Nov 1, 2017
A bipartisan bill proposing major reforms to the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) is gaining traction in Congress. If signed into law, H.R. 392, or “The Fairness for High-Skilled Immigrants Act of 2017,” would
Oct 31, 2017
Shanna Stanton
Travelers on non-stop flights to the United States should expect additional delays as they will be subject to further security interviews as part o...
Oct 25, 2017
The Department of State (DOS) has released the November 2017 Visa Bulletin. The Bulletin announces the dates when employment- or family-based appli...
Oct 24, 2017
Andrew Clancy Rodgers and Jonathan A. Grode
On October 23, 2017, USCIS issued a Policy Memorandum rescinding previous guidance that directed adjudicators to defer to prior determinations of e...
Oct 20, 2017
The U.S. Department of State announced that the Diversity Visa Lottery entry period for 2019 was closed temporarily due to a technical error. ...
Oct 18, 2017
Matthew Galati
Two District Courts have halted the third iteration of the Travel Ban, which was set to go into effect today.
In a 91-page opinion issued this mor...
Oct 18, 2017
Jonathan A. Grode
In statements made to the Heritage Foundation on October 17, acting Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Director Tom Homan stated that he has...
Oct 10, 2017
Joshua H. Rolf
On October 8, 2017, the U.S. Mission to Turkey announced the immediate suspension of all nonimmigrant visas services at the U.S. Embassy in Ankara, as well as its Consulates in Istanbul and Adana...
Oct 10, 2017
The Department of Homeland Security’s announcement on September 5, 2017, officially ending the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, has created new momentum in Congress for legislation that would protect young undocumented immigrants, or “Dreamers."...
Oct 5, 2017
October 4, 2017- U.S. Practice Director Jonathan Grode spoke at the CCi FAST TRACK USA event today in Lyon, France. Jonathan will a...
Oct 3, 2017
October 3, 2017- U.S. Practice Director Jonathan Grode spoke at the Fifth Transatlantic Conference today in London, UK. The Fifth Transatlanti...
Oct 3, 2017
Joshua H. Rolf and Matthew Galati
October 3, 2017- Today, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that is has resumed premium processing for all H-1B extension of stay petitions, thereby enabling petitioners in all circumstances to utilize premium processing for their H-1B employees. Whether filing a new H-1B or seeking to upgrade a pending Petition, Premium Processing and its 15-day money-back-guarantee has been fully reinstated for all types of H-1B Petitions.
Oct 2, 2017
Andrew Clancy Rodgers
Failure to comply with Immigration and Nationality Act rules regarding unauthorized workers has resulted in a guilty plea to a federal criminal charge for Philadelphia-area company, Asplundh Tree Experts, Co., and monetary penalties totaling $95 million....
Oct 2, 2017
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) will begin expanding the collection of social media information. This policy change was announced as a notice of regulatory modification of the Privacy Act of 1974 System of Records and was published in the Federal Register by the Trump administration September 18, 2017...
Sep 29, 2017
On September 1, 2017, the Department of State issued new guidance for consular officers when adjudicating visa applications, updating what conduct ...
Sep 27, 2017
U.S. Practice Director Jonathan Grode recently had the honor of serving as moderator in a panel discussion titled “Legal Considerations for Global Startups” hosted by the Global Innovation Forum. Jonathan’s panel took place during the Startup Global Philadelphia forum...
Sep 26, 2017
Matthew Galati
Over the weekend, the Trump Administration announced its third version of a travel ban against nationals of eight nations, adding three new countries to the list for the first time. Unlike previous bans, the travel restrictions are mostly indefinite in duration. The new restrictions prompted the Supreme Court to cancel upcoming
Sep 21, 2017
Jonathan A. Grode
USCIS Requests for Evidence (RFEs) for H-1B petitions have increased by more than 45% this year compared to the same timeframe in 2016, Reuters rep...
Sep 19, 2017
Joshua H. Rolf
On September 18, 2017, USCIS announced the resumption of Premium Processing for Fiscal Year 2018 (“FY2018”) H-1B Cap Petitions, effective immediately. These Petitions, which must have arrived at USCIS between April 3 -7, 2017, include the 65,000 H-1Bs selected in the Regular Cap, and the additional 20,000 selected in the U.S. Master’s Cap....
Sep 15, 2017
Andrew Clancy Rodgers and Matthew Galati
Starting Monday, September 18, USCIS will no longer accept previous versions of Form I-9 for Employment Eligibility Verification. As of this date, all employers must begin using the latest edition (edition date (7/17/2017) for all new-hire verifications. The new Form I-9 is available on the USCIS website.
The revisions to the form were largely technical in nature. The specific modifications to Form I-9 have been documented in greater detail in a post we published on July 21.
Contact Green and Spiegel today if you have any questions or concerns relating to Form I-9 or your company’s employment verification processes.