Immigration Insights & Issues Blog
Key legal insights into modern immigration challenges.
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 …
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”
For the last 4 years, U.S. immigration law and policy has been in the spotlight with numerous Presidential Proclamations, Executive Orders, and rapid policy changes as well as regulations, which have resulted in a long-lasting ripple effect on U.S. employers and its foreign workforce. These changes have resulted in numerous challenges in court through litigation. …
Continue reading “Immigration 2021: A New Administration, A New Beginning?”
On November 23, 2020, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued a welcome announcement in light of ongoing delays by the agency to adjudicate employment authorization documents (EADs). This announcement extends the acceptance of an I-797 Notice of Action for approval of an employee’s I-765, Application for Employment Authorization, as a List C, item #7 …
As a result of the ongoing COVID-19 global pandemic, employees continue to work from home in record numbers, and employers continue to scramble to adjust their business operations and employee relations policies to accommodate the so-called “new normal”. Following-up on our earlier news about the US Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) odd relaxation of certain …
On August 3, 2020, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued a final rule that makes sweeping changes to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) fee schedule. It also removes certain fee exceptions, alters premium processing time limits, and mandates the use of new forms, among other changes. The rule is scheduled to take …
Continue reading “USCIS Fees Set to Change on October 2, 2020”
On August 20, 2020, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) announced that due to Covid-19 and because of its long delays in producing Employment Authorization Documents, Form I-766 (“EAD”) cards, that it would permit employees to present a Form I-797, Notice of Action, Approval Notice to prove work authorization for their Form I-9, Employment …