa p

The “Strengthening the H-1B Nonimmigrant Visa Classification Program” rule has been submitted to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) for review and could be published by the end of the year – or earlier. Although the text of the rule is still not public, it is generally believed

Acting quickly, as he promised, Judge Ahmit P. Mehta in Gomez v. Trump , recognized the particular urgency of the Diversity Visa plaintiffs’ situation and granted them injunctive relief. Judge Mehta ordered the Department of State (DOS) to make good faith efforts to “expeditiously process and adjudi

Foreign students wishing to study in this country may have whiplash over the Trump Administration’s many moves. Early in 2020, a federal court blocked the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) from changing the rules regarding duration of status admission to the United States. Under the Trump Admini

On August 12, 2020, the U.S. Department of State issued guidance on scenarios that may qualify for a “national interest exception” under Presidential Proclamation 10052 of June 22, 2020 (“Proclamation Suspending Entry of Aliens Who Present a Risk to the U.S. Labor Market Following the Coronavirus Ou

The Consent Order and Final Statement (Order) in Subramanya v. USCIS, the case seeking the agency’s issuance of long-delayed Employment Authorization Documents (EADs), has been signed and issued . Under the Order, approximately 75,000 identified, delayed EADs are expected to be produced and mailed.

USCIS has announced that, due to an “unprecedented” increase in revenues, the source of which is unclear, it would not go forward with the furloughs previously scheduled for August 30, 2020 – at least not until the end of the fiscal year (October 1, 2020). The USCIS Deputy Director for

By: Layoffs Averted at USCIS U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services leadership announced today that they have abandoned their plan to lay off 13,000 workers or roughly two-thirds of its workforce. USCIS, a division of the Department of Homeland Security, is a fee-funded agency. Ninety-seven percent

Due to the continuation of the COVID-19 national emergency, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has decided to continue its temporary loosening of H-2A rules to make it easier to employ temporary, seasonal agricultural workers.

On August 18, 2020, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Immigration and Customs Enforcement announced a fourth extension of its prior guidance relaxing the in-person verification requirements of Form I-9 for employers operating remotely due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.