The Department of Labor (DOL) made an announcement today on the steps it will take to comply with the federal court ruling issued on 12/01/2020 invalidating both DOL Prevailing Wage Interim Final Rule and DHS H-1B Specialty Occupation Interim Final Rule. DOL plans to revert to the OES prevailing wage online data which was applicable before the prevailing wage increase on 10/08/2020 (“original OES prevailing wage data”), and the Implementation timeframe is as follows: The or

A federal district court in California issued a ruling today setting aside both DOL Prevailing Wage Interim Final Rule and DHS H-1B Specialty Occupation Interim Final Rule. The DOL Prevailing Wage Interim Final Rule which took effect on 10/08/2020 changed the prevailing wage levels for H-1B, E-3, and H-1B1 and PERM cases, resulting in higher OES-based prevailing wages. Today’s court ruling is immediately effective, invalidating the DOL and DHS rules, but the government is ex

A Department of Labor (DOL) Interim Final Rule (the new rule) which took effect yesterday (10/08/2020) changes the prevailing wage levels for H-1B, E-3, and H-1B1 and PERM cases, resulting in higher OES-based prevailing wages. Specifically, the following shows how much the increases are compared to previous wage levels: Level I Wage: 45th percentile (from 17th percentile) Level II Wage: 62nd percentile (from 34th percentile) Level III Wage: 78th percentile (from 50th percenti

USCIS Has Resumed Selecting More H-1B Registrations USCIS has already resumed selecting more H-1B registrations for this year. We have noticed that some cases where the H-1B registrations were not selected in March 2020 but were selected this week. This is great news for H-1B candidates who were not selected earlier in March. We would like to remind employers to double check the H-1B registration status in your myUSCIS account for any updates. If a candidate is selected, yo

After the previous proclamation on April 22, 2020 suspending immigration, President Donald Trump announced new plans today to suspend the entry of certain non-immigrant visa holders in response to the COVID-19 crisis as an effort to mitigate the consequences of the pandemic on the U.S. economy and labor force. The order to suspend and limit the entry of non-immigrant visa holders will go into effect on June 24, 12:01 AM EDT, and extend until December 31, 2020. It may be furth

Monday night, April 20, 2020, President Donald Trump announced his plans to suspend immigration in response to the COVID-19 crisis as an effort to mitigate the consequences of the pandemic on the U.S. economy and labor force. On Wednesday, April 22, 2020, the President announced the order to suspend and limit the entry of certain aliens as immigrants for 60 days starting on 11:59pm on April 23, 2020. The limitation restricts specifically aliens currently outside the US who d

Today, USCIS’s new H-1B cap registration system is open for employers to sign-up. If your company plans to sponsor H-1B workers for employment this year, then the employer must set up a registration account. To set up an account, go to https://my.uscis.gov/ and sign up as instructed. After you create the password and set up the security questions, go to the Account Type page and choose “H-1B Registrant” as your account type. The other choices are not for H-1Bs. Make a reco

Last Friday, USCIS announced that the long-anticipated H-1B electronic registration system will be implemented for fiscal year 2021, with the first registration period from March 1 through March 20, 2020. Highlights Employers must electronically register and pay $10 H-1B registration free before filing any petition. Each beneficiary must have a separate registration and be named in the registration. USCIS will randomly select from total registrations based on number of regist

On January 30th 2019, DHS announced the final decision on its proposed changes to H-1B cap-subject petitions. The two crucial decisions are as follows: Beginning on April 1st 2019, the cap-selection order reversal will apply to FY 2020 petitions, in which the regular lottery will be chosen before the advanced-degree lottery. This decision is meant to improve the lottery chances for applicants holding a Master’s degree or higher, with an estimated increase of up to 16% (~5,340

After instating a suspension of premium processing for all H-1B visas last April, USCIS extended it in September to an estimated end date of February 19, 2019. Fortunately, USCIS has lifted this suspension as of January 28, 2019 for certain H-1B petitions. This includes H-1B 2019 Cap petitions, meaning both Regular and Masters Quota petitions. Any employers wanting to expedite their fiscal year 2019 H-1B RFE responses can submit their premium processing request alongside thei

Proposal Overview On December 3rd, USCIS published a proposal to regulate a new registration system for H-1B, in which employers must pre-register for the cap selection system online and the order of the advance-degree and regular lotteries will be swapped. Public feedback on the proposal will be accepted for 30 days starting from the proposal being published. FY 2020 Cap Filings USCIS is aiming to have new system in place for FY 2020 cap season beginning in April 1, 2019. I

In November, USCIS published a policy memorandum clarifying details about the L-1 application requirement which states that a qualifying organization must have employed a principal L-1 beneficiary abroad for 1 continuous year out of the 3 years before the filing of the petition. The details include clarifications about how the year is counted, what causes adjustments to the three-year period of reference, and what does or does not interrupt the continuous year. The relevant p

Earlier this month, DHS and DOL, both of which have released their fall 2018 regulatory agendas. Among other regulations, there are a few key notes regarding H1B changes. In the agenda, USCIS has sent a draft regulation to the OMB for review, looking to possibly change the petitioning process for H1B Cap filings. While the draft itself is confidential, it could likely be based off of USCIS’s 2011 proposal. The forecast changes are outlined as follows. 1. Pre-registration: US

In order to help reduce the overall processing time for H-1B petitions, the USCIS has recently decided to extend and expand its temporary premium processing suspension. This suspension mostly affects cap-subject H-1B petitions, as well as certain others. H-1B petitions filed at the Vermont and California service centers are affected. Please keep in mind that this excludes cap-exempt filings. For more information, please follow this link: https://www.uscis.gov/news/uscis-exten

With all of the recent controversy surrounding DACA, we believe it is important to review some of the facts, concerns and possible resources. Earlier this month, Attorney General Jeff Sessions shattered a federal judge’s decision to fully restart the program by August 23. The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, started by former President Barack Obama in 2012, has allowed for about 800,000 who immigrated to the United States illegally to remain here. The qualifyin

The USCIS recently issued a Policy Memorandum that may have an influence on you if you intend to file an application, petition or request with USCIS. After understanding the nature of the policy update, you will see why we strongly advise for you to follow some simple instructions with regard to submitting your application, petition or request. This Policy Memorandum gives guidance to USCIS adjudicators regarding their discretion to deny any application, petition or request. 

The Immigration Act of 1990 created the H1B visa program, authorizing employers to hire foreign employees for up to 6 years. The job opportunities supported by the program are those that require highly specialized knowledge and a Bachelor’s degree or higher. In order to participate in the program, employers must submit applications to the U.S. Department of Labor attesting that no U.S. citizen worker would be displaced by the prospective foreign worker. The application must t

USCIS has issued some RFEs and denials for H-1B change of status petitions where the beneficiary has used more than 12 months of combined CPT and OPT at the same degree level. USCIS claims that “by accepting more than 12 months of CPT and OPT at the same educational level, particularly where CPT occurs after the foreign national has used same-level OPT from a degree program at a different institution, the foreign national has failed to maintain valid F-1 status.” This interpr

A proposal with new regulations that would potentially prevent H-1B visa extensions beyond 6 years is reportedly being considered by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The new regulations would potentially stop many foreign workers from keeping their H-1B visas while their green card applications are pending. Under current law, the American Competitiveness in the Twenty-First Century Act (AC21), DHS can grant an H-1B extension to an H-1B worker who has reached the 6 y