OSC Issues Guidance to Employers Related to Immigration Questions During the Hiring Process

Maria del Carmen Ramos
Maria del Carmen Ramos

Generally, employers face a difficult balancing act when attempting to comply with the Immigration and Nationality Act’s anti-discrimination provisions, on the one hand, and manage their bottom line, on the other hand. Continue reading “OSC Issues Guidance to Employers Related to Immigration Questions During the Hiring Process”

Decision on STEM OPT Program is Delayed Until May 10, 2016

Maria del Carmen Ramos
Maria del Carmen Ramos

On January 23, 2016, Judge Ellen Segal Huvelle of the U.S. District Court for the District of Colombia granted the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s motion to extend the stay of the vacatur of the STEM OPT rule from February 12, 2016 to May 10, 2016. This decision is zealously being opposed by the Washington Alliance of Technology Workers. Continue reading “Decision on STEM OPT Program is Delayed Until May 10, 2016”

Proposed New Rule May Save the STEM OPT Program

Maria del Carmen Ramos
Maria del Carmen Ramos

The optional practical training (OPT) program allows students here on an F-1 visa (who have either graduated or been pursuing a degree for 9 months) to work in their chosen field of study for one year. Continue reading “Proposed New Rule May Save the STEM OPT Program”

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

Maria del Carmen Ramos
Maria del Carmen Ramos

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

Maria del Carmen Ramos
Maria del Carmen Ramos

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”

Form I-9 Verification Process Update

Mechelle Zarou
Mechelle Zarou

The following important highlights resulted from the November meeting between the American Immigration Lawyers Association’s Verification and Documentation Liaison Committee, USCIS’s Verification Division, and ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations: Continue reading “Form I-9 Verification Process Update”