Category: News

On December 31, 2020, the Trump Administration issued a presidential proclamation, Proclamation on Suspension of Entry of Immigrants and Nonimmigrants Who Continue to Present a Risk to the United States Labor Market, extending the ban of entry for certain nonimmigrant and immigrant visas as provided for in the April 22, 2020 and June 22, 2020 proclamations.   President Trump’s […]

Starting January 7, 2021, all air passengers five years of age or older will be required to show proof of negative test results for COVID-19 before traveling into Canada. Air travelers will be required to show documentation of a negative laboratory test to the airline they travel prior to boarding a flight to Canada. The […]

On December 23, 2020, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced a 30-day extension of the flexibility related to Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification, compliance.  Form I-9 is used to verify the identity and employment authorization of individuals hired for employment in the U.S. All U.S. employers are […]

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has extended the flexibilities it announced on March 30, 2020, in response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. At the outset of the coronavirus outbreak, USCIS announced it would give certain applicants, petitioners, and requestors more time to respond to certain agency requests and notices. Specifically, USCIS granted applicants, petitioners, […]

On December 7, 2020, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued a Federal Register notice extending Temporary Protected Status (TPS) and the validity of TPS-related documentation for beneficiaries under the designations for El Salvador, Haiti, Honduras, Nepal, Nicaragua, and Sudan. TPS-related documentation includes Employment Authorization Documents (EADs); Forms I-797, Notice of Action; and Forms I-94, Arrival/Departure Record.  […]

On December 4, 2020, U.S. District Court Judge Nicholas Garaufis issued an order requiring the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to reinstate the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. The DACA program is an Obama-era initiative that has allowed undocumented foreign nationals who came to the U.S. as children to stay in the country and work legally. Under the […]

On December 2, 2020, the U.S. Senate unanimously passed a bill entitled “Fairness for High-Skilled Immigrants Act of 2020.” The bill, which sets out new provisions focused on both green card and H-1B temporary worker reform, was passed without any public hearings and is said to pacify Big Tech’s hankering for cheap indentured labor. Notably, this is the […]

On December 3, 2020, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) sued Facebook alleging its hiring process favors temporary visa holders over U.S. workers in violation of the anti-discrimination provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act (“INA”). The INA makes it illegal for employers to discriminate against U.S. citizens and nationals, asylees, refugees, and certain lawful […]

USCIS will be issuing new policy guidance in the USCIS Policy Manual regarding Schedule A designations. The purpose of the new guidance is to describe and clarify current Schedule A requirements, and it will not represent any policy changes. When it comes to filing employment-based petitions, current regulations require many employers to obtain a labor […]

On December 1, 2020, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California set aside two interim final rules upending the H-1B visa program and other employment-based immigration categories in Chamber of Commerce v. DHS. Both rules were announced in October and comprised of significant changes to the H-1B prevailing wage levels and eligibility criteria.  The […]