USCIS is moving forward with a plan to implement a preliminary registration system for cap-subject H-1B petitions that will drastically change the H-1B visa filing process employers have used for years. On September 3, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) posted a notice about its proposed rulemaking for its electronic H-1B implementation tool, which would …
The Risks of Auto/Pre – Population and the Form I-9
Keeping it simple is often a key goal in any compliance policy for a company, but sometimes it may not be a best practice and indeed could cause a company to incur liability. Employers should consider onboarding personnel products carefully and it is important not to overlook if such products attempt to address the conundrum …
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Welcome New Treaty Trader and Investors from New Zealand and Israel
New Zealand and the KIWI Act Recently, Mission New Zealand for the U.S. Department of State posted the announcement that as of June 10, 2019, citizens and businesses of New Zealand will be able to apply for E-1 Treaty Trader and E-2 Treaty Investor visas to invest in and trade with the United States (U.S.). …
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Canadian L Visa Admissions – CBP Changes Course without Prior Notice Creating New Non-Tariff Barrier
A few weeks ago, stories of Canadian citizens being refused admission to the U.S. as individual or blanket L applicants requesting an additional period of stay in the U.S. started to increase. The sheer number of reports suggests a possible new policy versus an errant occurrence at certain ports of entry along the Canadian border …
The IRS and the FICA, FUTA and Federal Income Tax Traps for Employers with Non-Resident Alien Employees
With all of the payroll complexities that employers face, it is no surprise that a special set of rules that applies to only a small category of employees is frequently overlooked. Often, to the surprise of payroll and human resources staff, special Federal Insurance Contributions Act (“FICA,” composed of Social Security and Medicare taxes), Federal …
New Change/Extension of Status Forms (I-539/I-539A) Become Effective on March 22 – What is new (Biometrics for babies…)?
The use of new forms (Form I-539 and a new I-539A) seems like a very mundane subject to merit an alert, but indeed coming right before the start of the fiscal year 2020 H-1B cap filing season in April of 2019, it deserves attention and concern. On March 8, USCIS published a new I-539 form …
Employers Heads Up! – Spotting TPS Beneficiaries of the March 2019 Automatic Extension
On March 1, 2019, a notice was published by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)[1] announcing that beneficiaries of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) from: Sudan, Nicaragua, Haiti, and El Salvador will continue to retain their TPS status while the preliminary injunction issued by the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California in Ramos …