United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has instituted a revised Form I-9 that is mandatory for all employers, starting November 1, 2023.
USCIS announced the new version in August, in part to aid with the implementation of the new alternative I-9 remote document verification procedures. More information on the new remote document verification procedures is available here. Moving forward, use of the prior I-9 version, dated October 21, 2019, may subject an employer to penalties. Employers that utilize an electronic I-9 system should contact their provider to ...
In an effort to address the ongoing Employment Authorization Document (more commonly known as an “EAD”) processing backlog, USCIS recently announced it would lengthen the maximum validity period for certain EAD categories to five years. The change is welcome news to many employers and foreign nationals who may have experienced gaps in work authorization due to processing delays over the last several years.
One of the EAD categories affected by the change is pending Adjustment of Status Application beneficiaries. Adjustment of Status is the final step in the Green Card process ...
On May 4, 2022, the Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”) issued a rule temporarily increasing the Employment Authorization Document (“EAD”) automatic extension period for certain renewal applicants. Under the temporary rule, the automatic extension was increased from 180 days to up to 540 days to address historically long processing times.
USCIS recently announced plans to revert back to 180-day automatic extensions, starting October 26, 2023. The following criteria must be satisfied to qualify for the automatic extension:
- The applicant must be renewing their ...
Last month, DHS announced E-Verify employers would be eligible to utilize an alternative remote document verification procedure when completing Section 2 of Form I-9, starting August 1, 2023. Only a few days later, DHS published a Federal Register notice requesting comments on a pilot program that would allow employers not enrolled in E-Verify to utilize remote examination procedures as well.
The proposed new rule would largely track the new rule for E-Verify employers, details of which are available here: DHS Announces Remote I-9 Document Procedure for E-Verify Employers | Burr ...
DHS Announces Remote I-9 Document Procedure for E-Verify Employers
Beginning August 1, 2023, E-Verify employers will be eligible to utilize an alternative remote document verification procedure when completing Section 2 of Form I-9. The DHS announcement is welcome news for E-Verify employers, many of whom became accustomed to temporary remote document verification procedures during the COVID-19 pandemic. According to DHS, over 1 million employers covering more than 2.4 million hiring sites are currently enrolled in E-Verify. Thousands of additional employers may consider ...
The EB-5 immigrant visa investor program has been used as an alternative source of funding for many real estate developers. EB-5 investors have typically preferred real estate related projects, and EB-5 capital has been used to fund high-profile projects by major brand-name developers and chains because it is most often less expensive than other sources. EB-5 capital can be used as any typical source capital: equity, unsecured mezzanine debt, or secured, senior debt.
While differing in structure—both from an immigration and financial standpoint—the E-2 visa program can ...
In implementing its first new COVID-19 travel restriction in months, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently issued guidance requiring all persons traveling from mainland China, Hong Kong, and Macau, to provide a negative COVID-19 test or documentation of COVID-19 recovery within two days of departing for the United States. The policy went into effect January 5, 2023, and applies to airline passengers two years of age or older. The requirement also applies to passengers traveling through Incheon International Airport, Toronto Pearson International ...
On February 14, 2023, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) made a small change in the Child Status Protection Act (CSPA) that will have a significant impact on the lives of many immigrant families.
To understand how this works, take the example of an employer sponsoring a foreign national for lawful permanent resident status - the foreign national’s spouse and children, under the age of 21, are also eligible to participate in the process to receive residency. However, the application process can take years, and in many cases, children have turned 21 during the process ...
USCIS recently announced the annual registration period for the FY2024 H-1B cap will open at noon (ET) on March 1, 2023, and remain open until noon (ET) on March 17, 2023. Registration is an annual electronic process through which USCIS receives registrations from employers seeking to sponsor a foreign national for an H-1B visa. USCIS has historically utilized the registrations to conduct a random H-1B lottery because more visas are requested each year than are available. Registrants are selected at random for an opportunity to fill one of the H-1B cap positions.
The number of H-1B ...
It is no secret that certain sectors of U.S. employers have engaged in significant layoffs over the last six months. Meta—the parent company of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp—laid off more than 11,000 employees in November alone. Meta and other tech companies regularly use the H-1B visa program to sponsor foreign national workers. In fact, Meta is listed as an H-1B dependent company, meaning at least 15% of its workforce is employed by virtue of nonimmigrant work visas. Many economic experts expect the layoff trend to continue in 2023, but demand for workers remains generally ...