Immigration Update – June 05, 2023
Headlines: Boycott Florida? Truckers Protest New Law – According to reports, some Latino truckers are threatening to boycott Florida over its passage of a new law. FL 1718, effective July 1, 2023, imposes new penalties and restrictions on undocumented persons and their employers. State Dept. Updates Diversity Visa 2024 Guidance on Document Submission – For […]
Immigration Update – May 22, 2023
Headlines: Biden Administration Publishes Final Rule on Asylum Ineligibility, Seeks Comments – The Departments of Homeland Security and Justice published a final rule, “Circumvention of Lawful Pathways,” effective May 11, 2023. USCIS Updates Review Process for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans – U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced an updated process for granting advance […]
Immigration Update – May 15, 2023
Headlines: As Title 42 Expires, Biden Administration Releases Final Rule on Asylum Ineligibility, Fact Sheet on ‘Additional Sweeping Measures’; Challenges Ensue – The Departments of Homeland Security (DHS) and Justice released a final rule, “Circumvention of Lawful Pathways,” effective May 11, 2023. DHS and the Department of State also released a related fact sheet. June […]
Immigration Update – May 08, 2023
Headlines: Uncertainty Reigns as Title 42 Ends; Mayorkas Announces New Rule, Other Measures – Responding to reports of a potential surge of migrants at the southern U.S. border spurred by reports of the imminent end of Title 42 restrictions, Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas says the United States is ready. ICE Extends Form I-9 […]
Immigration Update – May 01, 2023
Headlines: USCIS Announces Results of FY 2024 H-1B Initial Registration Period Amid Fraud Concerns – USCIS said that the large number of eligible registrations for beneficiaries with multiple eligible registrations, which was much larger than in previous years, “has raised serious concerns that some may have tried to gain an unfair advantage by working […]
Immigration Update – April 24, 2023
Headlines: Form ETA-9089 Case Creation, Submission Available Soon in FLAG, OFLC Says – The Department of Labor’s Office of Foreign Labor Certification will begin accepting the revised Form ETA-9089, Application for Permanent Employment Certification, in the Foreign Labor Application Gateway (FLAG) system on May 16, 2023. Filers may begin creating and staging applications on April […]
Immigration Update – April 17, 2023
Headlines: Employers May File H-2B Petitions for Late Second Half of FY 2023 – U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has begun accepting petitions for workers for the late second half of fiscal year 2023—those requesting employment start dates from May 15, 2023, to September 30, 2023—under the H-2B supplemental cap temporary final rule. OFLC Reconsiders […]
Immigration Update – April 10, 2023
Headlines: DOS Publishes Notice on Ukrainian J-1 Student Relief – The Department of State is extending Special Student Relief to eligible Ukrainian students in the United States on J-1 visas “to help mitigate the adverse impact on them resulting from the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine that began on February 24, 2022.” USCIS Allows Additional […]
Immigration Update – April 4, 2023
Headlines: H-1B Electronic Registration Selection Process Completed – U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has received enough electronic registrations during the initial registration period to reach the fiscal year 2024 H-1B numerical allocations (H-1B cap), including the advanced degree exemption (master’s cap). USCIS Removes 60-Day Rule for Civil Surgeon Signatures on Form I-693 – U.S. Citizenship […]
Immigration Update – March 27, 2023
Headlines: April Visa Bulletin Shows Worldwide EB-4 Backlog of 5+ Years, EB-2 Retrogression – The EB-4 category, which includes special immigrant religious workers, now has a worldwide backlog of 5+ years. Also, the EB-2 final action dates for Rest of World, India, Mexico, and the Philippines have retrogressed several months to keep number use within […]
Immigration Update – March 20, 2023
Headlines: USCIS Issues Policy Alert on Evidence for Employers’ Ability to Pay Proffered Wage – U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has updated its guidance to discuss in more detail various types of evidence and explain how it reviews all evidence relevant to the employer’s financial strength and the significance of its business activities. LPRs May […]
Immigration Update – March 13, 2023
Headlines: USCIS Releases New Guidance, Resources for International Entrepreneurs – U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has issued comprehensive guidance on parole for international entrepreneurs, and new entrepreneur resources. DHS Extends and Redesignates Somalia for TPS, Announces Student Relief – The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) plans to publish a Federal Register notice extending and redesignating […]
Immigration Update – March 06, 2023
Headlines: USCIS Reaches H-2B Cap for Second Half of FY 2023, Announces Filing Dates for Supplemental Visas – U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has received enough petitions to meet the H-2B cap for the second half of FY 2023. USCIS also announced the filing dates for supplemental H-2B visas for the remainder of FY […]
Immigration Update – February 27, 2023
Headlines: Biden Administration Proposes Controversial Rule on ‘Temporary’ Measures to Limit Asylum at Southwest Border – The Biden administration issued a new proposed rule that it called “temporary,” which introduces a “rebuttable presumption of asylum ineligibility for certain noncitizens who neither avail themselves of a lawful, safe, and orderly pathway to the United States nor […]
Immigration Update – February 22, 2023
Headlines: March Visa Bulletin Includes Updates on Visa Availability in Coming Months – The Department of State’s Visa Bulletin for March 2023 includes updates on visa availability in various categories, including possible retrogressions in the coming months. E-Verify Recommends Timeframes to Resolve Certain Social Security Mismatches; Deadline is September 29, 2023 – E-Verify recommends that […]
Immigration Update – February 13, 2023
Headlines: State Dept. Plans Pilot to Allow Visa Renewals in United States for H and L Workers – The Department of State plans to launch a pilot program later this year to allow visa renewals in the United States for H and L nonimmigrant workers. 41K+ Individuals Denied Visas Under Trump-Era Travel Ban Can Reapply […]
Immigration Update – February 06, 2023
Headlines: USCIS Reaches Cap for H-2B Additional Returning Worker Visas for First Half of FY 2023 – U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has received enough petitions to reach the cap for the additional 18,216 H-2B visas made available for returning workers for the first half of fiscal year 2023 with start dates on or before […]
Immigration Update – January 30, 2023
Headlines: Initial Registration for FY 2024 H-1B Cap Opens March 1 – The initial registration period will run through noon ET on March 17, 2023. Certain Asylum Applicants Can Now Apply for Work Authorization Online – Applicants for employment authorization under category (c)(8), Pending Asylum and Withholding of Removal Applicants and Applicants for Pending Asylum […]
Immigration Update – January 23, 2023
Headlines: Visa Bulletin for February 2023 Includes Retrogressions in the Employment Third Preference ‘Other Workers’ Category, and ‘Certain Religious Workers’ Availability – The Department of State’s Visa Bulletin for February 2023 has been released. HHS Issues Poverty Guidelines for 2023 – The Department of Health and Human Services issued updated poverty income guidelines for 2023 […]
Immigration Update – January 17, 2023
Headlines: DHS Streamlines Deferred Action Process for Immigrant Workers Participating in Labor Enforcement Investigations – The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced on January 13, 2023, that noncitizen workers who are victims of or witnesses to a violation of labor rights can now access a streamlined and expedited deferred action request process. Premium Processing To […]
