Articles Discussing Employment-Related Visas.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the number of unfilled job openings increased by over three million in the last year. The construction industry has been particularly hard hit by labor shortages, causing many employers to turn to alternative hiring sources, including recruitment and hiring of foreign nationals. This can be a consistent and reliable source of labor in an otherwise difficult market.

As 2021 comes to an end, the White House and the Department of State have announced:

South African Travel Restrictions Lifted.

The 14-day travel restrictions on southern African countries will be lifted as of midnight on December 31, 2021. Adopted on November 29th, the restrictions based on spread of the

The U.S. secretary of state, in consultation with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), has authorized consular officers to waive in-person interviews for certain nonimmigrant visa applicants through the end of 2022.

Senate Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough has ruled for a third time that specific immigration provisions in the Build Back Better Act (BBBA) granting parole and work authorization to unauthorized aliens who entered the United States before January 1, 2011, cannot be included in the reconciliation bill because the policy changes outweigh

Recently, due to the availability of COVID-19 vaccines, many countries decided to lift their entry restrictions or change them in such a way that travelers who had recovered from COVID-19 infections or been vaccinated were allowed entry. Here is an overview of some of the current entry requirements for international

Applicants for Adjustment of Status to Permanent Residence will have more than 60 days after completing their medical examinations to file their Forms I-485 Adjustment of Status applications, USCIS has announced.

Due to COVID-19-related delays, USCIS has temporarily waived the requirement that a civil surgeon sign the Form I-693, Report

USCIS entered into a settlement agreement in Madkudu v. USCIS that may signal changes in how USCIS will determine which positions qualify as a “specialty occupation” for H-1B purposes. During the Trump Administration, USCIS often denied cases because more than one degree would meet the requirements for the position. The

In a move not seen since the introduction of the electronic H-1B registration process, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced a third round of lottery selections for the fiscal year (FY) 2022 H-1B cap season.

On November 12, 2021, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued policy guidance addressing the automatic extension of employment authorization for H-4, L-2, and E dependent spouses in response to a class action lawsuit.

On November 10, 2021, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) settled the class action lawsuit Shergill v. Mayorkas. The settlement agreement will update USCIS policy related to certain H-4 and L-2 spousal Employment Authorization Document (EAD) applications. Notably, the settlement agreement provides for an automatic extension of employment authorization for

Following months of crisis-level processing times for Form I-765 Applications for Employment Authorization on behalf of dependent spouses in L-21 and H-42 nonimmigrant visa status, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) has entered into a settlement agreement in Shergill v. Mayorkas, which expands opportunities for certain L-2 and H-4 visa

Nonimmigrant spouses of H-1B and L-1 visa holders with long-pending EAD applications have finally received some relief. Based upon a settlement in Shergill v. Mayokas, USCIS is making major policy changes. Going forward, certain H-4 spouses with pending EAD applications will be entitled to 180-day automatic extensions of their EAD

On November 10, 2021, the US Department of Homeland Security settled a lawsuit and agreed that the spouses of L-1 intracompany transferees (“L-2 Spouses”) will be granted employment authorization without the need for a separate employment authorization document (“EAD”). Federal law regulates employment authorization for foreign nationals in the United States, and employers face stiff penalties for employing unauthorized individuals.

In the past, the O-1 visa was how many foreign musicians and other artists were able to tour and work in the United States. Now, for many reasons, they may have to consider other strategies.

The O-1 visa category is for “artists of extraordinary ability” and obtaining O-1B visa status for

The average American may not know that some of the largest real estate developments in recent history were completed by foreign real estate companies. The L-1 nonimmigrant visa classification can provide a useful pathway for such multinational companies. See more in our publication here.