Insight, News, and Strategy on Immigration Matters Around the World
Employers need to ready themselves for investigations from the Department of Labor (DOL) into the use of H-1B visas.
Without Congressional oversight or legislative changes, the Trump Administration has changed the policies for H-1Bs, resulting in the highest denial rate in history of this legal immigration program. During the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic national emergency,…
USCIS confirmed that its planned furlough of 70% of its workforce (13,400 employees) will be postponed at least until the end of August. The ostensible reason for the furlough was a budget shortfall, even though USCIS is a fee-based service that historically has covered costs.
The furlough announcement, when coupled with the anti-immigration agenda from…
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has extended its flexibility regarding the physical presence requirements for I-9 inspection for another 30 days, until August 19, due to the ongoing precautions related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Eligible employers may continue to inspect Section 2 documents remotely (e.g., over video link, fax, or email) and must…
In a surprise announcement, District Judge Allison D. Burroughs, U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, announced a reversal of the government decision that was announced just last week regarding students in F-1 or M-1 nonimmigrant status. Foreign students will now be able to enter the United States and remain even if they are…
Foreign nationals with approved permanent residence applications but no actual permanent resident card (known as Green Cards) are not the only ones dealing with the printing back-up at USCIS. After deciding to bring the printing of Green Cards and all other employment authorization documents in-house, USCIS is not able to keep up with the…
The Department of Homeland Security’s COVID-19 flexibility regarding the physical presence requirements for I-9 inspection ends on July 19, 2020, for companies that are still operating 100-percent remotely. Unless further extended, the three-day rule to review the original documents in person will kick in on that date. But that three-day clock may start ticking
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The White House has issued an amendment to the June 22, 2020, Presidential “Proclamation Suspending Entry of Aliens Who Present a Risk to the U.S. Labor Market Following the Coronavirus Outbreak” to clarify an issue regarding those who are outside the scope of the Proclamation.
According to the amendment, not all those…
Since May, USCIS has been threatening furloughs of three-quarters of its workforce in August if it does not receive a $1.2 billion loan and an average 21% increase in fees to take care of its budget shortfall. Reportedly, more than 13,000 of the 20,000 USCIS employees who work on citizenship and visa processes will receive…
The day before his previous Proclamation on immigrant visas was to expire, President Donald Trump signed the “Proclamation Suspending Entry of Aliens Who Present a Risk to the U.S. Labor Market Following the Coronavirus Outbreak” to extend his previous immigrant visa restrictions and suspend issuance of certain nonimmigrant, temporary work visas until at
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The Department of State (DOS) has been collecting (and maintaining) information on social media use from all visa applicants (immigrant and non-immigrant) since June 2019. The DOS’s collection and maintenance of this information is the subject of a lawsuit. Read our analysis of these issues here.
