Immigration Insights & Issues Blog
Key legal insights into modern immigration challenges.
Any corporate immigration program must consider what documents to retain, how long to retain them, and where to store them. In an era of increased inter-agency cooperation, a heightened focus on compliance, and an increasingly mobile workforce, it is important for a company to review its document retention practices. There are three primary types of …
Continue reading “Corporate Immigration Compliance: Dealing with Document Retention”
Beginning October 1, 2021, COVID-19 vaccinations will be required for all immigrant visa applicants in the United States and abroad who receive their medical examination from a Civil Surgeon (U.S.) or a Panel Physician (abroad) on or after October 1, 2021. This new requirement is according to recent instructions issued by the Centers for Disease …
To reduce the backlogs of National Interest Exception (NIE) applications required by the Presidential Proclamations (Proclamations) regarding travel from designated countries to the U.S. due to the pandemic, the U.S. Department of State (DOS) announced on July 6, 2021, that it will extend the validity period of NIEs from 30 days to 12 months from …
Continue reading ” Department of State Extends NIE Validity Providing Relief for Travelers”
On June 9, the Office of the Director of United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued three Policy Alerts (PAs), which continue a trend by USCIS to insert (hopefully) more reason and justice in adjudications by the agency. The PAs were issued on the following issues: Increasing the validity period of employment authorization card …
Continue reading “USCIS June Policy Alert Trio Provides Some Love to Beleaguered Applicants”
Before filing an I-140 petition for an employee beneficiary, petitioning employers brave a seemingly endless obstacle course, spending several months filing a prevailing wage determination (“PWD”) application, complying with a tedious recruitment process, and finally, awaiting certification of the PERM (ETA 9089). Once the PERM is certified, the petitioner can finally petition for the permanent …
Continue reading “PERM 101: Employment Verification Letters”
In January 2021, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued new I-9 guidance regarding the completion of Form I-9 for certain employees working pursuant to the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) Program. The new guidance specifically addresses the situation where an employee presents an unexpired Employment Authorization Document (EAD) with category code of …
Continue reading “USCIS Issues New I-9 Guidance for Employees with DACA Work Authorization”
In response to President Biden’s executive order, “Restoring Faith in Our Legal Immigration Systems and Strengthening Integration and Inclusion Efforts for New Americans,” U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued a new policy on April 27, 2021, effective immediately, directing officers to “generally defer to prior determinations of eligibility when adjudicating petition extensions involving the …
April 1, 2021 marked the beginning of consular processing at U.S. consulates and embassies throughout the world without the restrictions imposed on certain nonimmigrant visa processing under Presidential Proclamation 10052, which went into effect on June 24, 2020 during the Trump administration (PP 10052).[1] The legal bases cited for the imposition of PP10052 were §212(f) …
Beware the Ides of March? Not in 2021. Spring has brought the immigration world some welcome relief. USCIS announced this month that the much-maligned Form I-944, Declaration of Self-Sufficiency, will no longer be required. The 2019 Public Charge Final Rule will no longer be applied to applicants for permanent residence as of March 9, 2021. …
Continue reading “The End of the 2019 Public Charge Final Rule”
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) introduced a new H-1B cap process for fiscal year (FY) 2021. In its webinars conducted on February 23, 2021 and February 24, 2021, USCIS confirmed that the H-1B cap process for FY 2022 will be substantially the same as the process introduced for FY 2021, and provided additional insight …
Continue reading “Employer Tips for the Fiscal Year 2022 H-1B Cap Registration Process”