Insight, News, and Strategy on Immigration Matters Around the World
Representative Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) has introduced two pieces of legislation to watch.
The Midnight Rules Relief Act, H.R. 21, would allow Congress to overturn any regulations en masse that were finalized or will be finalized during the lame duck session. This could include the long-awaited rule regarding Retention of EB-1, EB-2 and EB-3 Immigrant Workers …
Understanding the scarcity of H-1B visas, early in 2016, the New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC), in partnership with the City University of New York (CUNY), launched the International Innovators Initiative (IN2NYC) to build a pathway to help international entrepreneurs grow companies and create jobs in the United States, specifically in New York City.…
On December 9, 2016, President Barack Obama signed H.R. 2028 (Pub. L. 114-254), a stop-gap spending bill to keep the government running through April 28, 2017. H.R. 2028 includes a Continuing Resolution that extends four immigration programs: The Conrad 30 J Waiver, the Non-Minister Special Immigrant Religious Worker Visa, the EB-5 Regional Center Visa Program,…
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has published the long-anticipated final rule, “Retention of EB-1, EB-2, and EB-3 Immigrant Workers and Program Improvements Affecting High-Skilled Nonimmigrant Workers.” The rule will take effect on January 17, 2017, before President Barack Obama leaves office.
The rule codifies existing policies in establishing job portability and flexibility for certain…
Employers needing foreign talent to fill professional positions obtain work authorization for these individuals most frequently by applying for an H-1B visa. Individuals from across the globe may be sponsored for this type of visa if the position requires a minimum of U.S. Bachelor’s Degree or equivalent. The H-1B visa is often the only way…
In an effort to further streamline the H-2B application process and make it less burdensome for employers, the Department of Labor has announced procedural changes to reduce the amount of documentation to demonstrate “temporary need.”
To get approval to hire H-2B workers, an employer must establish that the need for H-2B workers is temporary in…
The U.S. Department of State has announced that applications for the upcoming Diversity Visa (DV-2018) Lottery will be accepted electronically between noon EDT, October 4, 2016, and noon EDT, November 7, 2016.
The Diversity Immigrant Visa Lottery is administered annually by the Department of State and provides up to 55,000 Diversity Visas each fiscal…
The Department of Homeland Security has closed out the summer with an encouraging proposal designed to allow certain founders of start-up companies from abroad to come to the U.S. for an initial stay of up to two years to build their business here. In a move recognizing the entrepreneurial spirit embodied by the many foreign…
The Department of State reportedly has confirmed that starting August 29, 2016, U.S. consular posts (i.e., embassies, consulates general, and other U.S. missions abroad) will accept only USCIS’s new, June 2, 2016, version of Form I-129S from L-1 nonimmigrant intracompany transferees. This is in line with USCIS’s prior announcement, at www.uscis.gov: “Starting 08/29/2016, USCIS …
Employers employing foreign nationals in H-1B nonimmigrant visa status must pay their H-1B employees the wage specified on the Labor Condition Application (LCA) certified by DOL, regardless of whether the H-1B employer is enduring difficult economic or financial periods due to struggling national economy, an Administrative Law Judge for the Department of Labor has ruled…
