On August 25, 2020, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that the anticipated temporary furlough of more than 13,000 employees, scheduled to begin on August 30, has been averted. The agency was able to avoid this due to a steady increase in the day-to-day inflow of revenue and receipts, along with unprecedented spending cuts. » Read More
On July 31, 2020, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) published a final rule with a significant rise in its fee schedule, affecting both individual immigrants and businesses. The new schedule has added new fees, establishing multiple fees for nonimmigrant worker petitions, and limiting the number of beneficiaries for certain forms. » Read More
On Friday, I was honored to join a group of today’s business leaders and innovators at WeWork, who are shaping tomorrow, for a discussion on immigration. In a room nineteen floors above the rumbling of New York’s traffic with sushi in hand, two concerns quickly became central to our discussion: (1) the growing barrier of US businesses—small, mid, and large—to access to the global workforce; and (2) the foreign entrepreneur’s inability to enter –or even attempt to enter—as a start-up in or expansion to the US market. » Read More
Raymond G. Lahoud, a Member with Norris McLaughlin, P.A., and Chair of its Immigration Practice Group, is pleased to present a complimentary Q&A session covering immigration issues. Human resource professionals, business owners, compliance officers, administrators, and management at organizations and companies in every industry of every size are urged to attend. » Read More
ICE Arrests More Than 100 During Company Raid in Ohio
This week, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Officers raided Corso’s Flower and Garden Center in Castalia, Ohio, arresting over 100 company employees who are alleged to be in the United States without documentation. » Read More
In a surprise morning raid yesterday, hundreds of Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents descended upon an Ohio gardening and landscaping company and arrested over 100 of the landscaping company’s employees, who were determined to be employed in the United States without lawful authorization. » Read More
Agriculture and Construction Industries are Concerned About Labor Shortages
Despite lower unemployment across the country, agriculture and construction companies continue to face vacant positions, and are arguing for increased immigrant labor. For example, in the Dallas-Forth Worth area, there is greater demand for construction work, but there are approximately 38,000 unfilled position in the industry. » Read More
Silicon Valley, known around the globe as a technology hub with headquarters for many companies, including Google and Apple, is heavily dependent on foreign skilled employees.
Last year, the Silicon Valley Competitiveness and Innovation Report noted that 57% of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (known as “STEM”) professionals in the region were foreign born. » Read More