In a surprise twist to the political drama over potential new immigration restrictions, 21 House Republicans sent a letter to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf urging support for Optional Practical Training (OPT) for international students. Sources have confirmed some Trump officials hope to use the recent economic downturn due to Covid-19 to impose new restrictions on H-1B visa holders, international students and others. Deliberations on specifics continue inside the administration, which has prompted members of Congress and others to weigh in.
“We write to request your help in ensuring our nation’s ability to attract, educate, and engage with the best and brightest students and scholars from across the world,” begins the June 2, 2020, letter from House Republicans. “In furtherance of the goal, we ask your agencies adopt appropriately streamlined processes to ensure international students can enroll in the fall and preserve the Optional Practical Training (OPT) program, which allows our country to globally compete for market share of international students.”
Continue reading “Forbes – House GOP Immigration Letter Backs OPT For International Students”
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has agreed to 
The 2019 Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) has significantly disrupted the livelihoods of Americans. In Proclamation 9994 of March 13, 2020 (Declaring a National Emergency Concerning the Novel Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Outbreak), I declared that the COVID–19 outbreak in the United States constituted a national emergency, beginning March 1, 2020. Since then, the American people have united behind a policy of mitigation strategies, including social distancing, to flatten the curve of infections and reduce the spread of SARS–CoV–2, the virus that causes COVID-19. This needed behavioral shift has taken a toll on the United States economy, with national unemployment claims reaching historic levels. In the days between the national emergency declaration and April 11, 2020, more than 22 million Americans have filed for unemployment. 
WASHINGTON — President Trump said on Monday evening that he intended to close the United States to people trying to immigrate into the country to live and work, a drastic move that he said would protect American workers from foreign competition once the nation’s economy began to recover from the shutdown caused by the coronavirus outbreak.
Mechelle Zarou, partner in the Toledo office and co-chair of the firm’s Immigration and Labor & Employment practice groups, will be speaking at the American Bar Association (ABA) Young Lawyers Division’s webinar “Business Immigration Issues and COVID-19: Addressing Central Concerns for Employers, Employees and Their Families” on Wednesday, April 8 from 1:00 – 2:00 PM ET.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced it has received sufficient electronic registrations to reach the FY 2021 numerical limit and has notified all employers whose H-1B registrations were selected. Under the new system, those companies whose registrations were chosen must prepare and submit applications (and have them approved) to receive H-1B petitions. What does history tell us about how many companies will follow through with their applications in light of the current economic downturn?
By way of background, under the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986, employers are required to complete a Form I-9 for each newly hired employee. The purpose of the Form I-9 is to verify the identity of each new employee and ensure that the new employee is authorized to work in the United States. The Form I-9 contains a list of acceptable documents for establishing an employee’s identity and authorization to work. 
Due to long processing times, since 2014 companies have been forced to pay $2.4 billion in “premium processing” fees to ensure their business immigration cases are decided within a reasonable time. Critics say U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has no incentive to process cases faster because the more time it takes, the greater the revenue the agency receives in additional premium processing fees.
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TAMPA, FL – Shumaker, Loop & Kendrick, LLP is pleased to announce that Partner Maria del Carmen Ramos has been invited to serve as a member of the distinguished faculty at the 2020 American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) Annual Conference on Immigration Law to be held June 17-20, 2020 where she will be speaking about employer compliance and enforcement issues that have grown dramatically under the current administration.