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As of today, U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) will resume accepting premium processing requests for H-1B extensions. Any premium processing request for H-1B extensions received prior to July 13, 2015 will be rejected. Continue reading “USCIS Resumes Premium Processing Service for H-1B Extensions”
Effective July 7, 2015, the U.S. Embassy in Mexico City will no longer process E visa applications. Continue reading “DOS Alert: U.S. Embassy in Mexico City Will No Longer Process E Visas”
Determining when is appropriate to pay an honorarium to a foreign national on a visitor’s visa often presents a conundrum. Our immigration system is nothing short of complicated with its alphabet soup of visas, but paying a foreign national also presents tax implications. Continue reading “When Is Paying an Honorarium Permissible?”
As previously reported, a group of former employees of Southern California Edison (who claim they were laid off and replaced by H-1B workers) filed a lawsuit in the United States District for the District of Columbia against the administration challenging the H-4 final rule on the grounds that the rule exceeds DHS’s authority and directly contradicts certain provisions of the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952, as amended, in Save Jobs USA vs. U.S. Dep’t. of Homeland Security, Civil Action No. 1:15-cv-615. Continue reading “Alert: Preliminary Injunction is Denied–H-4 EAD Program Moves Forward”
U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) announced yesterday that it will temporarily suspend premium processing of Petitions for H-1B extensions beginning on Tuesday, May 26, 2015. USCIS will continue to process H-1B extensions that were received prior to May 26. USCIS will refund the premium processing fee for H-1B extensions filed prior to May 26, 2015, but not processed within the 15-calendar-day period. Continue reading “USCIS Suspends Premium Processing of Petitions for H-1B Extension”
While the lawsuit challenging President Obama’s executive action continues to garner headlines, an additional lawsuit has been filed contesting another part of the executive actions that DHS is attempting to implement. This time the lawsuit is challenging the administration’s authority to give work authorization to the H-4 dependent spouses of certain H-1B nonimmigrants. Currently, H-4 spouses are not authorized to engage in employment unless the spouse has his/her own work visa. Continue reading “DHS Asks Court to Dismiss Lawsuit Challenging H-4 Work Authorization”
This week the U.S. Departments of Labor and Homeland Security announced an interim final rule to reinstate and make improvements to the H-2B Visa program, and a final rule to establish the prevailing wage methodology to be utilized for the H-2B program. Continue reading “DOL and DHS Release Joint New Rules for H-2B Visa Program”
On Wednesday, the Florida federal court in Perez v. Perez, No. 3:14-cv-682, extended the stay on its March 4, 2015 order vacating the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) 2008 H-2B regulations order by one month through May 15, 2015. DOL will continue to process temporary labor certification applications under its H-2B regulations until this date. Continue reading “Stay on Order Affecting H-2B Program is Extended by One Month”
United States Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that it will begin premium processing H-1B petitions selected during its April 13, 2015 lottery by no later than April 27, 2015.
Continue reading “Premium Processing Update for Selected H-1B Petitions”
Today, after receiving nearly 233,000 petitions, United States Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that it conducted its lottery (a computer-generated random selection process) to select the H-1B petitions that it will adjudicate for the 65,000 general-cap and 20,000 master’s cap visas available for FY 2016. Continue reading “Alert: USCIS Conducts Random H-1B Lottery for FY 2016”