Earlier this year, President Trump issued a Presidential Proclamation restricting foreign nationals from entering the United States on certain temporary work visas through at least December 31, 2020 (“the Proclamation”). On October 1, 2020, a California District Court issued an order barring the government from enforcing the visa ban, but only against several large corporate associations and their members. The associations include the National Association of Manufacturers, the Chamber of Commerce of the United States of America, Technet, Intrax, Inc., and the National ...
After months of anticipation, it appears the first major H-1B program-related change will be the recession of employment authorization for certain H-4 spouses. The change should have the largest effect on Chinese and Indian nationals who comprise the highest percentage of current H-4 work authorized beneficiaries.
Spouses and children of H-1B visa holders receive H-4 status so they can remain in the United States with their H-1B beneficiary relative. Historically, individuals in H-4 status were not granted work authorization. In 2015, the Obama Administration implemented a ...
On October 1, 2017, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services ("USCIS") began phasing-in interviews for all employment-based green card applicants. Interviews have always been mandatory, but historically USCIS has waived the interview requirement for employment-based petitions when the beneficiary applies for a green card while already lawfully admitted in the United States.
The interview mandate is directly related to President Trump's "Protecting the Nation from Foreign Terrorist Entry Into the United States" Executive Order and applies to all ...
The H-2B visa program allows businesses in the United States to sponsor foreign nationals for a temporary visa to work in nonagricultural jobs. The H-2B program is popular among employers in the hospitality, tourism, and landscaping industries to fill positions that would otherwise remain vacant due to U.S. labor shortages during times when employers are particularly busy. There is a Congressionally mandated limit of 66,000 H-2B visas available each year. Historically, a legal provision known as the "Returning Worker Exemption" allowed foreign nationals counted towards the ...
On September 5, 2017, the Department of Homeland Security ("DHS") issued a memorandum rescinding an Obama-era program known as Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals ("DACA"). DACA permits certain undocumented aliens that came to the United States before their sixteenth birthday to remain in the United States and apply for renewable two (2) year periods of work authorization. DACA does not provide beneficiaries with lawful immigration status, but many view the program as the first step on the path to citizenship for "Dreamers." DHS will "wind down" DACA over the next six (6 ...
In early August, President Trump voiced support for a bill introduced earlier this year by Senators Tom Cotton (R-AR) and David Perdue (R-GA) to effectively overhaul the current immigration system. The Reforming American Immigration for Strong Employment (RAISE) Act has similarities to other points-based immigration systems, such as those in Canada, Australia, or the newly implemented system in China. The RAISE Act is "merit-based," focusing heavily on advanced-level, skills-based employment and education (with financial investments also a consideration), and a ...
he United States Supreme Court recently stayed portions of two (2) U.S. Circuit Court opinions and allowed parts of President Trump's travel ban to go into effect. Foreign nationals from Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen may be affected by the Supreme Court's order.
The Supreme Court's order relates to the second of two (2) Executive Orders ("EO"), both of which banned nonimmigrants from several predominately Muslim countries from entering the United States for ninety (90) days. The first EO was blocked by federal courts, and the President decided to rewrite the ...
With the increased focus on foreign language programs-particularly the popularity of immersion programs in which the foreign language is used for instruction rather than as the subject of instruction-schools districts are increasingly turning to foreign nationals in order to fill employment needs. There are other hard-to-fill positions in school districts where foreign national hires are more prevalent as well. While positions such as teachers normally qualify for H-1B visas, the uncertainty surrounding whether a petition will be selected in the annual 85,000 H-1B visa ...
USCIS has concluded the H-1B lottery and data entry operations for FY2018. Many hopeful petitioners and beneficiaries have already received the coveted I-797C Receipt Notice confirming their selection; however, some do not yet know their fate. Students on F-1 visas who have neither received a Receipt Notice nor a rejected petition may feel they are at an impasse. For these cases, qualifying students may continue to benefit from the automatic "Cap-Gap" extension until a rejection notice, or, more hopefully, a Receipt Notice, is received.
The Cap-Gap rule allows F-1 students for ...
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 March 3, 2017, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced it would suspend premium processing, often referred to as fast tracking, for all H-1B petitions. The suspension takes effect on April 3, the start date of the new fiscal year filing period.
What has changed
The H-1B visa program is one of the most popular and scrutinized visa classifications used for professionals. This fiscal year, the USCIS received nearly 233,000 H-1B petitions for 65,000 available H-1B slots.
The program enables U.S. companies to tap into a global network of foreign ...
While the Executive Order ("the Order") issued by President Trump on January 27, 2017, and temporarily halted by the District Court in the Western District of Washington and subsequently by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, has been highly publicized for temporarily banning certain foreign nationals from the United States, it could also could impact business travelers from a variety of countries in a number of ways. Foreign nationals often use the business visitor (B-1) visa to enter the United States for short periods to engage in business activities that do not rise to the level of ...
Advocates, employers, and employees are in a state of suspense in anticipation of potential changes to the H-1B program. The H-1B visa allows foreign workers to be employed in certain "specialty occupations," which are generally defined as positions requiring, at a minimum, a U.S. Bachelor's degree (or the foreign equivalent) in a specific academic field. Congress has established a limit of 65,000 H-1B visas per fiscal year, with an additional 20,000 H-1B visas reserved for candidates with U.S. advanced degrees (such as a Master's degree or higher). This does not include H-1B ...
One of the first things that may come to mind when thinking about the Trump Immigration Plan is the promise to build a Mexican-financed physical wall on the southern border of the United States. While the wall was certainly the President-elect's most publicized immigration stance during the campaign, he has proposed a number of other actions that could directly affect employers. Here is a quick synopsis of five (5) immigration policy changes which could significantly impact U.S. employers.
- Canceling the Deferred Action Executive Orders (DACA & DAPA)
In June 2012, President Obama ...