- Certify E-Verify participation on the
Legislation
Three-Year Foreign Domicile Requirement for E-Visa Applicants
A new federal law restricts foreign investors’ access to E visas by adding a three-year domicile requirement for investors who obtained their citizenship through Citizenship by Investment (CBI) Programs.
Buried in the nearly 2,000-page National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), P.L. 117-263, signed into law by President Joe Biden on December 23, 2022, is a provision…
Federal Pay Transparency Bills Introduced
On Equal Pay Day, Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) introduced three bills, including a national pay transparency bill, that she believes would help to close the pay gap between men and women.
She chose Equal Pay Day for the introduction of these bills because it marks the additional days women must work to earn what…
Full Enforcement of REAL ID Law Moved to 2025, ETIAS Moved to 2024
New travel authorization systems are being postponed again in the United States and in Europe: REAL ID until May 7, 2025, and ETIAS (European Travel Information and Authorisation System) until 2024.
During the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) extended the deadline for REAL ID until May 3, 2023. As…
Coalition of States Files Motion to Shutter DACA Program
The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) policy continues to be under attack. In Judge Andrew Hanen’s court in the Southern District of Texas, a coalition of Republican states filed a motion for summary judgment in a long-pending case alleging that the Biden Administration’s new DACA rule is no more valid than the original DACA…
Omnibus Spending Bill Adds Portugal to List of E-1/E-2 Treaty Countries, New E Visa Requirement
Portugal is designated an E-1/E-2 treaty country in the James M. Inhofe National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2023 (H.R. 7776/NDAA) passed by Congress on December 15, 2022. President Joe Biden is expected to sign the bill, providing Portuguese nationals E-1 and E-2 visa eligibility.
E-1 and E-2 visas are for treaty traders…
New DACA Rule Reflects Court’s Limitations
The new Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) final rule is in effect – to the extent permitted by court orders.
DACA allows temporary protection from deportation for undocumented immigrants who came to the United States under the age of 16. There are approximately 600,000 immigrants, known as “Dreamers,” who are protected by DACA.
The…
Optional Practical Training Programs for F-1 Students Are Valid, Federal Appeals Court Held
In Washington Alliance of Technical Workers v. DHS (WashTech), the D.C. Circuit held that optional practical training programs (OPT) that allow students on the nonimmigrant F-1 visa to work in the United States for up to three years following their graduation are valid. This decision comes after eight years of litigation.
In 2014, WashTech…
Announcement: California Employers Required to Include Pay Range Information in Advertisements, Effective 1/1/2023
On September 27, 2022, Governor Gavin Newsom signed an amended version of California SB-1162, Employment: Salaries and Wages. Among the new provisions which will become effective on January 1, 2023 is the requirement that California employers with at least 15 employees include the pay scale for any position in any job posting, including advertisements posted…
Employers Using PERM Labor Certification Keep Eye on Salary Requirements on Job Listings
Employers that sponsor foreign nationals for green cards using PERM Labor Certification have been watching as a growing number of states and localities require salary transparency in job postings. California soon may join that list.
If the amended version of California’s SB-1162, Employment: Salaries and Wages, is signed by Governor Gavin Newsom, California employers with…