Immigration

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The U.S. Department of State has broadened how it screens applicants for H-1B specialty occupation visas and their H-4 dependents at U.S. embassies and consulates abroad. Beginning December 15, 2025, consular officers started conducting a mandatory review of each H-1B and H-4 applicant’s publicly available online presence, including social media accounts, as part of visa adjudication. Applicants are instructed to set social media privacy settings to “public” so officers can access and review this content.Continue Reading Alert: New Consular Vetting Practices for H-1B and H-4 Visa Processing

U.S. employers filing PERM (Program Electronic Review Management) Labor Certification Applications are now facing increased scrutiny regarding how they disclose travel-related job requirements on Form ETA 9089. Recently, the Department of Labor (DOL) has begun denying PERM applications—without audit—for allegedly incomplete or inconsistent disclosure of travel requirements.Continue Reading Client Alert: PERM Denials on the Rise – Travel and Worksite Issues Under Scrutiny

On September 19, 2025, President Donald Trump issued a proclamation imposing a $100,000 fee on new H-1B visa applications, effective from 12:01 a.m. EDT on September 21, 2025. This fee applies only to new petitions submitted after that date and does not affect current visa holders or renewals. At this time, these are the current important facts that we know:

  • Individuals with a currently approved H-1B petition, or whose H-1B petitions were filed prior to 9/21/25 but are still pending may enter the U.S. without paying a $100,000 fee.
  • Individuals who already have an approved H-1B visa may enter the U.S. without paying a $100,000 fee.
  • The $100,000 fee is not required for H-1B extension petitions.

All H-1B individuals should exercise caution, and consider avoiding travel where possible considering the sudden shifts in policy.Continue Reading Client Alert: New $100,000 Fee for H-1B workers

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has announced that the registration period for the fiscal year (FY) 2026 H-1B cap will be open from 12pm EST on March 7, 2025, through 12pm EST on March 24, 2025.

H-1B status allows foreign nationals to temporarily work for U.S. employers in a position that requires a bachelor’s degree or above. Congress has set a mandated cap of 65,000 H-1B visas per year, with 20,000 additional H-1B visas for professionals who have obtained a master’s degree or higher from an accredited U.S. institution. Due to the limited number of visas, USCIS has implemented an annual H-1B registration process to randomly select beneficiaries who may then file a new H-1B cap-subject petition if selected. Employers must submit an H-1B registration for any foreign national workers they wish to sponsor for H-1B status. The registration process is simple and relatively inexpensive, requiring basic information from both the employer and the foreign national worker.Continue Reading USCIS Announced FY 2026 H-1B Cap Registration Period

Immigration has been a central focus of the new presidential administration since taking office and is expected to remain a top priority. Workplace raids soared during the early years of the Trump administration’s first term, they have signaled that aggressive enforcement actions like workplace raids will factor into their immigration plans going forward. Consequently, employers…

Employers take note that the H-1B lottery for fiscal year (FY) 2025 will take place in just a few weeks. The H-1B is a work-based visa that allows foreign nationals to work for a U.S. employer in a position that requires a bachelor’s degree or above. There are only 65,000 available each year, so registrations are submitted into a lottery system. If you have any employees or potential employees who may benefit, you must register between March 6, 2024 and March 22, 2024.Continue Reading H-1B Registration Period Beginning March 6, 2024

The following article on H-1B Visas was recently published in the Union Leader as part of McLane Middleton’s Know the Law series:

Q. After many unsuccessful attempts at filling an open position, my company recently interviewed an exceptionally qualified candidate. The candidate is a foreign national living abroad. Years ago, my company obtained a visa

…

The Department of Homeland Security Citizenship and Immigration Services published a notice in the Federal Register on January 31, 2020, alerting the public to the release and requirement of a new version of the ubiquitous Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification document.  The new form was available for download and use beginning on that date.  We are presently in a 90-day transition time during which employers may use the new form, with a version date of “Rev. 10/21/2019”, or the prior version of the form with a version date of “Rev. 07/17/2017N”.
Continue Reading New I-9 Form – Available January 31, 2020; Mandatory May 1, 2020

On January 9, 2020, the implementation of the H-1B registration process was published in the Federal Register. Although the final rule regarding registration was issued in January 2019, and an announcement was made in December 2019 confirming the process, only some guidance regarding the process has been provided. As of the January 9, 2020 notice, USCIS has stated that it will conduct further outreach and training prior to the initial implementation of the registration process, and will provide guidance on how to use the registration system.
Continue Reading H-1B Cap Registration Update

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which oversees the E-Verify program, has announced that the website www.e-verify.gov will not be available to employers during the current partial government shutdown. The website will not be managed or updated until after funding is restored. DHS reported that “information on this website may not be up to date. Transactions submitted via this website might not be processed and we will not be able to respond to inquiries until after appropriations are enacted.”
Continue Reading During Fight Over Funding for Border Security, E-Verify Closed for Business