The Department of State’s (DOS) June 2018 Visa Bulletin showed very little movement the employment-based categories. Referring to the Final Action Dates, the following are the updates for the June Visa Bulletin:… Continue Reading
On April 25, 2018, European Union ambassadors reached an agreement between the European Council and representatives of the European Union Parliament for a European version of the U.S. Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA).… Continue Reading
On Dec. 14, the Office of Management and Budget Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OMB) published the biennial Unified Agenda. A long-standing outgrowth of previous regulatory reform efforts, the Unified Agenda offers the public the “current thinking” of federal agencies on upcoming Agency regulatory priorities. Of importance to the immigration community, DHS USCIS posed … Continue Reading
The Department of State’s (DOS) December 2017 Visa Bulletin showed some minor movement in some employment-based categories. Referring to the Final Action Dates, the following are the updates for the December Visa Bulletin:… Continue Reading
The U.S. Mission in Turkey has resumed limited processing of nonimmigrant visas following the earlier suspension of nonimmigrant visa services in all U.S. diplomatic posts in Turkey back on Oct. 8, 2017. The U.S. Mission in Turkey will process nonimmigrant visas on a limited basis with a reduced number of appointments in both Ankara and … Continue Reading
The Office of Inspector General (OIG) issued a report titled “USCIS Needs a Better Approach to Verify H-1B Visa Participants.” The report was published on Oct. 20, 2017, where OIG made the following findings, after which it gave four recommendations to USCIS:… Continue Reading
For over a decade, filing an extension of nonimmigrant status in visa categories such as the H-1B was a fairly routine process for cases involving the same employer and same underlying facts. This changed yesterday. As part of the Trump Administration’s Buy American, Hire American: Putting American Workers First initiative, USCIS rescinded a long-standing policy … Continue Reading
The U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Department of State have announced the launch of a partnership designed to protect U.S. workers from discrimination and counter abuses of the employment-based visa system. Introducing the measure, Acting Assistant Attorney General John M. Gore stated, “Employers [who] discriminate against qualified U.S. workers by favoring foreign visa … Continue Reading
On Tuesday, Oct. 10, the U.S. Supreme Court dismissed an appeal in Trump v. International Refugee Assistance Project (16-1436), one of the cases challenging a provision in a now-expired version of President Trump’s travel ban (Executive Order No. 13780).… Continue Reading
On Oct. 8, 2017, the White House released the promised Immigration Principles & Policies (Principles & Policies) which outline the Trump Administration’s position on immigration. This document is broken into three parts: 1) Border Security, 2) Interior Enforcement, and 3) Merit-Based Immigration. A summary of each part is broken down below.… Continue Reading
On Sept. 24, 2017, President Trump issued a Proclamation imposing new limitations on visa issuance and travel to the United States for nationals of eight countries entitled “Presidential Proclamation Enhancing Vetting Capabilities and Processes for Detecting Attempted Entry Into the United States by Terrorists or Other Public-Safety Threats.” These countries include: Chad, Iran, Libya, North … Continue Reading
Greenberg Traurig Shareholder Ian Macdonald was recently quoted in the Law360 article, “L-1B Site Visit Shift Reported As Trump Ramps Up Scrutiny.” The L-1B visa allows a company to transfer an employee with “specialized knowledge” from a foreign office to a location in the United States. Macdonald discusses the new development of increased site visits … Continue Reading
On Sept. 1, 2017, the U.S Department of State (DOS) updated the Field Adjudicators Manual (FAM) at 9 FAM 302.9-4(B)(3). The Field Adjudicators Manual (FAM) serves to guide consular officers in their adjudications process, and this particular section provides guidance regarding “misrepresentation” by applicants “at the time of visa application or to DHS when applying … Continue Reading
Greenberg Traurig Shareholder Ian Macdonald was recently quoted in the National Law Journal article, “What Employers Should Consider After Trump’s DACA Decision,” discussing the Trump Administration’s decision to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program and what actions employers should take to ensure they are compliant. Macdonald addresses the potential risks and compliance hurdles … Continue Reading
On Monday, August 21, 2017, the U.S. Embassy in Moscow announced that starting August 23 all nonimmigrant visa operations across Russia will be temporarily suspended. The mission announced that it would recommence services in Moscow on Sept. 1, but visa operations at all other U.S. consular locations in Russia would remain on hold. All visa … Continue Reading
Under the heading “Transparency for U.S. Workers,” the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) uploaded five reports today containing comprehensive data regarding its H-1B and Employment Authorization Documents (EAD) adjudications. The H-1B reports “provide information about the hiring practices of employers who petition for foreign national workers.” The H-1B trend report contains statistics about the H-1B program … Continue Reading
USCIS has issued a new online tutorial for immigrants that will help determine when a Form I-485, Application for Adjustment of Status, can be filed with USCIS. For those immigrants who have a family-based or employment-based immigrant petition filed or approved on their behalf, the new Visa Bulletin tutorial details how to determine your priority … Continue Reading
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and The Department of Labor (DOL) have submitted a final rule to the Federal Register, which will be published on July 18, 2017, increasing the number of H-2B visas by 15,000. DHS Secretary John Kelly determined, along with DOL Secretary Alexander Acosta, that there are not enough qualified and … Continue Reading
USCIS has determined that for July 2017, the Final Action Dates chart in the Department of State (DOS) Visa Bulletin must be used for both family-sponsored filings and employment-based preference filings. By way of background, individuals who are present in the United States are eligible to file a Form I-485, Application to Adjust Status in … Continue Reading
Yesterday, U.S. Secretary of Labor Jim Acosta announced an initiative aimed at addressing fraud and restoring transparency in U.S. non-immigrant visa enforcement. As released by the Department of Labor (DOL), the key initiatives include: Directing the DOL’s Wage and Hour Division (the Division) to use all its tools in conducting civil investigations to enforce labor … Continue Reading
According to the June 2017 Visa Bulletin released by Department of State and effective June 1, there will be significant retrogression in the EB-1 category for individuals born in mainland China and India. While the current cutoff date for worldwide chargeability in the EB-1 category will remain current, the final action dates for Chinese and … Continue Reading
Greenberg Traurig Shareholder Kate Kalmykov was recently quoted in The Jerusalem Post’s article, “Trumps Visa Policy May Harm Israeli Hi-Tech Innovators.” In the article, Kalmykov addresses Israeli hi-tech companies options for visas when looking to relocate employees to the United States. To read the full article, click here.… Continue Reading
The U.S. immigration agency’s busiest day of the year was marked with reminders about the dark side of the H-1B visa program. Acceptance of H-1B cap-subject petitions started on April 3, 2017. But the flurry of H-1B filings were met with announcements from agencies involved with the H-1B program about measures designed to tighten policies … Continue Reading
We continue to see immigration as a moving target with recent news of four cables issued by Secretary of State Rex Tillerson guiding implementation of increased security protocols and vetting for consular posts around the world. Secretary Tillerson issued initial cables March 10 and 15 in anticipation of the new Travel Ban scheduled to take effect … Continue Reading
