Insight, News, and Strategy on Immigration Matters Around the World
The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has published the long awaited new Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification. The prior form expired on March 31, 2016. The Immigration and Nationality Act requires that employers complete a Form I-9 for all new hires after November 6, 1986, to verify employment authorization.
The new form, released…
An amendment to California law expands state prohibitions against “unfair immigration-related practices” related to the hiring of foreign nationals. SB-1001 goes into effective on January 1, 2017.
According to the preamble of the bill, it is “unlawful for an employer to request more or different documents than are required under federal law, to refuse to…
Under Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) Section 212(a)(5)(C), health care workers (except physicians) who seek employment in the United States must obtain a health care worker certification from an approved independent credentialing organization. Physical therapists are among those allied health professionals subject to this requirement and commonly obtain the required certification from the Foreign Credentialing…
Travelers arriving at U.S. land-based ports of entry now can apply online for an I‑94 in advance of their arrival in exchange for a $6 fee under a new program U.S. Customs and Border Protection announced on September 29, 2016.
The foreign national enters into the application all necessary data for I‑94 processing (including biographical …
On the first day of its new term, the U.S. Supreme Court dealt another setback to the Obama Administration’s executive actions on immigration. The Court denied the Administration’s request for a rehearing on its deferred action programs for undocumented immigrants. United States v. Texas, No. 15-674 (June 23, 2016), reh’g denied (Oct. 3, 2016).…
Employers needing foreign talent to fill professional positions obtain work authorization for these individuals most frequently by applying for an H-1B visa. Individuals from across the globe may be sponsored for this type of visa if the position requires a minimum of U.S. Bachelor’s Degree or equivalent. The H-1B visa is often the only way…
In an effort to further streamline the H-2B application process and make it less burdensome for employers, the Department of Labor has announced procedural changes to reduce the amount of documentation to demonstrate “temporary need.”
To get approval to hire H-2B workers, an employer must establish that the need for H-2B workers is temporary in…
The U.S. Department of State has announced that applications for the upcoming Diversity Visa (DV-2018) Lottery will be accepted electronically between noon EDT, October 4, 2016, and noon EDT, November 7, 2016.
The Diversity Immigrant Visa Lottery is administered annually by the Department of State and provides up to 55,000 Diversity Visas each fiscal…
The Department of Homeland Security has closed out the summer with an encouraging proposal designed to allow certain founders of start-up companies from abroad to come to the U.S. for an initial stay of up to two years to build their business here. In a move recognizing the entrepreneurial spirit embodied by the many foreign…
The Department of State reportedly has confirmed that starting August 29, 2016, U.S. consular posts (i.e., embassies, consulates general, and other U.S. missions abroad) will accept only USCIS’s new, June 2, 2016, version of Form I-129S from L-1 nonimmigrant intracompany transferees. This is in line with USCIS’s prior announcement, at www.uscis.gov: “Starting 08/29/2016, USCIS …
