Immigration Insights & Issues Blog
Key legal insights into modern immigration challenges.
On September 9, 2022, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) published a lengthy Final Rule concerning the implementation of the public charge ground of inadmissibility[1] after several years of federal court litigation. This Final Rule will be effective on December 23, 2022, and apply to applications postmarked (or electronically submitted) on or after that …
Continue reading “DHS PUBLISHES NEW FINAL RULE ENDING TRUMP-ERA PUBLIC CHARGE RESTRICTIONS”
At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, USCIS announced several “flexibilities” to facilitate immigration filings in the face of significant logistical challenges. One of those flexibilities was a much-needed suspension of the “wet ink” signature requirement for certain immigration forms. After sustained success and positive feedback on what was supposed to be a temporary rule, …
Continue reading “USCIS Makes COVID-19 Signature Policy Permanent”
On July 28, 2022, USCIS published online resources to provide an overview of some temporary and permanent pathways for foreign nationals to remain in the United States (U.S.) and work in the sciences, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). These online resources break down various non-immigrant and immigrant channels through which STEM professionals can seek temporary …
On May 3, 2022, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced a Temporary Final Rule (TFR) that would increase the automatic extension period for Employment Authorization Documents (EADs) for certain designated categories of EAD renewal applicants who timely filed Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization before their EAD’s current expiration. This rule was issued in …
To transition further away from paper-based operations, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration and Services (USCIS) announced Tuesday, April 12, that those who previously received deferred action (i.e., protection from deportation) under Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) may now file their DACA renewal forms online (see USCIS News Release here). This announcement is welcome news for …
After the United States (U.S.) Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) recognized that E and L nonimmigrant spouses are entitled to work in the U.S. “incident to status” on November 12, 2021, a new Category of Admission (COA) codes were created for use in issuing Forms I-94. And on March 18, 2022, USCIS updated its Policy …
During this challenging time for employers in search of workers, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) have managed to cooperate to coordinate a response to the litigation settlement (Settlement) reached in Shergill, et. al. v. Mayorkas announced on November 12, 2021. The Settlement will finally recognize that spouses …
Just as the world breathed a sigh of relief for the easing of almost 18 months of travel restrictions, just as quickly did the feelings of dismay wash over viewers when it was revealed in Empire Strikes Back that Vader was Luke’s father, in one of the greatest plot twists in cinema. In a similar …
Continue reading “Travel Restrictions and New Requirements for Air Travel”
Monday, November 8, marks a reopening of international air travel for vaccinated foreign nationals as well as entry to the United States (U.S.) via the land border for non-essential vaccinated foreign visitors due to a recent announcement by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS). This change marks the first time since March of 2020 …
Continue reading “U.S. Land Border Reopens to Non-Essential Vaccinated Travelers November 8”
Employers who wish to sponsor foreign national employees through the PERM Labor Certification process should take special note of the settlement agreements announced by Department of Justice (DOJ), Civil Rights Division, Immigrant and Employees Rights Section (IER) and Department of Labor (DOL) last week. These settlement agreements are connected to the U.S. worker discrimination suits …
Continue reading “Facebook Discrimination Settlement and the Future of PERM Recruitment”