BILL TO ENACT SWEEPING CHANGES TO THE U.S. IMMIGRATION SYSTEM FACES STEEP ODDS IN CONGRESS
8/7/17
By: Kenneth S. Levine
On February 13, 2017, Senators Tom Cotton and David Perdue jointly introduced Senate Bill 354 (otherwise known as the “RAISE Act”). This legislation went largely unreported until August 2nd when the White House staged a …
USCIS RESUMES PREMIUM PROCESSING FOR “CAP-EXEMPT” H-1B CASES
7/24/17
By: Kenneth S. Levine
On July 24th U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced the immediate reinstatement of the premium processing program for certain cap-exempt H-1B petitions. An H-1B visa may now be filed under premium processing if the Employer …
Revised Form I-9 Now Available
7/18/17
By: Layli Eskandari Deal
U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) has released a revised Form I-9 which is now available (https://www.uscis.gov/i-9). Employers may use the old version of the form (dated 11/14/2016) or the new version (dated 07/17/2017) …
UPDATE ON H-2B VISA AVAILABILITY
7/17/17
By: Kenneth S. Levine
The Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security announced on June 17th an expansion of the H-2B visa quota. DHS Secretary Kelly, pursuant to his departmental authority, designated an additional 15,000 H-2B visas on top of …
UPDATE ON THE FOREIGN ENTREPRENEURS RULE
7/12/17
By: Kenneth S. Levine
In an official memo issued on July 10th the U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced a delay in the implementation of the “International Entrepreneurs Rule” until March 14, 2018. This rule provided foreign nationals an …
SCOTUS Travel Ban
6/27/17
By: Layli Eskandari Deal
On June 26, 2017, the Supreme Court agreed to hear the Travel Ban cases when it reconvenes next fall. The Court has allowed the government to implement parts of President Trump’s second executive order which bans …
Be Prepared for Tougher Visa Screening at U.S. Embassies and Consulates
6/2/17
By: Layli Eskandari Deal
On March 6, 2017, President Trump issued a memo directing the Secretary of State and others to implement additional screening and vetting standards to ensure “the proper collection of all information necessary to rigorously evaluate all …
IS RELIEF AROUND THE CORNER FOR H-2B VISAS?
5/31/17
By: Kenneth S. Levine
Despite the current Administration’s recent executive orders seeking to place limits on U.S. work visas, a surprising expansion of the H-2B work visa program was included in the annual budget draft introduced this past week. This …
THE LATEST DEVELOPMENTS ON THE EB-5 REGIONAL CENTER PROGRAM
5/2/17
By: Kenneth S. Levine
Foreign investors interested in obtaining a green card by investing in a USCIS designated EB-5 Regional Center program may rest assured that the program will remain in full force and effect for at least another 5 …
Federal Government Announces Changes to its Green Cards
4/19/17
By: Layli Eskandari Deal
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has announced a redesign to the Permanent Resident Card (“Green Card”) and the Employment Authorization Document (“EAD”) as part of the Next Generation Secure Identification Document Project. USCIS will begin issuing …
ARE CHANGES COMING TO THE H-1B VISA?
4/19/17
By: Kenneth S. Levine
On April 18, 2017, President Trump signed an Executive Order entitled “Buy American and Hire American.” In the “Hire American” portion of the order, the administration has directed USDOL, USDOJ, USCIS, and USDOS to review the …
Increased Scrutiny Measures to Detect H-1B Visa Fraud and Abuse
4/7/17
By: Agne Krutules
As thousands of the H-1B visa program application were filed on April 3, 2017, for the lottery for fiscal year 2018, the USCIS announced that it is implementing multiple measures to deter and detect H-1B visa fraud …