Tag: H-1B Visas

If you are the spouse of an L-1 or H-1B visa holder, good news has been rare in recent years. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) exacerbated the wait for employment-based green cards by causing long processing delays for work authorization, resulting in the spouses of many high-skilled foreign nationals stopping work and losing their […]

If you’re an international student studying in the U.S. and want to stay in the country after pursuing higher education, one option is to apply for an H-1B visa. In the video below, Senior Associate Attorney Gabriella Agostinelli tells us about current caps for H-1B, the lottery process, and recent trends. You can learn more […]

On September 15, 2021, U.S. District Court Judge Jeffrey S. White granted the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s (“Chamber”) motion for summary judgment in the Chamber’s lawsuit– U.S. Chamber of Commerce v. Department of Homeland Security— challenging a regulation that sought to replace the current H-1B cap lottery system with a wage level prioritization system. The […]

A federal judge has ended a Trump administration regulation designed to make it difficult for international students to gain H-1B status. The H-1B program allows companies and other employers in the United States to temporarily employ foreign workers in occupations that require the theoretical and practical application of a body of highly specialized knowledge and […]

Hundreds of H-1B visa applicants have filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) over “rampant fraud and abuse” in the new H-1B online registration system. According to the complaint, the online registration system, which was created in 2019, has sparked a whole industry of consulting firms and fake employers that register […]

The H-1B program allows U.S. employers to temporarily hire foreign workers in a “specialty occupation”, which is defined as a position that requires the theoretical and practical application of a body of highly specialized knowledge and a bachelor’s degree or higher in the specific specialty. Each year, Congress caps the number of H-1B visas for […]

A lawsuit has been filed in the D.C. District Court which challenges a final rule affecting the H-1B lottery process. This rule would give preference to H-1B applicants who make the highest salaries in their respective field. Those who filed the lawsuit, as well as those who support it, claim this rule is unfairly advantageous […]

On May 19, 2021, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued a final rule which removes constraints put on H-1B applications from the 2020 interim final rule “Strengthening H-1B Non-Immigrant Visa Classification Program.” What is an H-1B Non-Immigrant Visa? The H-1B is a visa available to individuals who wish to work in a specialized occupation […]

On April 26, 2021, the Governments of Mexico and the U.S. announced a change in the visa reciprocity standards for certain work visas for Mexican citizens and work permits for U.S. citizens. The principle of reciprocity is grounded in the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) and requires the Department of State (DOS) to set country-specific […]

As of March 31st,2021, USCIS has notified employers and immigration counsels of the selected registrations in the H-1B lottery. If you or someone you know have not been selected, there are other potential options to consider. Similar to the U.S. H-1B Visa, Canada has a program which allows Canadian employers to hire foreign workers for […]