The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has announced that, as of January 4, 2013, it has received 22,769 petitions for temporary workers under the H-2B nonimmigrant visa program. This number counts toward the 33,000 H-2B cap for the first half of FY2013, which ends March 31.  Of this number, 18,996 are approved and 3,773…

By the end of 2012, Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) efforts in I-9 audits broke previous records:  it inspected more than 3,000 businesses for I-9 employment eligibility verification compliance and issued nearly $13 million in fines.  To put these numbers into perspective, ICE conducted only 250 workplace compliance audits in 2007; 503 in 2008; 1,444…

AUTHOR:  Rob Neale

Two end-of-year legislative efforts point to immigration reform as being front-and-center in the new 2013 legislative session.  Republicans wasted no time in addressing immigration following the recent presidential election, in which Latino and other immigrant voters gave more of their support to President Barack Obama.

On November 30, 2012, the House of…

AUTHOR:  Harry J. Joe

The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services announced on December 12, 2012 that effective February 1, 2013, all foreign nationals who receive an immigrant visa package issued by the United States Consulate or Embassy abroad will be required to pay an “immigrant fee” for the issuance of the new permanent resident…

This time last year, USCIS Director Alejandro Mayorkas announced a new Entrepreneur in Residence (EIR) initiative to create jobs in the U.S. Now, USCIS has launched a new Entrepreneur Pathways website designed to give visa information to foreign entrepreneurs who want to start a new business in the United States. The website offers a Nonimmigrant…

AUTHOR: Melina V. Villalobos

Much of the focus regarding employee verification compliance centers on the mechanics of I-9 completion and the possibility of high civil penalties for noncompliance. However, as employers strive to ensure compliance with employment verification laws, they must also ensure that they are not discriminating against individuals who are authorized to work.…

At a time when other states, such as New York, are liberalizing their MD licensure requirements for foreign physicians, Texas appears to be headed in the opposite direction. In an unprecedented move likely to affect the ability of hospitals and physician groups in Texas to hire foreign physicians, the Texas Medical Board has enacted changes…

In an effort to streamline the visa renewal process, the U.S. Consulates in India, some of the busiest U.S. visa application posts in the world, have been granting visa interview waivers to certain B-1/B-2, H-4, and L-2 visa applicants. To further streamline the process, these Consulates will now grant a waiver of the nonimmigrant visa…