Insight, News, and Strategy on Immigration Matters Around the World
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has issued a Final Rule for the H-2A and H-2B temporary worker programs that will become effective on Jan. 17, 2025.
The Rule is aimed at modernizing the regulations governing the H-2A and H-2B temporary worker programs — programs that are essential for U.S. employers seeking foreign labor for…
The Department of Homeland Security has released an additional 64,716 H-2B temporary visas for non-agricultural workers. The additional visas will help employers in hospitality, tourism, landscaping, construction, seafood processing, and others that employ temporary seasonal workers.
Of the newly released visas, 44,716 are divided in three allocations (between Oct. 1, 2024, and Sept. 30, 2025)…
The U.S. Embassy in Havana has expanded visa services to include some temporary non-immigrant visas. Cuban nationals with the following approved petitions will be able to schedule visa interviews at the Embassy:
Many USCIS filing fees are being adjusted upward beginning on April 1, 2024. That date, of course, is particularly significant. It is the earliest date that Cap H-1Bs can be filed.
The H-1B filing fee, for example, will rise from $460 to $780. The ACWIA Fee (to fund the training of U.S. workers) and the…
Premium processing will become more expensive starting on February 26, 2024. According to USCIS, it is raising the fees to adjust for inflation.
The newly generated income, estimated to be approximately $185 million, will be used to respond to adjudication demands and reduce processing times throughout the agency.
USCIS has been rolling out premium…
Congress has approved an additional 64,716 H-2B visas for fiscal year 2024, supplementing the 66,000 available annually. As in prior years, restrictions will apply. A temporary final rule has been published in the Federal Register setting out the procedures involved.
H-2B visas for temporary, seasonal nonagricultural workers are used primarily for jobs in tourism and…
The Department of Labor (DOL) and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) have announced they will be collaborating and sharing information to improve their enforcement efforts.
Based upon a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), the agencies are “forming this partnership to encourage greater coordination between them through information sharing, joint investigations, training and outreach.” This…
By September 30, 2023, Congress will again have to fund the government. Despite ongoing efforts by the administration and Congress, indications are that a shutdown may occur at the beginning of the fiscal year, on October 1. Should a shutdown occur, it will affect a number of immigration- and visa-related agencies and processes.
USCIS
Because…
As the United States carries out projects funded by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, the Inflation Reduction Act, and the Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors (CHIPS) Act, the manufacturing industry must prepare to face staffing challenges in meeting future demand. Immigration can help address the demand. Please see our full article here.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has provided guidance on the additional 64,716 H-2B temporary nonagricultural worker visas available for fiscal year 2023.
H-2B visas allow employers to bring workers to the United States to perform temporary nonagricultural seasonal work. The statute limits the total number of H-2B visas per year to 66,000. In recent…
