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By: Patricia Gannon, Esq., Marcela Bermudez, Esq., and Ruijie “Jessica” Zhang, Esq.
Should appropriations legislation or a stop-gap spending bill not be passed by Congress by September 30, 2023, the government will enter a partial shutdown on October 1, 2023. If that is the case, the following may occur.
PERM applications and submissions, labor condition applications (LCAs), prevailing wage requests, and audit responses are submitted through the Department of Labor (DOL)
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By: Patricia Gannon, Esq. and Marcela Bermudez, Esq.
A new form I-9 will be released and available as of August 1, 2023. Although the old form can be used through October 31, 2023, we recommend looking at the new form and new requirements.
This new form will be shorter and should be easier to complete. For employers who are enrolled in E-Verify, the new form will provide permanent flexibilities for remote examination of the employee’s I-9 documents
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By: Patricia Gannon, Esq. and Marcela Bermudez, Esq.
Starting in 2024, U.S. travelers and visitors from countries that are not part of the European Union (EU) will need to apply for authorization to enter the EU Schengen countries through the new European Travel Information and Authorization System (ETIAS). ETIAS was proposed in 2016 but its rollout has been postponed several times. ETIAS will require U.S. citizens to obtain permission to enter Europe’s Schengen countries. U.S
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By: Patricia Gannon and Marcela Bermudez
Effective July 1, 2023, employers with 25 or more employees are required to use E-Verify to check the employment eligibility of new hires, under Florida Senate Bill (SB) 1718, a new law signed by Governor Ron DeSantis on May 10.
Currently, Florida has a very narrow E-Verify requirement
USA
By: Patricia Gannon Esq., and Marcela Bermudez, Esq.
The entire landscape of Name, Image, Likeness, (NIL) has evolved and universities continue to focus resources to donors, brands and students. But there is no clear guidance on how NIL affects foreign national students and what they are allowed to do under immigration rules.
On June 21, 2021, the Supreme Court in NCAA v. Alston invalidated NCAA restrictions on education-related benefits for college athletes
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By: Patricia Gannon, Marcela Bermudez, and Ruijie “Jessica” Zhang
USCIS to Suspend Biometrics in Key Cases
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is extending its suspension of the biometrics requirement for those seeking H-4, L-2 and E derivative changes of status and extensions of stay in the United States. The suspension will remain in place through September 30, 2023
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USCIS announced that the Fiscal Year 2024 cap registration period will open at noon ET on March 1, 2023, and will close at noon ET on March 17, 2023. All cap registrations must be drafted and submitted online during this period. H-1B cap employers may use their existing “registrant” myUSCIS accounts for FY 2024 cap registration. Employers setting up new “registrant” accounts may do so beginning Tuesday, February 21 at noon ET and continuing through the registration period
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USCIS Proposes Sweeping Processing Changes and EB-2 Jumps One Year for India
USCIS Proposes Initiatives to Reduce Critical Backlog
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”), a division of the Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”), announced three major proposals on March 29, 2022, that should greatly reduce the current immigration processing backlog
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Biden Administration Actions to Attract STEM Talent
On January 21, 2022, the White House released a statement summarizing immigration related efforts to attract and retain foreign national scholars, students, researchers, and experts in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) in order to strengthen U.S. competitiveness. As part of this initiative, several updates were announced by the U.S. Department of State (DOS) and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS)
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As a follow up to our Greenspoon Marder LLP alert issued on January 24, today, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that the initial registration period for the FY 2023 H-1B cap will open at 12:00 pm Eastern on March 1 and run through 12:00 pm Eastern on March 18, 2022. During this period, prospective petitioners and representatives will be able to complete and submit their registrations using the online H-1B registration system
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Once again, it is time to start preparing for the H-1B Cap season. USCIS is expected to continue to use its electronic registration process for the fiscal year (FY) 2023 season. The registration period will run in March 2022 for a minimum of 14 calendar days. We encourage clients to begin preparing now as we expect the number of registration to greatly exceed the number of cap-subject H-1B visas available
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USCIS Published the Final Rule Withdrawing H-1B Wage Based Selection Rule
On December 21, 2021, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) published a final rule withdrawing the Modification of Registration Requirements for Petitioners Seeking to File Cap-Subject Base H-1B Petition final rule, also known as the H-1B Selection Final Rule, issued January 8, 2021
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On December 28, 2021, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) has released guidance stating that healthcare workers, who have a pending Employment Authorization Document (EAD) renewal application and whose EAD expires in 30 days or less or has already expired, can now request expedited processing of their pending EAD application. If approved, USCIS will process the EAD application quicker
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Updated Pre-Departure Testing Requirements for Air Travelers to the U.S.
Starting December 17, 2021, air travelers aged two and older, regardless of nationality or vaccination status, will be required to submit a negative COVID test taken within one calendar day of travel to the United States, or provide documentation of recent COVID recovery, in order to board their flight. That includes all travelers – U.S. citizens, lawful permanent residents (LPRs), and foreign nationals
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U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”), a division of the Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”), has agreed to change its policies concerning employment authorization document (“EAD”) applications for the spouses of L, E and H-1B visa holders. The change comes as a result of settlement of the litigation entitled Shergill et al. v. Mayorkas, Case No
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As per our previous alert, the U.S. is set to modify the requirements for entry into the United States via air, land, and sea in November for fully vaccinated individuals; the White House has now confirmed to multiple news outlets that the new policy requiring foreign national travelers to demonstrate that they are fully vaccinated will begin November 8, 2021. Foreign national travelers will need to demonstrate their vaccination status whether traveling by air, land, or sea
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On Monday, September 20, 2021, Jeff Zients, the White House coronavirus response coordinator, announced that the Biden Administration will begin to ease travel restrictions starting in early November for international travelers who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19. There will be few exemptions, including children not yet eligible to be vaccinated
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USCIS announced today that they have conducted a second round lottery selection for the Fiscal Year 2022 (FY 2022) H-1B CAP, and began notifying employers and their Immigration Counsel of the results. This is good news for those that were not selected in the first round of the H-1B lottery for FY 2022, giving them an opportunity for selection
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Today, USCIS has announced that they have completed the lottery selection process for (FY) 2022 H-1B Cap. USCIS has received enough electronic registrations during the initial registration period to reach the fiscal year numerical allocations (H-1B cap) including for the advanced degree exemption (master’s cap)
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On March 2, 2021, the Department of State rescinded its previous policy regarding the criteria for granting national interest exceptions (NIE) for those affected by the European COVID-19 travel ban (Schengen countries, UK, and Ireland) (Presidential Proclamation 10143). This new policy will remain in effect until further notice and does not have a date of when it will end
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A reminder on international travel, we all want to be with our friends and family but travel has its challenges
Below are some important points to consider prior to traveling:
Country and Local Conditions: Check your destination’s local country requirements and airline’s requirements prior to travel. Also be mindful of the U.S. requirements for air travelers entering the U.S., including the CDC’s mandatory negative test prior to arrival, as well as any U.S. state quarantine requirement
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This is a reminder that the H-1B Cap Registration for FY 2022 will open on March 9, 2021 and will close on March 25, 2021. All cap registrations must be drafted and submitted online during this period. It is important that your organization submit all registration requests to our office as soon as possible to ensure that we have enough time to review and draft the registration
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Yesterday, USCIS announced the H-1B Selection final rule, which amended the regulations governing the process by which USCIS selects H-1B visa registrations for the filing of H-1B cap-subject petitions will be delayed until 12/31/2021. The rule’s delay means that the existing random, computerized H-1B cap selection system will remain in place for this year’s H-1B visa cap season, rather than ranking registrations based on the highest offered wages
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Breaking News: DHS Announced Its Final Rule on Wage-Based H-1B Cap Selection Process
Yesterday, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced its final rule on modifying the H-1B cap selection process that was proposed in November 2020. USCIS has declined to modify the regulatory text in the proposed rule after the comment period and published its final rule as proposed in the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM)
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Breaking News: DOL has issued Guidance on Implementation of OES Wages in Compliance with District Court Orders
In response to two separate District Court Orders, Chamber of Commerce, et al. v. DHS, et al., No. 20-cv-7331 and ITServe Alliance, Inc., et al. v. Scalia, et al, where the District Courts invalidated interim regulation that significantly changed the prevailing wage methodology for H-1B, H-1B1, E-3 visa programs and Perm Program, the U.S
