Jessica K. Lang

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USCIS announced it has completed the annual H-1B selection process (“lottery”) for Fiscal Year 2024, with early reports indicating a record number of registrations submitted. Each year, it becomes increasingly difficult to obtain one of the 85,000 H-1B visas allotted under the congressionally mandated quota or “cap.” In light of the news, employers and foreign-national…

In a settlement agreement signed on January 19, 2023, USCIS agreed to “bundle” the adjudication of dependent applicants’ Form I-539 (Application to Extend/Change Nonimmigrant Status) and Form I-765 (Application for Employment Authorization) with the primary applicant’s Form I-129 (Petition for Nonimmigrant Worker) if the forms are filed together as one package.

Stemming from a settlement…

Voters in Massachusetts may be asked whether to repeal state law granting standard Massachusetts driver’s licenses to undocumented immigrants in November.

In February 2022, the Massachusetts House of Representatives passed a bill to allow undocumented immigrants to apply for standard Massachusetts driver’s licenses. The bill was then passed by the Massachusetts Senate and vetoed by…

Massachusetts is on its way to joining 16 other states that grant driver’s licenses to undocumented immigrants.

On February 16, 2022, the Massachusetts House of Representatives passed The Work and Family Mobility Act by an overwhelming majority vote of 120 to 36. The bill is expected to pass the Massachusetts Senate. It is not clear…

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 regulated recruitment designed to protect U.S. workers and see…

Citing the need to adequately assess their potential impact, the Biden Administration seeks to delay, or reverse, in some cases, a triumvirate of rules issued by the previous administration aimed to dramatically change the H-1B process. These include a rule substantially raising prevailing wages, a rule changing the definition of “specialty occupation” and the “employer-employee…

With the H-1B cap season about to begin, there is good news for computer programmers and those who employ them. USCIS announced the immediate rescission of a 2017 guidance memo that had raised questions about whether computer programmers qualified for H-1B specialty occupation visas. The 2017 guidance, issued in the wake of the Buy American,…

A recent non-binding report by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) found the appointments of Kevin McAleenan and Chad Wolf (both as “acting” DHS Secretaries) and Ken Cuccinelli (senior official performing the duties of the deputy secretary) violated the governing federal and DHS succession rules because they were not eligible for the positions they occupy.…

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), an agency with more than 60,000 employees, now shares status with the likes of the FBI and the Secret Service.

CBP is designated as a “security agency,” according to a CBP staff memo on February 7, 2020, a move which allows the agency to shield information about personnel from…

U.S. firefighters coming to help extinguish the devastating forest fires were cheered when they arrived at the airport in Sydney, Australia. In the past, in what became a reciprocal arrangement, Australian firefighters have assisted U.S. firefighters.

A different sort of reciprocity has led to the sudden increase in visa fees for Australians coming to the…