H-1B Cap Initial Registration Period for FY 2023 Opens March 1 The initial registration period for the fiscal year (FY) 2023 H-1B cap will open at noon ET on March 1, 2022, and run through noon ET on March 18, 2022, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced. During this period, prospective petitioners and representatives …
U.S. Immigration Updates- Week of January 31, 2022 Read More »
Written by Aaron Kochenderfer Immigrants have been a reliable source for population growth across most of the so-called “rust belt cities” in the American Midwest including Cleveland, Detroit, Pittsburgh, and St. Louis, among others. For instance, between 2000 and 2015, immigrants provided half of the population growth and offset population declines within nine of the …
USCIS Provides Guidance on O-1A Petitions for STEM Fields On Jan. 21, 2022, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) updated the USCIS Policy Manual with additional guidance on how USCIS evaluates eligibility for the O-1A “extraordinary ability” visa category. O-1A visas are reserved for individuals with extraordinary abilities in the sciences, education, business, or athletics. …
U.S. Immigration Updates Week of January 24, 2022 Read More »
Key Deadlines for H-1B CAP Electronic Registration Process Employers seeking to sponsor candidates for initial H-1B sponsorship (commonly known as ‘H-1B CAP’) should begin preparing for the H-1B electronic registration process. Although the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has not announced the exact dates for electronic registration, previous registration periods have opened for three …
U.S. Immigration Updates- Week of January 20, 2022 Read More »
Report Finds USCIS Benefits Slowed During Pandemic The Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) released a report on December 28, 2021, finding that continued reliance on manual processing slowed U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ benefits delivery during the COVID-19 pandemic. OIG found that USCIS had limited capability to electronically process more than …
U.S. Immigration Updates-Week of January 10, 2022 Read More »
USCIS Extends Flexibilities for Responding to Certain Agency Requests U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is extending the flexibilities it originally announced on March 30, 2020, to assist applicants, petitioners, and requestors who are responding to certain requests. The flexibilities apply if the issuance date listed on the request, notice, or decision is between March …
Senate Parliamentarian Rejects Immigration Provisions in the Build Back Better Spending Bill After the Senate parliamentarian rejected a plan that included work permits and protection from deportation favored by Democrats for inclusion in the “social spending” budget reconciliation bill, lawmakers struggled to consider their options, including revisions to the immigration provisions or simply moving ahead …
U.S. Immigration Updates Week of December 28, 2021 Read More »
Applicants for H-1B Can Sue Over Changes to Lottery Rule A D.C. federal judge ruled that H-1B specialty occupation visa applicants challenging a change to the visa lottery process only need to show that they had an active job offer when they sued to establish standing. U.S. District Judge Trevor N. McFadden refused the government’s …
U.S. Immigration Updates Week of December 13, 2021 Read More »
Travel Restrictions Increase in Response to Coronavirus Variant Last week, in response to concerns and unknowns about a new coronavirus variant, called Omicron (B.1.1.529), President Biden said that most travelers (excluding U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents) who had been in any of eight countries in southern Africa for the prior 14 days would be …
U.S. Immigration Updates – Week of December 7, 2021 Read More »
Immigration Enforcement Priorities Announced by DHS On Monday, November 29, 2021, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced it will begin implementation of the Guidelines for the Enforcement of Civil Immigration Law signed by Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro N. Mayorkas on September 30. “Today is an important step forward in ensuring that our workforce …
U.S. Immigration Updates – Week of November 29, 2021 Read More »
