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Business and education groups warn that U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) may court disaster if the agency implements a new electronic system for H-1B petitions without sufficient testing and input from employers. The registration system, based on a regulation finalized in January, is expected to be used in April 2020 for the FY 2021 H-1B cap season.
Continue reading “From Forbes: USCIS May Court Disaster With Untested H-1B Visa Registration System”
Trump administration rules that could deny green cards to immigrants who use Medicaid, food stamps, housing vouchers or other forms of public assistance are going into effect, one of its most aggressive moves to restrict legal immigration.
Federal law already requires those seeking green cards and legal status to prove they will not be a burden to the U.S., or what’s called a “public charge,” but the new rules, made public on Monday, detail a broader range of programs that could disqualify them.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) continues to deny H-1B petitions at an historically high rate, making it more difficult for international students to work in America and for companies to conduct research and service customers in the United States.
“Denial rates for H-1B petitions have increased significantly, rising from 6% in FY 2015 to 33% through the second quarter of FY 2019 for new H-1B petitions for initial employment,” according to a new National Foundation for American Policy (NFAP)analysis of USCIS data. “Between FY 2015 and FY 2018 the denial rate for new H-1B petitions quadrupled from 6% to 24%. To put this in perspective, between FY 2010 and FY 2015, the denial rate for initial H-1B petitions never exceeded 8%, while today the rate is 4 times higher.”
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Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers could question international 
students and company managers during new site visits underway to investigate students on Optional Practical Training (OPT) in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) fields. This is the latest in a series of actions by the Trump administration aimed at companies, high-skilled professionals and international students.
If one looks at the May 2016 STEM OPT regulation, it’s clear ICE can review a number of aspects of an international student’s work at an employer that might not have been subject to oversight in the past. This includes examining documentation to determine whether a student in STEM OPT status is being paid properly according to the regulation. The 2016 rule states: “To guard against adverse impacts on U.S. workers, the rule requires terms and conditions of a STEM practical training opportunity to be commensurate with those applicable to similarly situated U.S. workers.”
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Shumaker, Loop & Kendrick is pleased to announce that Mechelle Zarou, partner in the Toledo office, was a panelist at the Central Florida Chapter of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) first Sports Immigration Law Conference held on March 8, 2019 in Orlando, Florida. The conference focused specifically on the substantive law and practical challenges associated with sports immigration and featured sports immigration subject matter experts as well as sports industry professionals, including Olympic athletes. Continue reading “Mechelle Zarou Presented at American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) Sports Immigration Law Conference”
Toledo partner Mechelle Zarou will present at the Ohio Management Lawyers Association (“OMLA”) meeting on Thursday, May 3, 2018 on Immigration Law Compliance, Audits and Raids. She will provide practical solutions for employment law attorneys who counsel their clients on I-9 compliance and audits, as well as workplace raids by Immigration Customs and Enforcement.
OMLA is an Ohio non-profit corporation made up of senior labor and employment attorneys whose practices are dedicated exclusively to representing management. Its stated purpose is “[t]o provide an organization and forum for the exchange of information, discussion of common issues and problems, and promotion of the administration of justice with respect to employment, labor, and other areas of law affecting employers.”
Employers should brace themselves as it begins to look like Immigration and Customs Enforcement (“ICE”) will be targeting them more and more in their neverending quest to ferret out undocumented workers. Continue reading “ICE Pledges a 400% Increase in Worksite Enforcement”
On February 28, 2017, USCIS published a new Handbook for Employers (“Handbook”) to accompany its updated version of the Form I-9, dated 11/14/2016 N. Continue reading “Alert: New Handbook for Employers (M-274) is available”
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”
