The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has changed its policy manual to make it easier to find and understand all the regulations regarding nonimmigrant students in F and M status. The new guidance consolidates the existing policies and clarifies issues of eligibility, school transfers, practical training and on-and off-campus employment. It provides more transparency
Higher Enforcement Activity Expected After DOL-EEOC Partnership Agreement
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…
Navigating Changes to a Job Post-PERM Certification Part 2
This is the second of the two-part series Navigating Changes to a Job Post-PERM Certification, which evaluates the impact a job change may have on an approved, certified PERM and during a foreign national’s green card process.
As explained in Part 1, there are circumstances where it may not be necessary to start…
What Happens to the Immigration Agencies When the Government Shuts Down?
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…
Navigating Changes to a Job Post-PERM Certification: Part 1
This is the first of a two-part series on the three factors to consider when evaluating the possible impact a job change could have on a certified PERM labor certification and a foreign national’s green card process.
Typically, unless the foreign worker qualifies for an exception, employers sponsoring a foreign national for permanent residency (a…
Filers Must Use New PERM Labor Certification Form ETA-9089, New FLAG Platform Starting June 1, 2023
Beginning on June 1, 2023, filers submitting PERM Applications for Permanent Employment Certification must submit the revised ETA-9089 in the Foreign Labor Application Gateway (FLAG) system, the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) Office of Foreign Labor Certification (OFLC) has announced.
A U.S. employer hiring a foreign worker and petitioning for that worker to be…
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…
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…
USCIS, DOS Race to Use Up Employment-Based Visa Allocations by End of FY 2022
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is trying to approve as many employment-based green card applications as it can before the annual deadline of September 30, 2022 (the end of the fiscal year).
Primarily due to COVID-19 restrictions, approximately 140,000 family-based visa numbers went unused last fiscal year. As a result, these unused visa numbers…