Immigration

Today, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security issued a notice of proposed rulemaking proposing amendments that would alter the process for the filing and selection of H-1B visa petitions that are subject to the annual numerical “cap”.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Department of Labor (DOL), and Department of State (DOS) released their fall 2018 Regulatory Agendas. Issued twice per year (fall and spring), this notice forecasts possible regulations that may be promulgated in the coming months.

Late Sunday night it was announced that Canada had reached an agreement with the United States and Mexico to remain in a North American trade pact. The deal came just hours before the U.S.-imposed deadline of midnight on September 30. The new agreement will be named the USMCA (United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement), which was formerly referred to as NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement).

The US Department of State announced instructions for the DV-2020 (Diversity Visa 2020) program. The release of the instructions is somewhat unexpected, as last November President Trump announced that he intended to eliminate the program.

In this five-part series, we highlight three important USCIS policy changes and provide eight best practice tips in light of the ever-tightening U.S. immigration environment. This is the fourth installment in the series. Click to read Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, and Part 4.

In this five-part series, we highlight three important USCIS policy changes and provide eight best practice tips in light of the ever-tightening U.S. immigration environment. This is the fourth installment in the series. Click to read Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3.

In this five-part series, we highlight three important USCIS policy changes and provide eight best practice tips in light of the ever-tightening U.S. immigration environment. This is the third installment in the series.

Employers who sponsor foreign nationals for (1) H-1B visas; (2) PERM-based permanent residence applications and (3) STEM OPT Extensions must ensure their records are in order and retain them for the required statutory time-periods.

The Trump Administration has made immigration enforcement and the restriction of immigration to the United States a high priority.

On August 31, 2018, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued a final rule increasing the premium processing filing fee for all eligible applications postmarked on or after October 1, 2018. USCIS’s stated reason is that the fee increase is consistent with inflation as the premium processing fee was last adjusted in 2010.

The new premium processing fee represents an increase of almost 15% and changes the filing fee from $1,225.00 to $1,410.00. Individuals with specific questions are encouraged to consult with their Mintz Levin immigration attorney to fully assess how his or her immigration situation may be affected by this new rule.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) conducts site visits at the offices of employers who petitioned or are petitioning for temporary work visas on behalf of their employees. These site visits are funded by the $500 “anti-fraud” fee that is a component of the filing fees for H-1B and L-1 petitions.

Government enforcement activities at businesses have significantly increased this year. The Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) division of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has already conducted 5,200 audits this year compared to 1,360 audits in all of 2017.

This afternoon, USCIS announced that it is extending the temporary suspension of premium processing for cap-subject H-1B petitions. In addition, starting September 11, 2018, USCIS will expand the suspension to include additional types of H-1B petitions. The suspension is expected to last until February 19, 2019.

The tilt in this Administration towards harsh immigration measures is well known because of high profile moves like the travel bans and the separation and incarceration of parents and young children from Central America who have sought safety in the U.S.

According to the State Department August Visa Bulletin, the Employment Based First Preference Category (EB-1) Final Action Dates for “Priority Workers” will retrogress for the month of August 2018.

The US Supreme Court issued a decision today upholding the third version of the travel ban established by the Trump administration. This ban, issued via Presidential Proclamation, imposes travel restrictions on citizens of Iran, Libya, North Korea, Syria, Venezuela, Yemen and Somalia.

As part of the continuing trade and intellectual property war with China, the U.S. Department of State has implemented a new policy to limit visa validity periods and impose additional security clearances before visa issuance to citizens of the People’s Republic of China.

On Tuesday, April 24, 2018, a District of Columbia federal District Court judge issued an order vacating the decision to rescind the DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) program and requiring the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to continue to accept and process both new and renewal DACA applications.

As a follow-up to the April 6, 2018 announcement that the H-1B cap had been reached, on Thursday, April 12, USCIS revealed that it has now completed the random selection of the 85,000 petitions for the quota and that in total, the agency received 190,098 H-1B cap-subject submissions. This number is down from last year’s 199,000.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) announced today that it has received enough H-1B petitions to reach the statutory cap of 65,000 petitions for fiscal year (FY) 2019. USCIS also received more than the limit of 20,000 H-1B petitions filed under the U.S. advanced degree exemption, also known as the “master’s cap.”