Legal Insights on Business Immigration and Global Mobility
On Jan. 31, 2020, U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) published in the Federal Register a notice announcing a new version of the Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification (I-9 Form).
The I-9 Form is required to be used by certain employers to verify each individual they hire for employment in the United States is…
Twice a year, the Office of Management and Budget, in concert with the General Services Administration and its own Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, publish the Unified Regulatory Agenda (Unified Agenda). The Unified Agenda is a transparency program that publishes federal agency rulemakings in process. It is not a process set in concrete but rather a snapshot in time to inform the public of rulemakings and regulations being developed by federal agencies.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) postings, released Nov. 21 for Fall 2019 are here. In addition to enabling the searching of regulations by agency and content, the agencies offer a regulatory “plan” which sets out regulatory principles. The DHS statement can be found here.
Continue Reading OMB Releases Fall 2019 Unified Regulatory Agenda; DHS & USCIS Expect Active Rulemakings
Yesterday, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) introduced a continuing resolution (CR) to fund government from end of the current fiscal year, Sept. 30, until Nov. 21, 2019. By a vote of 301-123, the House today passed H.R. 4378, the CR that will fund the government through Nov. 21.
To EB-5 advocates, this timing is significant in that this CR extends the program coterminous with implementation of the recent Obama-era regulations. This timing continues to provide the opportunity for stakeholders to advocate and negotiate needed legislated industry reforms and a programmatic “better way forward” from the Obama-era regulations.
Continue Reading House Passes Continuing Resolution to Fund Government, Including Vital Programs Such as EB-5
On Aug. 23, 2019, our firm wrote about the U.S. Department of State’s (DOS) announcement that the validity period of E-1 and E-2 visas for French Nationals would be reduced from 60 months to 15 months effective Aug 29, 2019. The effective date has now been postponed to Sept. 26, 2019.
The general rule is that different types of U.S. visas have different visa validity periods depending on the nationality of the visa applicant because the Immigration and Nationality Act requires the DOS to set country-specific visa policies on a reciprocal basis. The validity periods are based on each country’s treatment of similar classes of U.S. visitors to its territory. In other words, if a country imposes restrictive visa requirements on U.S. citizens, the U.S. reciprocates with more restrictive requirements on that country’s citizens.
Continue Reading Update: U.S. to Reduce E-Visa Validity for French Nationals Effective Sept. 26, 2019
The H-1B program is undergoing even more scrutiny under the current White House administration. Under the “Buy American, Hire American” Executive Order, the goal is for companies to hire only the best and the brightest for visa sponsorship, mostly H-1B visa holders. The Department of Labor (DOL), the governmental agency that handles the public disclosure information for employers looking to sponsor H-1B employees, has always released information for Labor Condition Applications (LCAs) in conjunction with the H-1B petition. The LCA has traditionally disclosed information including employer name, address, salary wage range, and worksite location, among other attestations the employer must make to meet labor and immigration laws. In November 2018, the DOL changed the format of the LCA to include those employers that place employees at a third-party client site, many of which petition for their own H-1B workers. See our November 2018 blog post here.
Continue Reading Department of Labor Adds More to Disclosure Data to Include End Client Information
As previously blogged (see EB-5 Regulations Published for Public Inspection), the EB-5 regulations have been published as of July 24, 2019, as final, to take effect Nov. 21, 2019. Below is a summary of the changes that will impact the EB-5 program:
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On July 16, 2019, USCIS determined that for August 2019, the Dates for Filing chart must be used for family-based preference filings, and the Final Action Dates chart must be used for employment-based preference filings.
In the F2A category, there is a cutoff date on the Dates for Filing chart. However, the category is …
Of counsel Kristen Burke and Associate Sarah Amendola, attorneys in Greenberg Traurig’s Immigration and Compliance Practice, wrote an article published in Texas Lawyer titled “The Era of Tougher Immigration Enforcement.” The commentary addresses DHS’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which has escalated its efforts to oversee and enforce I-9 compliance, both in terms of …
Global law firm Greenberg Traurig, LLP has 37 attorneys recognized in the 2019 edition of the prestigious legal services directory, Chambers Global. In addition, 13 practices were ranked across seven regions including Immigration and Compliance. Laura Reiff and Martha Schoonover were ranked under USA Immigration: Business.
To read the full GT press release, click
The Labor Condition Application (LCA) Form, ETA 9035, is a required form for non-immigrant visa categories including the H-1B, H-1B1 (Chile/Singapore) and E-3 (Australia). Pursuant to The Department of Labor’s plans to better protect American workers, confront fraud, and increase transparency, a new version of the LCA form took effect on Nov. 19, 2018. This …
