Legal News & Updates | Legal Firm

EMPLOYERS: Have you complied with the new I-9 requirements effective November 1, 2023, yet?

Here are the top 10 things to consider Streamlined Form: The new Form I-9 has been streamlined and shortened. Employers must start using this new form from August 1, 2023. Transition Period: The older Form I-9 (Rev. 10/21/19) could only be used through October 31, 2023. After this date, penalties apply for using the older form. You need to do the new form for ALL employees, old and new. Alternative

Top 10 reasons why students fall out of status and what to do

Failure to Enroll Full-Time: F-1 students are generally required to be enrolled as full-time students. Falling below the minimum credit/course load without proper authorization can lead to a loss of status. Unauthorized Employment: Working off-campus without the required authorization or working more hours than allowed on-campus can result in status violations. Failure to Extend I-20: If a student’s program end date on their Form I-20 is approaching, and they haven’t

Top 10 take aways from the proposed H-1B Modernization

Federal immigration authorities recently published long-awaited revisions to the H-1B visa process intended to modernize the H-1B visa process and tighten the annual lottery system. The notice was published by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, and the proposed rule will be available for public comment until December 22, 2023. We expect that the resulting regulations will be finalized and implemented in the coming months. 1. H-1B CAP Registration process: The

US Supreme Court Justices Refuse Challenge To H-1B Spouses’ Work Permits (H-4 EADs)

The U.S. Supreme Court rejected a lawsuit from tech workers who said a policy from when Barack Obama was President, allowing some highly skilled foreign workers’ spouses to work, was not approved by Congress. This is good news for many H-4 spouses. This decision means that the previous ruling by a judge in Washington, D.C., stays in place. That judge said the workers’ concerns that they were losing jobs to

USCIS Launches Online Appointment Request Form

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has launched a new online form for individuals, attorneys, and accredited representatives to request an in-person appointment at their local field office without having to call the USCIS Contact Center. This online appointment request form allows individuals or legal representatives to request an in-person appointment at a field office only, for ADIT stamps, Emergency Advance Parole, Immigration Judge Grants, and more. It is not a

Former F-1 Students from India File Lawsuit Against DHS for Visa Denials Based on Employers’ Fraud

The plaintiffs, a group of former F-1 students from India, filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington alleging that DHS unlawfully made a blanket finding of inadmissibility against them because they had sought employment or had worked on Optional Practical Training (OPT) for one of four fraudulent companies—Andwill Technologies, AzTech Technologies LLC, Integra Technologies LLC, and WireClass Technologies LLC—while on a student visa.

Practice Pointer: Physical Inspection of Form I-9 Documents for Forms Prepared during Temporary Virtual COVID I-9 Flexibilities Must be Completed by August 30, 2023

U.S. employers are required to verify the identity and employment authorization of individuals they hire using the Form I-9. After being offered employment, on or before the first day of employment, employees complete Part 1 of Form I-9. Within three business days of the start of employment, employees provide original documents to prove their identity and authorization to work. Employers review the employees’ documents and complete and sign Part 2

Compelling Circumstances Employment Authorization Document (EAD)

1. What is a compelling circumstances EAD? A Compelling Circumstances Employment Authorization Document (EAD) is a special type of work permit issued by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). It allows certain non-U.S. citizens with approved I-140; specifically, those on H-1B/L-1/E-3/O status from countries like India/China that have an extensive backlog of Employment based Immigrant visas, to work in the United States temporarily. If granted, these workers do not

If you are an entrepreneur and an Investor looking to pursue your dream of doing temporary

What is an E-2 Visa? E-2 Visa is a non-immigrant visa that allows a national of Treaty country(a country with which the United States maintains a treaty of commerce and navigation, or with which the United States maintains a qualifying international agreement, or which has been deemed a qualifying country by legislation) admission in the United States when investing a substantial amount of capital in a bona fide business in

P3 ARTISTS OR ENTERTAINERS COMING TO BE A PART OF A CULTURALLY UNIQUE EVENT IN THE UNIT

1. What is a P-3 Visa? The classification applies to people coming temporarily to perform, teach or coach as artists, entertainers, individually or as a part of group, under a program that is culturally unique. The recipient of the visa can also develop, teach, a unique or traditional, ethnic, folk, musical, theatrical, or artistic performance which is culturally different and local to their region or country. Additionally, the individual or

USCIS Announces new procedures for obtaining Alien Documentation, Identification and Telecommunication (ADIT) Stamp

On March 16, 2023, USCIS announced a new procedure to obtain ADIT stamps, which constitute temporary evidence of permanent residence, typically issued while Form I-90, I-751, or N-400 applications are pending. This new procedure is due to USCIS’s delays in processing these applications. Under the prior procedure, residents were required to call the USCIS Contact Center, request an InfoPass appointment, wait for that appointment to be scheduled, and then attend the appointment

USCIS Announces End of COVID-Related Flexibilities

Release Date: 03/23/2023 U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services today announced that certain flexibilities it first announced in March 2020, to address the COVID-19 pandemic will end on March 23, 2023. USCIS previously notified the public in its Jan. 24, 2023, announcement that barring any changes presented by the pandemic, the extension of these flexibilities announced on Jan. 24 would be the last. You must respond to any notices or requests from USCIS

Fiscal Year 2023, Employment – Based Adjustment of Status.

The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that the employment-based (EB) annual limit for the Fiscal Year (FY) 2023, would be higher than that which was typically expected before the pandemic. They have also indicated that the intake maybe possibly lower than that in Fiscal Year 2021 and Fiscal Year 2022. In consideration of the same, they intend to utilize all of the available employment-based visas for the

Revocation of ACICS Accreditation

On August 19, 2022, the U.S. Department of Education (ED) announced that it no longer recognizes the Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools (ACICS) as an accrediting agency.This decision by the ED immediately affects individuals who are currently engaged in the following two immigration-related student programs: English language Study Programs. F-1 Students applying for a 24-month science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) option practical training (OPT) extension. IMPACT

Alert: Erroneous H-1B SEVIS Termination

Some F-1 students are seeing their SEVIS Records erroneously terminated due to a Change of Status adjudication by USCIS, when, in fact, there was a “Consular Notification” decision instead. Those affected F-1 status holders should request that their schools’ DSOs/AROs or program officers reach out to the SEVIS Help Desk at USICE/SEVP to have this mistake corrected. The DSO/ARO or program officer can send a PDF of the approval

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