Immigration Insights & Issues Blog
Key legal insights into modern immigration challenges.
As a result of the March 11 Presidential Proclamation suspending the entry to the United States (U.S.)[1] of immigrants and nonimmigrants (Proclamation), who have been physically present in the Schengen Area[2] during the 14-day period preceding their attempted entry in an effort to stem the spread of COVID-19, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) advised …
Continue reading “ESTA Cancellation Risks and the Schengen Travel Presidential Proclamation”
In response to an extraordinary demand for seasonal labor, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced on March 5, 2020 that it will increase the number of H-2B visas available for temporary nonagricultural workers by 35,000 for the second half of fiscal year 2020, allocating 20,000 visas for start dates beginning April 1, and …
Kathleen Campbell Walker’s January 21, 2020 article titled, “Employer Tips: Preparing for FY 2021 H-1B Season and Pre-Lottery Registration,” introduced employers to the new H-1B cap process for fiscal year 2021. Since then, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) conducted several webinars and provided additional insight on the H-1B registration tool and electronic registration process. …
Continue reading “Employer Tips Part 2: Updates on the FY 2021 H-1B Cap Registration Process”
Have you ever had any foreign nationals “visit” your company from one of your entities outside the U.S.? Did you help the foreign national visitor fit right in and seem like part of your team and like any other employee? Did you allow him/her to conduct their regular activities in the same way they do …
US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced in the Federal Register on January 31, 2020, that the new version of Form I-9 (rev.10/21/2019) would be available for use on January 31, BUT employers can still continue to use the prior effective version of the Form I-9 (rev. 07/17/2017N) through April 30, 2020. This announcement basically …
Continue reading “New Form I-9 Version Announced – Must Be Used May 1”
The new and much anticipated United States, Mexico and Canada Agreement (USMCA) replacing and modernizing the 25 year old North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) has been in the headlines for a couple of years. The USMCA has officially made its debut after President Trump signed the trade deal into law on January 29, 2020. …
Continue reading “USMCA: Immigration Chapter and TN Visas Unaffected by New Law”
The H-1B process for fiscal year 2021 presents employers and their legal counsel with a variety of new timing and process challenges in addition to potential cost savings. The major change of note will be the insertion of a new registration process, which will be imposed starting on March 1, 2020 and ending on March …
Continue reading “Employer Tips: Preparing for FY 2021 H-1B Season and Pre-Lottery Registration”
Change is a constant in immigration visa adjudications and drastic changes can be implemented from one day to the next without much, if any, notice. For example, the reciprocity fees for the nonimmigrant visas for Australian citizens changed drastically on December 23, 2019.[1] For example, for E-1 and E-2 treaty trader/investor visas, the application fee …
Continue reading “Visa Reciprocity Fees and E-2 Visa Adjudications – Targets for Change in 2020”
’Tis the season for celebrating the holidays! Globally, offices and plants are closing their doors for a couple of days to a few weeks. While most people are finalizing their last-minute shopping and preparing for a (hopefully) fun and relaxing holiday season at home, there are just as many people traveling for the holidays. Foreign …
All applicants for a U.S. nonimmigrant visa at a consular post quickly become familiar with the DS-160, online nonimmigrant visa application form, which is available on the Consular Electronic Application Center (CEAC) website. The form may seem fairly innocuous and many employers leave employees to fend for themselves to obtain their “visa stamp” from the …
Continue reading “Consular Application Challenges – Be Wary of the DS-160”