Immigration Insights & Issues Blog
Key legal insights into modern immigration challenges.
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”
On November 14th, the US Citizenship and Immigration Services agency (“USCIS”) is expected to formally publish proposed fee changes in the Federal Register for the applications and petitions it processes. Public comments about the regulatory fee changes should be due 30 days later, but it appears that the new fee levels may start to be …
Continue reading “Just in Time for Thanksgiving: The USCIS Implements Large Filing Fee Increases”
Labor Condition Applications must be filed under the new DOL’S FLAG System As part of the U.S. Department of Labor’s (“USDOL”) technology modernization initiative, the FLAG System (Foreign Labor Application Gateway) was developed to replace the legacy iCert system with the USDOL’s stated goal of improving customer service, and modernizing the administration of foreign labor …
Continue reading “Recent Changes to the H-1B Specialty Worker Program”
What is the VWP? The VWP is administered by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in consultation with the State Department. Currently, the program permits citizens of 38 countries[1] to travel to the United States (U.S.) for business or tourism purposes for up to 90 days without a visa, which is a major convenience. In …
Continue reading “Visa Waiver Program (VWP) Travel Challenges – Don’t Forget!”
The concept of a public charge ground of inadmissibility[1] has been a part of immigration law for more than a century and the current statutory provision [§212(a)(4)] of the Immigration and Nationality Act, as amended (INA), has not been changed. Yet, based on a proposed regulatory change published by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) …
Continue reading “Doubling Down on Public Charge to Deny Immigration Applications”