Temporary (Non-immigrant) Work Visas

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New USCIS filing fees will go into effect on October 2, 2020, under a new final rule published by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in the Federal Register on August 3, 2020. This rule raises fees by a weighted average of 20% and changes the current fee structure to impose specific fees per…

Employers need to ready themselves for investigations from the Department of Labor (DOL) into the use of H-1B visas.

Without Congressional oversight or legislative changes, the Trump Administration has changed the policies for H-1Bs, resulting in the highest denial rate in history of this legal immigration program. During the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic national emergency,…

The White House has issued an amendment to the June 22, 2020, Presidential “Proclamation Suspending Entry of Aliens Who Present a Risk to the U.S. Labor Market Following the Coronavirus Outbreak” to clarify an issue regarding those who are outside the scope of the Proclamation.

According to the amendment, not all those…

The day before his previous Proclamation on immigrant visas was to expire, President Donald Trump signed the “Proclamation Suspending Entry of Aliens Who Present a Risk to the U.S. Labor Market Following the Coronavirus Outbreak” to extend his previous immigrant visa restrictions and suspend issuance of certain nonimmigrant, temporary work visas until at

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Reportedly, USCIS will soon announce the temporary furlough of the majority of its employees – 15,000 employees, or three-fourths of its workforce.

The furloughs will begin in August 2020 if the agency does not receive additional fiscal support.

While being called temporary, the head of the American Federation of Government Employees is concerned the reduction-in-force…

Additional restrictions on entry into the U.S. may be expected soon. Initial indications are that the Administration is considering barring H-1B, H-2B, L-1, and J-1 status among other non-immigrant visa categories.

On April 22, 2020, President Donald Trump issued the “Proclamation Suspending Entry of Immigrants Who Present Risk to the U.S. Labor Market During the…

The Trump Administration has talked about reforming the F-1 Optional Practical Training (OPT) program for years. It first appeared on the 2017 DHS Regulatory Agenda as a proposed new rule. The stated purpose of the rule was to increase protections for U.S. workers through additional oversight and to reduce fraud and abuse of immigration…

A bi-partisan group has introduced a new bill in both the House and the Senate that would make additional immigrant visas (green cards) available to doctors and nurses. The Healthcare Workforce Resilience Act (HWRA) would ease the long wait lines for green cards that make the U.S. a less attractive alternative to other countries that…

USCIS has announced that, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it has suffered a steep decrease in revenue and, without assistance, might run out of funding this summer. The agency has asked Congress for $1.2 billion in emergency relief (as a loan) along with a 10% COVID-19 surcharge (to repay the loan) on top of a…

As businesses begin to reopen after shutdowns to help stop the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, employers should anticipate heightened scrutiny by USCIS, ICE, and the Departments of Labor and Justice regarding wage and hour and immigration requirements.

The current surge in worksite enforcement is expected to result in as many as 10,000 I-9 audits…