The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) announced today that, on Thursday, January 14, 2021, it will be republishing the rule that dramatically increases the salary requirements for H1B and PERM labor cases. It will be published as a final rule, and, barring intervention by a...
Today, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) published a final rule in the Federal Register replacing the H1B lottery registration system with one that prioritizes cases filed based on wage level. The rule is scheduled to go into effect in 60 days. However, its...
The U.S. Department of State (DOS), which is responsible for all U.S. embassies and consulates, has provided an updated summary on its plan for the phased resumption of routine visa service across the globe. While this provides the general plan on how it will go...
Over the weekend, President Trump extended the work visa restrictions he initially implemented via executive order on June 22, 2020. The executive order had been scheduled to expire on December 31, 2020, but Trump has now extended the restrictions through March 31, 2021. Nevertheless, President-Elect...
Today, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a notice of agency order that requires airlines to obtain "negative pre-departure COVID-19 test results for all airline passengers arriving into the United States from the United Kingdom (UK)." The order is scheduled to...
The COVID-19 pandemic has greatly exacerbated delays and backlogs at the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). These delays have been especially pronounced with regard to the scheduling of biometrics appointments at application support centers (ASCs) and in the issuance of receipt notices. Update on Biometrics...
In recent years, each time an annual budget or continuing resolution has been passed into law, it has also been used to extend certain immigration programs that were scheduled to expire. The omnibus spending bill signed into law on December 27, 2020, which funds the...
The U.S. Department of State (DOS) has released the January 2021 Visa Bulletin. Unfortunately, there is very little movement from the December 2020 Visa Bulletin. All cutoff dates listed refer to the dates in the final action chart (i.e., "Chart A"), unless otherwise specified. There...
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has again extended the response time flexibility, initially announced on March 30, 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This flexibility applies to applicants and petitioners responding to any of the following, issued from March 1, 2020 through January...
For nonimmigrants temporarily in the United States, perhaps the most important date to track is the expiration date of one's I-94 arrival / departure record. The I-94 record used to be issued in paper form by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) upon arrival...
