USCIS has faced increasing backlogs across the entire agency, and several factors have made these backlogs even worse in recent years. The immigration policies of the prior administration created the “invisible wall” of bureaucratic processing delays for an agency that was already mismanaging its funds. The current pandemic, along with lack of resources, have exacerbated…
H-1B Reform With no increase in US population growth in sight, reforms that help the H-1B visa program and other employment immigration run smoothly and efficiently are vital to the US economy. The Department of Homeland Security’s 2022 regulatory agenda includes proposed amendments to its regulations that govern the H-1B specialty occupation and F-1 student…
Dependents of H-1B visa-holders can only maintain valid nonimmigrant status for so long. Once dependents “age out” at twenty-one (21), their H-1B dependent visas are no longer valid. As such, H-1B dependents wishing to lawfully stay within the United States must file petitions seeking to extend the duration of their visas or to obtain a…
H-1B workers are nonimmigrant visa-holders who work for United States employers. These workers obtain H-1B visas, which requires the workers to have a bachelor’s degree or another country’s equivalent degree in a specialized field. H-1B workers have the same rights as U.S. workers, and both groups of workers must be treated equally and fairly. The…
Employers wishing to hire H-1B workers from abroad must comply with numerous requirements under federal law. The H-1B visa program enables professionals to work in the United States in specialty professions that require at least a bachelor’s degree (or equivalent). Employers in the United States seek to hire H-1B workers when they are unable to…
H-1B non-immigrant visas enable workers from outside of the United States to work for an employer within the country. H-1B visas are specifically for workers whose career is specialized, requiring a bachelor’s degree (or equivalent). While H-1B workers are not lawful permanent residents or citizens, they are still entitled to certain benefits provided by employers….
On June 23, 2021, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that it will accept certain resubmitted H-1B petitions for fiscal year 2021. This will apply only to H-1B petitions which were rejected or administratively closed due to the fact that the requested start date listed in the petition was after October 1, 2020. The…
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas, the Houston consulting and strategic solutions company has pleaded guilty to committing ongoing H-1B visa fraud for over seven years. Details of the H-1B Fraud The fraud was perpetrated from around March 2013 through December 2020. Cloudgen LLC admitted to recruiting Information Technology…
The world of immigration law can be complex, unpredictable, and ever evolving. Rules change, timeframes shift, and the process of applying for a visa can be overwhelming. But there is good news! U.S. companies are still very much interested in retaining and recruiting foreign talent. Envoy Global recently conducted a survey of over 500 U.S….
President Biden has opted not to renew former President Trump’s executive order banning H-1B visas. That order was enacted in June 2020 and is set to expire today, March 31, 2021. President Biden has allowed the order to expire today to restore the pipeline for skilled foreign workers. This Is a Win for Businesses, Especially…