Articles Discussing General Topics In Employing Immigrants.

USCIS has announced that beginning with the November 2015 Department of State (DOS) Visa Bulletin it will issue a determination within approximately one week following the publication of the Visa Bulletin whether individuals may use the Dates for Filing Visa Applications chart. If USCIS does not post such a determination, individuals should continue to refer exclusively to the Application Final Action Date chart on the USCIS website. This monthly announcement from USCIS can be found at www.uscis.gov/visabulletininfo.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s has proposed amending its regulations on the optional practical training (“OPT”) program to allow international F-1 students with U.S. degrees in the sciences, technology, engineering, or mathematics (“STEM”) – attained from accredited institutions – to extend by 24 months the standard 12-month OPT period available to them to remain in the U.S. to pursue degree-related work experience. This proposal would supersede the 17-month extension currently available to STEM degree holders. In addition, F-1 students may qualify for the extension based on a previously attained U.S. STEM degree from an accredited institution of higher education.

On September 9, 2015, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) promulgated new procedures for determining the visa availability date for individuals waiting to file employment- and family-based applications for permanent residence (also known as “green cards”) in the United States.1 The U.S. Department of State (DOS) is responsible for the administration of the Immigration and Nationality Act’s laws pertaining to immigrant visa issuance and the annual numerical limits, or quotas, on visa issuance.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and the Department of State have announced new procedures for determining visa availability for applicants waiting to file adjustment of status applications. Prior to this change, DOS had published a single chart in its visa bulletin each month indicating “Final Action Dates For Employment-Based Preference Cases.” Commencing with the October 1, 2015, visa bulletin, a second chart will relate to existing DOS procedures for processing immigrant visas abroad and will govern which cases are eligible to file for adjustment of status in the U.S.

The 2008 Department of Homeland Security (DHS) rule allowing certain F-1 visa students with Science, Technology, Engineering or Math (STEM) degrees to extend their stay for an additional 17 months of training related to their degrees in the U.S. is deficient, a federal judge for the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia has held. The judge concluded the DHS rule was not properly subjected to public notice and comment. However, the judge permitted the rule to remain temporarily in effect. Washington Alliance of Technology Workers v. U.S. Department of Homeland Security, No. 1:14-cv-00529 (D. D.C. Aug. 12, 2015).

Finding that a DOL certifying officer (CO) had erred in finding the employer failed to advertise a job opportunity in a newspaper in the area of intended employment, as required by regulation, and denied a permanent labor certification, the Board of Alien Labor Certification Appeals (BALCA) has reversed the denial. Matter of Hoffman Enclosures In., d/b/a Pentair Technical Products, BALCA No. 2011-PER-01754 (Aug. 5, 2015).

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has announced that it will begin collecting biographic and biometric data from some foreign national travelers in a test program when they depart the United States at Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport

The U.S. Office of the Chief Administrative Hearing Officer (OCAHO) recently published Gonzalez-Hernandez v. Arizona Family Health Partnership,1 an interesting decision that illustrates the conflict between state laws and the administration’s deferred action policies that provide work authorization to undocumented immigrants.

Executive Summary: On June 15, 2015, the U.S. Department of State (DOS) announced that it is experiencing technical problems with its visa system, which have resulted in delays in printing visas and may require rescheduling some visa interviews.

As we previously reported, on November 20, 2014, the White House announced an “Immigration Accountability Executive Action” plan that would, among other relief, allow undocumented immigrants to apply to remain in the country legally and secure work authorization temporarily. (Read our report “What the President’s Immigration Accountability Executive Action Plan Means for Employers”).

President Obama’s recent deferred action directive is on hold for now. A federal judge in Texas granted a temporary injunction requested by 26 states, halting a potential grant of work authorization to as many as five million individuals who lacked lawful status. The administration’s Deferred Action for Parental Accountability or DAPA is designed to provide work authorization to parents of United States citizens or lawful permanent residents. DAPA is modeled after the administration’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) which has provided work authorization to close to one million individuals. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services claimed this week to have granted as many as one hundred thousand DAPA applications before the injunction.

On November 20, 2014, President Barack Obama announced his executive action plan to address the country’s “broken immigration system.” Referred to as the Immigration Accountability Executive Action, the plan will, among other steps, deploy additional resources to the border, focus deportation efforts on criminals and those who recently cross the border illegally, expand employment authorization for highly skilled workers, and provide certain undocumented immigrants temporary “deferred action” relief from deportation. (See the White House’s Fact Sheet on the Immigration Accountability Executive Action).

On Nov. 20, President Obama announced a wide-ranging series of executive actions to reform U.S. immigration policy. Although these unilateral actions will most certainly be challenged by Congress and in the courts, and although none are yet in effect, it is important for employers to immediately assess how the President’s initiative may impact their operations and employees.

On November 20, 2014, U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson issued a policy memorandum to the Director for U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) and Acting Director for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (“ICE”). The memorandum highlights several new policies and regulations intended to encourage the growth of U.S. businesses and create new jobs by enabling the hiring and retention of highly skilled foreign-born workers while also providing increased flexibility to these workers. The memorandum is part of a comprehensive Executive Action Plan proposed by President Obama.

Executive Summary: On November 20, 2014, President Barack Obama unveiled expansive executive actions on immigration, which will grant work authorization to millions of undocumented workers. In addition, the executive actions seek to boost the economy by streamlining the legal immigration process for graduates of U.S. STEM programs, professionals, highly skilled foreign workers, and entrepreneurs.