Your resource for all things immigration.
As a reminder to all U.S. employers, H-1B season is on the horizon! United States Citizenship & Immigration Services (“USCIS”) will start accepting new H-1B petitions for fiscal year 2016 on Wednesday, April 1, 2015. As such, employers should start immediately identifying current and future employees who will require sponsorship for new H-1B petitions. Continue reading “H-1B Season is Almost Upon Us”
Effective January 27, 2015, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will be implementing administrative changes with regard to the issuance of decisions and correspondence.
Continue reading “Administrative Changes To Take Effect Soon”
USCIS recently published revised Form I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker with an Oct. 23, 2014 edition date. Continue reading “New Form I-129 Now Available”
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”
On October 29, 2014, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) published a final rule that amends it regulations governing when USCIS will issue correspondence, notices of decisions, and documents evidencing lawful status in the United States to an applicant, petitioner, attorney, or accredited representative. Continue reading “DHS Publishes Final Rule on Notices of Decisions and Documents Evidencing Lawful Status And Revises Forms G-28 & G-28I”
The U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services (“USCIS”) and the Department of State (“DOS”) have exercised their shared authority and collaborated in the development of a policy expanding the definitions of “mother” and “parent” under the Immigration & Nationality Act (“INA”) to include gestational mothers using Assisted Reproductive Technology (“ART”), regardless of whether they are also the genetic mother. Continue reading “USCIS Expands Definition of “Mother” and “Parent” Under the INA”
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced this month that it will begin disposing of E-Verify Records that are 10 years old and older beginning January 1, 2015. In an effort to minimize security and privacy risks associated with the retention of Personal Identifiable Information (PII), USCIS will begin disposing of E-Verify case records whose last transaction occurred on or before December 31, 2014. Continue reading “USCIS Will Begin Disposing of E-Verify Records 10 Years Old and Older”
On October 6, 2014, USCIS announced the launch of myE-Verify—a new website designed for employees. Having focused its previous efforts on employers, myE-Verify provides employees with the ability to create and maintain secure personal accounts and to access new features for identity protection. Continue reading “New USCIS System Dedicated to Employee I-9 Needs”
Today, the U.S. Department of State (“DOS”) issued the November 2014 Visa Bulletin. As was expected, the employment-based, second preference (EB2) category for people born in India retrogressed to February 15, 2005. Interestingly, the employment-based, third preference category moved forward across the board. EB3 India inched forward to November 22, 2003; EB3 China advanced to January 1, 2010; and EB3 for all other countries of chargeability moved to June 1, 2012. Continue reading “EB-2 India Retrogresses”
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (“USCIS”) has changed from red to blue the color ink it uses to stamp certain documents that could be used for I-9 purposes. This would be relevant, for instance, in a scenario where you have a high population of new hires that are refugees and they provide you with a refugee document. Reviewers should note that moving forward they may see government documents with stamps in blue, red and black ink and that, just because the ink color has changed, documents may still be valid. Continue reading “USCIS Now Using New Ink Color for Certain Documents Which May be Used for Form I-9”