Insight, News, and Strategy on Immigration Matters Around the World
With the May 26, 2015 effective date of H-4 spouse work authorization rule (“H-4 EAD Rule”) approaching, a lawsuit has been filed trying to block the implementation of the Rule, which allows spouses of certain H-1B visa holders to apply for work authorization.
On April 23, 2015, Save Jobs USA, a group of former employees…
USCIS has announced that it will suspend premium processing for all H-1B extension petitions between May 26, 2015, and July 27, 2015. It will use this time to implement the Employment Authorization for Certain H-4 Spouses and ensure that these applications for work authorization will be adjudicated in a timely manner.
Premium processing allows certain…
In the wake of the devastating 7.8 magnitude earthquake that hit Nepal on April 25, 2015, the Nepali community is receiving special consideration in the form of immigration relief measures from the United States.
The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has announced several major immigration relief measures that may be available upon request…
On May 4, 2015, USCIS announced that it has completed data entry of all fiscal year 2016 H-1B cap-subject petitions. USCIS had previously announced on April 13, 2015 that it had received 233,000 petitions submitted by petitioners seeking H-1B employment status for employees to commence employment on October 1, 2015. That number represented an increase…
The National Labor Relations Board has held on remand from a federal appeals court that “conditional reinstatement is an appropriate remedy where an employer knowingly employed individuals who lack authorization to work in the United States and then discharged them in violation of the N[ational] L[abor] R[elations] A[ct].” Mezonos Maven Bakery, Inc., 362 NLRB…
Carrying on religious work without work authorization does not present a bar to receiving a special immigrant visa, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, in Philadelphia, has concluded Shalom Pentecostal Church v. Acting Secretary U.S. Department of Homeland Security, et al., No. 13-4434 (3d Cir. Apr. 7, 2015).
Carlos Alencar came…
Today, USCIS announced that it had completed the H-1B lottery selection and that it had received approximately 233,000 petitions for fiscal year 2016 beginning in October 2015. Last year, USCIS received 172,500 petitions. The numbers this year mean that there was an increase of over 35% from last year. USCIS randomly selected petitions to meet…
On April 7, 2015, USCIS announced that it had received enough H-1B petitions to reach the statutory cap for fiscal year 2016 beginning on October 1, 2015. USCIS has not yet announced the total number of applications received or the date on which it will conduct the random selection process. A random computer selection process …
Beginning on April 1st and for five business days thereafter, until April 7th, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will accept H-1B petitions subject to the fiscal year (FY) 2016 cap.
The congressionally mandated cap on H-1B visas for FY 2016 is 65,000. The first 20,000 H-1B petitions filed for individuals with…
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has announced that it will resume adjudications of H-2B petitions, even though it will continue to suspend premium processing until further notice.
The March 17, 2015, announcement follows the filing of an unopposed motion on March 16 by DOL to stay until April 15the U.S. District Court ruling in…
