High-skilled Workers & Entrepreneurs – The Immigration Bulletin

Immigration Alert: Decision Overturning 17-month OPT/STEM Extensions is stayed as USCIS scrambles to cure deficiencies

On August 12, 2015, Judge Ellen Segal Huvelle of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia dealt a blow to employers by vacating the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) 2008 interim rule expanding the optional practical training (OPT) program for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) students in Washington Alliance of Technology Workers v. U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Civil Action No. 14-529 (D.D.C. Aug. 12, 2015). Continue reading “Immigration Alert: Decision Overturning 17-month OPT/STEM Extensions is stayed as USCIS scrambles to cure deficiencies”

OPT Program Under Attack

While a lawsuit challenging President Obama’s executive action has garnered headlines recently, another lawsuit that could negatively impact the labor supply and increase the cost of doing business for employers has largely managed to escape the media’s attention. Continue reading “OPT Program Under Attack”

The Devil is in the Details: What Employers and Businesses Need to Know About the President’s Executive Actions on Immigration

When President Barack Obama first addressed the nation to unveil his Immigration Accountability Executive Actions, the media and the internet were in a frenzy to see who could get the story out first. Despite the fact that many of the specifics of the planned executive actions were unclear or not yet finalized, legal experts and analysts all across the country were discussing the potential consequences or effects on national security and the economy as a result of the estimated millions of undocumented immigrants in the United States who stood to benefit. Continue reading “The Devil is in the Details: What Employers and Businesses Need to Know About the President’s Executive Actions on Immigration”