Due to the pandemic, DHS is seeking public input on its proposed modifications for employers when reviewing I-9 employment eligibility documents: The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is seeking comments from employers, employer organizations, employee groups, and other members of the public on document examination practices for Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification. BackgroundOn March 20, …
Category: Employment Visas
USCIS Implements Employment Authorization for Individuals Covered by Deferred Enforced Departure for Hong Kong Residents
Eligible Hong Kong Residents May Apply for EADs and Travel Authorization U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) today issued a Federal Register notice with information on how to apply for employment authorization for eligible Hong Kong residents covered under the president’s Aug. 5 memorandum directing Deferred Enforced Departure (DED) for 18 months, through Feb. 5, 2023. DED for Hong …
USICS Announcement that Cap Reached for Remaining H-2B Visas for Returning Workers for FY 2021
As Aug. 13, 2021, the USCIS has received enough petitions for returning workers to reach the additional 22,000 H-2B visas made available under the FY 2021 H-2B supplemental visa temporary final rule. We will reject and return any cap-subject petitions for H-2B returning workers received after Aug. 13, together with any accompanying fees. As previously announced, we …
Lawsuit Seeks to Prevent USCIS’s Potential Waste of Thousands of Employment-Based Visas
Each year, the US immigration system allocates approximately 140,000 employment-based green cards that are distributed to applicants based on country of birth and other criteria. Despite the high demand for these green cards, the government often fails to issue all of the available green cards in a fiscal year. This failure is devastating because the …
Employers May File H-2B Petitions for Returning Workers This Year
USCIS is announcing today that employers may file H-2B petitions for returning workers under the FY 2021 H-2B supplemental visa temporary final rule. Employers may take this action if they are likely to suffer irreparable harm without these additional workers. A petitioner must file a new Form I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker, together with an approved …
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DACA Ruled Unlawful by Texas Judge
On July 16th, 2021, a federal court overseen by Judge Hanen in Texas ruled that the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival (DACA) program is unlawful because the Department of Homeland Security did not properly follow the mandated rule-making process as proscribed in the Administrative Procedures Act. Other federal courts, however, had already determined that the …
What is happening with the EB-5 immigrant investor program?
Since 1990, the EB-5 immigrant investor program has allowed foreign investors to receive permanent residence for their family members by allowing them to invest money in approved businesses, which must create at least 10 full-time jobs. The program had undergone several changes as announced in the so-called Modernization Rule under the Trump administration; however, due …
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Second Chance for Denied H-1B Petitions During Trump Administration?
During the Trump administration, many H-1B applications, including renewals of H-1B employment, were denied due to three policies which federal courts have found to violate the law. The policies were embodied in several USCIS memoranda: “Determining Employer-Employee Relationship for adjudication of H-1B petitions, including Third-Party Site Placements (Reference AFM Chapter 31.3.(g)(16)) issued January 8, 2010“Contracts …
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Biden Administration Revokes Trump Era “Buy American, Hire American” Executive Order
On January 25, 2021, President Biden issued an executive order (“Made in All of America by All of America’s Workers”), which effectively revoked Trump’s Buy American and Hire American Executive Order (“BAHA”). The revocation of BAHA may represent a shift in employment-based immigration policy in particular. The BAHA order led to many restrictive immigration policies under the …
Computer Programmers may now qualify again for H-1B visas
In its unrelenting assault on H-1B visas for IT professionals, the Trump administration turned back a long standing policy and denied thousands of H-1B petitions for computer programmer positions. The USCIS claimed these positions were no longer specialty occupations as defined by H-1B rules. Many companies filed lawsuits to contest denials based on this policy …
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Ann Massey Badmus 