On January 22, 2022, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) began requiring all non-U.S. individuals entering the United States by land or ferry across the U.S./Mexico or U.S./Canada borders to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19. The new guidance applies to those non-U.S. individuals who are traveling for both essential and non-essential reasons but will not apply to U.S. citizens, Lawful Permanent Residents, or U.S. nationals.
Any non-U.S. individual entering the United States through land point of entries or ferry must provide proof of a CDC-approved COVID-19 ...
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 ...
Since its 2012 inception, the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals ("DACA") program has survived various lawsuits challenging its constitutionality as well as an attempt by the Department of Homeland Security ("DHS") to rescind the program. Despite its checkered history, DACA looks poised to continue into the future after the Biden administration recently issued an Executive Order directing the Attorney General to "take all actions he deems appropriate, consistent with applicable law, to preserve and fortify DACA."
DACA provides protection from removal as well as work ...
On March 20, 2020, the DHS announced that it is temporarily relaxing some of the employer requirements for completing Employment Eligibility Verification Form I-9 (“Form I-9”) as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Prior to the DHS’s announcement on Friday, all employers completing the Form I-9 process for new employees were required to physically examine the original work authorization and identification documents that employees presented upon hire. Additionally, the employee had to be physically present with the document examiner. Physical examination of the ...
In early January, the Burr & Forman, LLP immigration team outlined a major change to the H-1B visa lottery system proposed by the Department of Homeland Security ("DHS"). Last week, DHS issued the final H-1B rule, which is effective April 1, 2019.
The most drastic change to the H-1B lottery system is the electronic registration requirement. Importantly, DHS has suspended mandatory electronic registrations until the FY 2021 H-1B period (which begins April 1, 2020) to ensure the system is fully functional before the requirement goes into effect. As a result, H-1B lottery filings will ...
Every January, employers begin making preparations for the H-1B visa filing season so they will be ready for the H-1B cap filing deadline on April 1st. Filing H-1B petitions typically come with a degree of anxiety given the visa category has historically been oversubscribed resulting in petitions selected in a random lottery in order to have a chance at approval. On November 30, 2018, the Department of Homeland Security announced plans to drastically change the H-1B lottery system, which should have H-1B employers making preparations earlier than in prior years.
The Current H-1B ...
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 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 ...
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 ...
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 ...