On January 25, 2021, Presidential Proclamation (PP) 10143 extended PP 9993, which had suspended certain travel from those physically present in the Schengen Area and other countries since March 2020. PP 10143 restricts entry into the U.S. for non-U.S. citizens physically present in certain countries (Schengen Area, United Kingdom and Ireland, Brazil and South Africa) for the 14-day period prior to U.S. entry. The PP initially included a limited number of national interest exceptions (NIE) to the travel ban for certain technical experts and specialists, senior-level managers ...
Corporate mergers and acquisitions are typically complex and expensive transactions. While financial matters typically comprise the core of an acquiring company's due diligence efforts during a merger or acquisition, immigration compliance should also receive increased attention before a transaction closes, particularly in light of recent enforcement efforts in the area of immigration compliance. Generally speaking, the entity surviving after a merger or acquisition remains liable for I-9 violations caused by the acquired entity. Having solid knowledge of and ...
Each year, thousands of employers file H-1B visa petitions for foreign nationals seeking to obtain temporary work authorization in professional jobs which requires at least a Bachelors' Degree in a specific field. On April 7, 2017, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced it reached the congressionally mandated cap for H-1B visas for the 2018 fiscal year and would institute a lottery to select petitions for adjudication. The number of H-1B petitions filed in 2017 declined for the first time since 2013, but the number of filings were still more than double the number of ...
On November 20, 2014, President Obama announced an executive action program on immigration that will likely impact businesses and families in the coming months. Key provisions of the program are summarized below.
Deferred Action
The President expanded and modified the Deferred Action for Child Arrivals (DACA) program. Under the new Deferred Action for Parental Accountability (DAPA) program, undocumented parents of children who are either United States citizens or lawful permanent residents as of November 20, 2014 may apply for work authorization for a three year period. To ...
There have been significant updates to the I-9 Form that was proposed last year. This article summarizes the new updates to the I-9 Form, M-274 Handbook and ICE Audit Update.
New I-9 Form
On March 8, 2013, the Department of Homeland Security, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) published the long-awaited, revised Form I-9. USCIS initially proposed the new form in March 2012 and has spent the past several months reviewing thousands of comments about the proposed changes. The key changes on the new form include expanding the form from one to two pages; a slightly ...
There have been significant and recent developments in immigration law that will likely impact businesses in South Carolina and North Carolina in 2013. This article summarizes both federal and state immigration developments.
On the Horizon - Will There Be a New I-9 Form in 2013?
In March 2012, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) proposed a new I-9 form and invited public comments until Fall 2012. USCIS continues to review thousands of comments and will likely release final changes to Form I-9 in the coming months. The most significant proposed changes include ...