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The National Prevailing Wage Center (NPWC) has acknowledged that the October 2013 government shutdown and the significant increase in wage survey-based prevailing wage requests from H-2B employers has delayed processing of Prevailing Wage Determination requests. These undue delays by the Department of Labor (DOL) and NPWC in adjudicating cases are prohibiting employers from filing their…

In a significant decision likely to have a major impact on H-2B employers, the Department of Labor’s (DOL) Board of Alien Labor Certification (BALCA) has rejected the DOL’s attempt to apply supplemental prevailing wage determinations (PWDs) retroactively upon employers who use H-2B temporary foreign labor.  The action came in an Appeals Board Decision rendered on…

The Colorado Division of Labor is conducting more than a thousand audits on employers each year to enforce Colorado’s Employment Verification Law. The Division has conducted approximately 200 complaint-based audits, 5,400 random audits, and 650 re-audits (more than 6,000 audits total) of employers with employees in Colorado since the Law went into effect on January…

A recent decision from the USCIS Administrative Appeals Office (“AAO”) provides some fresh insight for international companies seeking to transfer executives or managers under the L-1A visa from one affiliated foreign office to open new offices in the U.S. and keep their fledgling offices in business after the initial year.

“New office” petitions for L-1A

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E-Verify had experienced a serious technical glitch on October 22, 2013, and the online system used to verify workers’ identity and employment authorization erroneously gave employers Tentative Nonconfirmations for all employees who provided U.S. Passports or U.S. Passport Cards. For some employers, that meant a nearly 40-percent TNC rate.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has

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Applicants for B-1 Business Visitor/B-2 Tourist Visa Waivers should be aware that U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) strongly objects to an assistant, rather than the actual traveler, completing the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) on-line registration for her boss.

Recently, an assistant completed ESTA registrations for two of her bosses using her own

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In the wake of Janet Napolitano’s September departure from the top spot at the Department of Homeland Security, who President Obama would nominate as her replacement has been the subject of much anticipation.  With immigration reform legislation discussions somewhat sidelined in Congress due to the government shutdown and debt ceiling debates, the President’s tapping of…