U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) data between 2015 and 2019 show that denials of the H-1B Specialty Occupation Nonimmigrant Visa Petitions have quadrupled for both initial H-1B petitions and those seeking the continuation of employment with the same employer.
According to immigration policy analysts, including the National Foundation for American Policy (NFAP), this is a result of more restrictive Trump administration policies, specifically the 2017 “Buy American and Hire American” executive order. » Read More
At noon today, June 1, 2020, a ban on the entry into the United States of certain citizens and nationals of China took effect in accordance with a Proclamation President Trump signed on Friday, May 29, 2020. The Proclamation prevents certain Chinese nationals associated with entities in China that implement or support China’s “military-civil fusion strategy” from using entering the United States under the F or J nonimmigrant visas. » Read More
As promised, last night, President Donald Trump signed an Executive Order that limits the ability of certain future immigrant visa applicants to enter the United States as lawful permanent residents, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The President’s Executive Order, the “Proclamation Suspending Entry of Immigrants Who Present Risk to the U.S. » Read More
On April 15, 2020, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), along with the support of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), announced a temporary final rule changing certain H-2A visa requirements. This rule will enable U.S. agriculture employers to continue employing lawful-related employment. » Read More
The United States Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that it has received enough registrations for the H-1B, Nonimmigrant Specialty Employee visa program petition to meet the annual statutory cap for the Fiscal Year 2021 on the number of H-1B visas permitted to be issued to foreign nationals. » Read More
The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has created an immigration nightmare with changes announced with each passing minute and a level of uncertainty that has only compounded the uncertainty in an already confused and complicated immigration system. Borders across the world have closed to non-citizens. » Read More
On January 21, 2020, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy signed legislation allowing children of H-1B visa workers to qualify for in-state tuition, subject to certain conditions.
“New Jerseyans deserve equal access to higher education, and today we are taking another step toward making that possible,” said Gov.
Employers across the country flooded the U.S. Department of Labor’s Foreign Labor Application Gateway System at the stroke of midnight on January 2, 2020.
The reason? To enter a random selection process—a lottery, of sorts—with the hope of being randomly selected to hire foreign unskilled and skilled workers to travel to the United States for a temporary duration, to assist U.S. » Read More
On November 15, 2019, the United States Department of Labor (DOL) and the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) amended the regulations that govern the H-2B temporary non-agricultural worker certifications. Changes have been made to the DOL’s labor market test that is conducted to assess the availability of the American workers for the required job position. » Read More
An information technology (IT) consulting company that develops database and web-based applications, content management, and blockchain technology was fined $48,193 by the Department of Labor’s (DOL) Wage & Hour Division to settle allegations of H-1B Visa Program violations. » Read More
