Chris Prescott

On January 15 DHS released the text of a new rule which will change the way USCIS will determine whether an Employer/Employee relationship will exist.  Furthermore, on the same day, DOL also released a memo that now interprets the regulations to require end-clients to also file an H-1B petition. USCIS had previously relied on two...

Employers filing H-1B petitions need to be aware of the 240- day rule as it applies to filing H-1B extensions, as this rule allows employees to continue to work beyond the expiration of their authorized stay. This rule is particularly important when an Employer is filing an H-1B extension either when premium processing is unavailable...

DOL is publishing its Prevailing Wage Rule on January 14, 2021.  This rule previously went into effect on October 8, 2020, without any notice and significantly increased the DOL wages.  For further details of this rule please refer to our previous article, published on October 9, 2020. https://patel-law-group.local/dols-interim-final-rule-implements-higher-prevailing-wage-rates/ After the above rule was published, we...

Trump has one foot out of the door, but that doesn’t mean that he is done with issuing unlawful and discriminatory Immigration policies. In April and June of last year, Trump issued two Presidential Proclamations suspending the entry of certain immigrants and non-immigrants into the US.  The second Proclamation extended the suspension through Dec 31,...

Well, I don’t think anyone saw 2020 coming.  It was a turbulent year, what with the raging pandemic and the countless restrictive immigration measures enacted by the Trump administration.  In fact, for the Immigration Community, the last 4 years have been some of the most challenging that we have ever seen as the President did...

USCIS recently updated its policy manual regarding the CSPA, to provide clarity on how it calculates a child’s age and the “sought to acquire requirement.” The CSPA provides age-out protection for children who are affected by the delay in adjudicating applications.  Because of the long processing times the CSPA can prevent a child aging out...

The Trump administration has now issued a third rule, which radically alters the H-1B program. The first rule was a DOL rule, which significantly increased the wage levels.  See our earlier articles which discuss these changes: https://patel-law-group.local/dols-interim-final-rule-implements-higher-prevailing-wage-rates/ https://patel-law-group.local/it-companies-file-suit-against-dol-over-its-new-wage-rule/ The second rule was a DHS rule which changes the definition of H-1B specialty occupation, employer/employee relationship...

Foreign nationals no doubt breathed a sigh of relief at the news that Joe Biden had beat Donald Trump to become the next U.S. President.   However, what will change under a Biden Administration? Over the last 4 years the Trump administration has tried to do everything in its power (and often outside of its powers)...