Immigration

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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

With news of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agencies raiding nearly 100 7-Eleven stores across 17 states in the US demanding employment verification from managers, TerraLex recently asked me to discuss what considerations employers and employees should keep top of mind if an onsite raid occurs.  Here is my response for a TerraLex publication:
Continue Reading What to Do If an Onsite ICE Raid Occurs?

On July 17, 2017, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) released an updated version of the Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification. This updated version will replace the most recent form from late January of this year. Employers will have the option to use the updated form (Rev. 07/17/17 N) or continue using the previous Form I-9 (Rev. 11/14/2016 N) during a 60 day grace period, until September 17, 2017. Beginning September 18, 2017, employers will be required to use the updated form for the initial employment verification of all new hires, as well as any applicable employment re-verifications.
Continue Reading USCIS Releases Updated I-9

Photo: Nicolas Raymond via Flickr (CC by 2.0)
Photo: Nicolas Raymond via Flickr (CC by 2.0)

On January 27, 2017, President Trump issued an Executive Order (EO) entitled “Protecting the Nation From Foreign Terrorist Entry Into the United States.”  Among other things, the EO attempted to implement a travel ban whereby individuals from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen would be prohibited from entering the United States. Immediately, nationals from the named countries faced extraordinary hardship in entering the U.S.  Individuals with valid non-immigrant visas, such as F-1 student visas, H-1B work visas and other individuals with valid visas were affected. Green card holders (immigrant visa holders) were also affected.  These non-immigrants and immigrants are individuals who live in the United States, have family, jobs, homes, or other ties to the U.S., and who have gone through the lengthy and rigorous immigration process to obtain valid visas to enter the U.S. The EO extended to effect refugees who had been vetted by the U.S. government and granted refugee status by the U.S. to escape persecution.
Continue Reading The Effects of President Trump’s Immigration Executive Order