In the competitive global video game industry, the United States remains at the forefront despite the recent rise in foreign gaming companies. Some of the most prestigious video gaming studios are located in the United States, and the battle among studios for elite talent to work on their breakout productions is fierce. Studios are forced
Qualifying International Entrepreneurs Must Meet New Dollar Amounts Beginning October 2022
New dollar eligibility criteria for investment amounts, qualifying investors, and re-parole considerations under the International Entrepreneur Rule (IER) will take effect on October 1, 2022.
The Biden Administration relaunched the IER in May to grow the economy through job creation. The IER makes it possible for certain promising start-up founders and entrepreneurs to come to…
CDC Announces COVID-19 Vaccination Requirement for Applicants for Green Cards
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced that as of October 1, 2021, all applicants for Green Cards must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19.
There are some exemptions from the requirement, but anyone who does not qualify for an exemption and refuses vaccination will be inadmissible.
The COVID-19 vaccine joins the list of…
TPS Extended Through 2022 for El Salvador, Haiti, Honduras, Nepal, Nicaragua, Sudan
The Department of Homeland Security has issued a notice extending Employment Authorization Documents (EADs) for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) beneficiaries from El Salvador, Haiti, Honduras, Nepal, Nicaragua and Sudan through December 31, 2022.
The automatic extension is intended to ensure continued compliance with preliminary injunction orders that have been entered in the various cases challenging…
Transmission of Citizenship to Children Born Abroad Through Assisted Reproductive Technology
A non-genetic, non-gestational legal parent of a child born through assisted reproductive technology (ART) outside of the United States may transmit U.S. citizenship to the child under certain circumstances, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Director Ur Mendoza Jaddou has announced.
Director Jaddou, the first woman to be appointed to that position, made the…
Uncertain Fate of H-1B Modification Rule
Approximately 27,000 additional Cap H-1B cases were selected in a second-round lottery for fiscal year 2022. The selected petitions must be filed by November 3, 2021. In the meantime, litigation challenging the validity of the Modification of Registration Requirement for Petitioners Seeking to File Cap-Subject H-1B Petitions Rule (Modification Rule), for next year’s petitions, are…
USCIS Ombudsman Annual Report Highlights Challenges, Including COVID-19 Pandemic
One of the themes of this year’s USCIS Ombudsman Annual Report is that the agency has been through “a year like no other.” USCIS faced “unprecedented challenges.” With the COVID-19 pandemic came temporary office closures, reduced capacity, and budget cuts. This led to previously unseen levels of backlogs and deepening financial problems, according to the…
Tougher E-Verify Enforcement
E-Verify is moving toward tougher enforcement, which can result in a temporary termination from participation in the E-Verify program.
Early in the COVID-19 pandemic, E-Verify relaxed some of its standards regarding Tentative Nonconfirmation (TNCs). But, by November 2020, E-Verify stopped allowing extensions and began enforcing its usual timing requirements.
Employers receiving a TNC must notify…
Haiti TPS Extended Through February 3, 2023
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced that, because of new dire circumstances, TPS for Haiti will be designated for 18 months effective August 3, 2021, through February 3, 2023.
The designation is a response to the “[d]eteriorating political crisis, violence, and a staggering increase in human rights abuses,” as well as a deteriorating healthcare…
USCIS Makes More Cap-Subject H-1B Selections, Technical Problems in Notice Access
USCIS made more random Cap H-1B selections on July 28, 2021. Notifications started to go out today – July 29, 2021. Due to a glitch in the USCIS system, attorneys do not yet have access to the notices (although some employers do). USCIS is aware of this technical problem and is working to resolve it.…