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On October 20, 2023, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) for the H-1B Specialty Occupation Program. With these proposed rules, DHS hopes to modernize the program “by streamlining eligibility requirements, improving program efficiency, providing greater benefits and flexibilities for employers and workers, and strengthening integrity measures.” The […]
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Yesterday, June 22, 2020, President Trump issued a new Presidential Proclamation, “Suspending Entry of Aliens Who Present a Risk to the U.S. Labor Market Following the Coronavirus Outbreak.” The proclamation bans the issuance of H-1B, H-2B, H-4, J-1, J-2, L-1 and L-2 non-immigrant visas and extends the bar on the issuance of certain categories of […]
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An employer seeking to offer a foreign worker a job opportunity on a permanent basis may sponsor that foreign worker for employment-based permanent residency. Most often, this requires Labor Certification through the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL). The Labor Certification process, also referred to as PERM, requires that employers “test the labor market” to see […]
Continue Reading The U.S. Department of Labor has announced several important policy changes in light of the COVID-19 pandemic which affect employers seeking to file Labor Certification Applications on behalf of foreign workers. On March 20, 2020, DOL announced that, in light of COVID-19, it would permit employers additional time to respond to requests from DOL regarding […]
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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 […]
Continue Reading Last week, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) received 201,011 H-1B petitions subject to the annual cap for Fiscal Year (FY) 2020. The Agency confirmed that on April 10, 2019, it completed its computer-generated selection process to select sufficient H-1B petitions to meet both the regular cap of 65,000 petitions and the advanced degree […]
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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 […]
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The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has advised that it is on track to issue a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) by the end of the year that would rescind the rule permitting employment authorization for certain H-4 spouses. This timeline was announced in a court filing last month by DHS in the ongoing litigation […]
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On July 24, 2017, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) announced that it would resume Premium Processing of H-1B petitions for employers who are exempt from the annual H-1B Cap. This comes as very welcome news to employers who are struggling to fill critical specialty occupation positions within their organizations in a timely fashion. […]
Continue Reading On May 3, 2017, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) announced that it has completed the lottery for all cap-subject H-1B petitions submitted for the Fiscal Year 2018 Cap. The annual limit for H-1B visas is 65,000 for foreign nationals holding a Bachelor’s Degree and an additional 20,000 for those holding a U.S. […]
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On April 7, 2017, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) announced that it received sufficient H-1B petitions to meet the regular and advanced degree caps for Fiscal Year (FY) 2018. Yesterday, USCIS announced that it received more than 199,000 cap-subject H-1B petitions for FY 2018 and that on April 11, 2017, it conducted a […]
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The new Department of Homeland Security (DHS) final regulations, “Retention of EB-1, EB-2 and EB-3 Immigrant Workers and Improvements Affecting High Skilled Nonimmigrant Workers,” (effective date January 17, 2017), may enable non-profit schools and school districts to secure an exemption from the annual H-1B Cap, thus providing a clear pathway for these institutions to hire qualified […]
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