U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced today the start of the fiscal year (FY) 2020 H-1B cap season, start dates for premium processing of cap-subject H-1B petitions, and the launch of its new H-1B data hub, while reminding petitioners of its new H-1B cap selection process. Start of FY 2020 Cap Season USCIS will[Read More]
Legal Alerts
Department of Homeland Security posts final rule amending regulations governing H-1B cap-subject petitions, including those that may be eligible for the advanced degree exemption.
Today, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) posted the Final Rule. The final rule will amend the regulations governing H-1B cap-subject petitions, including those that may be eligible for the advanced degree exemption. The final rule reverses the order by which U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) selects H-1B petitions under the H-1B regular cap[Read More]
USCIS will accept H-1B petitions on April 1, 2019 for the Fiscal Year (FY) 2020
USCIS will accept H-1B petitions on April 1, 2019 for the Fiscal Year (FY) 2020 H-1B quota cases. If the petition is approved the H-1B beneficiary can start working on October 1, 2019 or earlier if he/she is eligible for H-1B cap-gap. It is very important to start the H-1B sponsorship process well in advance[Read More]
Partial government shutdown in effect
A partial government shutdown is currently in effect. Approximately 25 percent of government functions are shut down. Immigration-related agencies that are impacted by the shutdown include the Department of Homeland Security and its immigration-related components (CBP, ICE, USCIS, CIS Ombudsman), the Department of Justice (EOIR), and the Department of State. · DOL: Is NOT impacted by this government[Read More]
Department of Homeland Security to propose a merit-based rule to benefit U.S. graduate students and a mandatory online pre-registration requirement for cap-subject H-1B programs
Washington, DC. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is going to propose a merit-based rule to benefit graduates (master’s and PhDs) of U.S. institutions of higher education and a mandatory online pre-registration requirement for cap-subject H-1B programs. In November, USCIS Director had said they were proposing this new rule. On December 3rd, USCIS published a notice[Read More]
E-Verify new interface in late March: All E-Verify Cases With A Final Case Result Should Be Closed
Washington, D.C. On March 14, 2018 U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that E-Verify will transfer all case data to a new interface later this month. To assist in the transition USCIS required all open cases must reach a final case result and be closed. Open cases that have not been accessed for more than 365 days[Read More]
Notice to DHS Contractors and Subcontractors on Compliance with E-Verify
Washington DC, Jul 19, 2017. DHS article on FedBizOps summarizes E-Verify requirements. The Department of Homeland Security expects employers to abide by the immigration laws of the United States and to employ in the United States only individuals who are eligible to work. The Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) clause 52.222-54 Employment Eligibility Verification, requires federal contractors and[Read More]
International currency transfer using Bitcoin
Roland Sennholz, Esq. There has been much discussion lately of cryptocurrencies, especially Bitcoin, the first and best-known of all such currencies. Investors and futurists alike hail the beginning of a new era, an era where decentralized digital money can be sent around the world in the blink of an eye. But, while large institutions have[Read More]
Increased global mobility of talent could present more opportunities than the challenges
Key Finding: Creating the innovations of tomorrow More than three out of every four patents at the top 10 patent-producing US universities (76%) had at least one foreign-born inventor. More than half of the patents (54%) were awarded to the group of foreign-born inventors most likely to face visa hurdles: students, postdoctoral fellows, or staff[Read More]
USCIS HAS COMPLETED THE DATA ENTRY OF FISCAL YEAR 2018 H-1B CAP SUBJECT PETITIONS
USCIS announced on May 3, 2017, that it has completed data entry of all fiscal year 2018 H-1B cap-subject petitions selected in our computer-generated random process. USCIS will now begin returning all H-1B cap-subject petitions that were not selected. Due to the high volume of filings, USCIS is unable to provide a definite time frame[Read More]