With the declaration of a State of Emergency in Colorado due to the global pandemic from COVID-19, many Colorado employers are facing difficult decisions about how to manage their workforce in an uncertain and quickly-changing environment. Employers who employ H-1B workers should understand what their additional obligations are, if any, when considering layoffs, terminations, and other employment changes in light of COVID-19. The information contained in this article is for general...

The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has formally announced that it will implement the new H-1B registration final rule for Fiscal Year 2021. The H-1B registration system will involve an initial electronic registration process, in which employers may register for potential H-1B workers to be entered into the annual H-1B cap lottery. Those whose registrations are selected will then be permitted to file H-1B petitions to be considered on...

On January 31, 2019, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued a final rule making significant changes to how it will conduct the annual cap-subject H-1B lottery process. The rule creates an online “pre-registration” and selection requirement for companies intending to use the H-1B visa program to sponsor foreign workers. The Acting Director of USCIS, Ken Cuccinelli, recently announced that he believes USCIS will be ready to implement the...

United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has proposed a new rule making changes to the annual selection process for H-1B visas. H-1B visas are currently limited to 65,000 per fiscal year, with an additional 20,000 “Master’s cap” H-1B visas available to workers with a Master’s degree from a U.S. university. Each year for the past several years, the demand for H-1B visas has far outpaced this statutory limitation. The result...

Once again, H-2B employers are on pins and needles trying to ascertain whether the government will follow its own regulations in order to facilitate the timely issuance of H-2B seasonal visas for temporary skilled workers. The H-2B process in and of itself is one of the most technical and time-sensitive immigration procedures in the United States. It involves adjudication by three separate agencies, the Department of Labor (DOL), the Department of...