H-2A

White House, State Department Announcements on Travel Restrictions, Visa Interviews, and More

By Forrest G. Read IV on December 28, 2021

Posted in Biden Administration, Citizenship, COVID-19, Department of State, ESTA, H-1B, H-2A, H-2B, H-4, L-1A / L-1B, L-2, O-1, P-1, Travel (General), US Immigration, USCIS, Visa Waiver Program

As 2021 comes to an end, the White House and the Department of State have announced:

South African Travel Restrictions Lifted.

The 14-day travel restrictions on southern African countries will be lifted as of midnight on December 31, 2021. Adopted on November 29^th, the restrictions based on spread of the COVID-19 Omicron variant…

Legislation Update: House Passes Bills on Dreamers, Farm Workers

By Sean G. Hanagan on March 29, 2021

Posted in Asylum / Refugee, Biden Administration, Citizenship, COVID-19, DAPA / DACA, DED, Department of Labor, H-2A, I-9 and E-Verify, Legislation, Permanent Residence, TPS, Trump Administration

On his first day in office, President Joe Biden signed a memorandum fortifying the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) policy. His administration also has granted Temporary Protected Status (TPS) to more individuals: those from Venezuela and Burma. Building on this, President Biden also proposed broad legislative immigration reform, including a path to citizenship for…

Relaxed H-2A Rules Continue

By Michael H. Neifach on August 21, 2020

Posted in COVID-19, H-2A, I-9 and E-Verify, USCIS

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.

Under the rule:

Employers can continue to petition to employ foreign workers who are already in the U.S. in H-2A

…

New Filing Fees Effective October 2

By Maggie Murphy on August 4, 2020

Posted in Citizenship, COVID-19, DAPA / DACA, EADs, H-1B, H-2A, H-2B, L-1A / L-1B, O-1, Temporary (Non-immigrant) Work Visas, TN / NAFTA, Trump Administration, USCIS

New USCIS filing fees will go into effect on October 2, 2020, under a new final rule published by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in the Federal Register on August 3, 2020. This rule raises fees by a weighted average of 20% and changes the current fee structure to impose specific fees per…

DHS Prepares to Loosen H-2A Rules Temporarily during COVID-19 Crisis

By Michael H. Neifach on April 17, 2020

Posted in COVID-19, Department of Labor, H-2A, Trump Administration, USCIS

Recognizing that current travel restrictions and the closure of consulates and embassies abroad has made it nearly impossible to bring new H-2A workers to the United States, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is expected to release a rule in the Federal Register on April 20 to address this problem. The unpublished draft of the…

Immigration Blog