May112020
During the COVID-19 pandemic, millions of Americans have been laid off by their employer and this is particularly important for Employers who are in the process of filing a PERM application. The whole purpose of the PERM process (also known as the Labor Certification) is for the Employer to demonstrate that it has made a...
According to the May 2020 Visa Bulletin released by the Department of State, the new EB-5 visa availability date for India is October 1, 2019. This is great news for all applicants that have an approved I-526 with a priority date of October 1, 2019 or earlier. However, for all the applicants that do not...
Yesterday, President Trump signed an Executive Order, temporarily suspending the issuance of green cards, claiming that this is a necessary step towards protecting the jobs of U.S. workers. Effective at 11.59 pm on April 23, 2020, this proclamation suspends entry into the U.S. of the following immigrants: Those outside the U.S. as of the effective...
During the current pandemic, many struggling businesses are furloughing or laying off employees at alarming rates. However, for employers of H-1B workers, different rules apply and for those Employers wanting to maintain their workforce, there are other options to consider first. H-1B lottery winners- should Employers withdraw selected registrations following the loss of a project?...
Mar272020
Finally, both DOL and USCIS are showing a willingness to relax their requirements in an effort to help Employers timely respond to requests for information during the COVID-19 pandemic. DOL The DOL has announced the following temporary measures to allow Employers to continue to comply with its regulations: Extension for deadlines: DOL has extended the...
We are living in very uncertain times. As a result of the COVID-19 outbreak, many employees are being asked to work remotely in order to slow the spread of the virus. Due to the number of office closures Employers need to take a closer look at the Department of Labor (DOL) regulations to ensure that...
Mar132020
In a huge win for IT Consulting companies, a Federal Judge has now ruled that USCIS can no longer use its policy memos to continue denying H-1B petitions. In the last few years, the number of RFEs and denials have skyrocketed, largely due to additional requirements placed on H-1B Employers when filing petitions. Although there...
Requests for Further Evidence commonly referred to as RFEs have become commonplace in the Immigration world, particularly for employment-based petitions such as H-1Bs and L-1s. In FY 2018 the number of RFEs skyrocketed and this trend continued into FY 2019. This increase in challenges from USCIS is largely due to various policy issues by USCIS...