The Immigration Channel

The Department of State (DOS) has issued a proposed rule that would raise consular service fees for several nonimmigrant visa (NIV) applications, Border Crossing Card (BCC) applications for Mexican citizens, and waivers of the two-year residency requirement for certain J ... More

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) published a final rule that withdraws the "Modification of Registration Requirement for Petitioners Seeking to File Cap-Subject H-1B Petitions" final rule, also known as the H-1B Selection Final Rule, issued January 8, 2021. That ... More

Note: The final rule discussed below was vacated by the U.S. Department of Labor on December 13, 2021. The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has announced a final rule, "Strengthening Wage Protections for the Temporary and Permanent Employment of Certain Aliens ... More

The Department of Labor's Employment and Training Administration (ETA) published a final rule, effective December 13, 2021, implementing a federal district court order vacating a controversial January 14, 2021 final rule that was initially promulgated in October 2020. The rule ... More

With the annual opening of the electronic registration process for H-1B cap-subject petitions expected in March 2022, now is the time for employers to begin finalizing their plans for the FY2023 H-1B cap season. Below is additional information and guidance ... More

The Secretary of State, in consultation with the Department of Homeland Security, has authorized consular officers to waive the in-person interview requirement for H-1, H-3, H-4, L, O, P, and Q nonimmigrant visa applicants who have a petition approved by ... More

According to reports, the Department of State (DOS) plans to launch a pilot program later this year to allow visa renewals in the United States for H and L nonimmigrant workers, who currently must leave the country to renew their ... More

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is advancing a proposed regulation that could bring significant updates to existing regulations governing the use of H-1B visas. The text of the proposed regulation, titled “Modernizing H-1B Requirements and Oversight, Providing Flexibility in ... More

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has completed its selection of registrations submitted during the initial registration period to reach the FY 2023 H-1B annual numerical limitation (Cap). USCIS has notified all prospective petitioners with selected registrations that they are ... More

USCIS announced today that it has received a sufficient number of FY 2023 H-1B Cap petitions needed to reach the annual quota of 65,000 for the H-1B Regular Cap and 20,000 for the H-1B US Master’s Cap. USCIS has completed ... More

Today, USCIS selected previously submitted H-1B Cap fiscal year (FY) 2022 electronic registrations using a random selection process after reaching the determination that additional registrations would be necessary to reach the H-1B Cap FY 2022 quota. The H-1B Cap petition ... More

USCIS has agreed to resume concurrent adjudication of H-4, L-2, and I-765 applications for spouses and minor children of H-1B and L-1 nonimmigrants when those applications are filed concurrently with the Form I-129. This policy change stems from a settlement ... More