On Jan. 27, 2023, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) confirmed that the FY 2024 H-1B cap initial registration period will be open from March 1, 2023, 12:00 p.m.

Continue Reading FY 2024 H-1B Cap Initial Registration Period Will Be Open from March 1 to March 17

On Aug. 12, 2020, the Department of State updated its guidance on the National Interest Exception (NIE) to the June 22 Presidential Proclamation 10052, which extends Presidential Proclamation 10014 through
Continue Reading Department of State Expands Guidance on the National Interest Exception to Presidential Proclamations 10014 and 10052

On Jan. 9, 2020, USCIS posted a Notice in the Federal Register announcing the implementation of the H-1B registration process for H-1B cap-subject petitions. USCIS notes:

The initial H-1B petition

Continue Reading Registration Requirement for Petitioners Seeking to File H–1B Petitions on Behalf of Cap-Subject Aliens

Since the introduction of the Executive Order “Buy American, Hire American” (BAHA), federal agencies, including DHS and USCIS, are following the directive to focus on protecting U.S. workers and U.S.
Continue Reading USCIS’ Recap on Activities since Buy American, Hire American

shutterstock_209828623-778x360Between December 2009 and June 2010, a Chinese national and H-1B visa holder working at Microwave Engineering Corporation, a U.S. company located in Massachusetts, (Microwave) was provided with technical data
Continue Reading Export Controls Action by the U.S. Department of State Relating to H-1B Visa Holder

On Feb. 24, 2015 the Department of Homeland Security issued a final rule providing for employment authorization for certain H-4 dependent spouses. This is one of the most significant changes to employment-based immigration to occur in many years.

Who is eligible? Only certain H-4 dependents of H-1B nonimmigrants are eligible for employment authorization. The benefit is limited to H-4 dependent spouses (i.e., not children) of H-1B nonimmigrants who are the principal beneficiaries of an approved Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker (Form I-140), or who have been granted H-1B status in the United States under the American Competitiveness in the Twenty-first Century Act of 2000 (AC21), generally by exhausting six years of H-1B eligibility and being the beneficiary of an I-140 which is retrogressed or a labor certification that has been pending with the government for at least one year.

When does the H-4 employment authorization rule take effect? DHS will begin accepting Applications for Employment Authorization (Forms I-765) submitted by eligible H-4 dependent spouses on May 25, 2015.Continue Reading Work Authorization for (Some, But Not All) H-4 Visa Holders