Business & the Workforce
Biden Administration Actions to Attract ‘International STEM Talent’ and Increase Global Competition
The Biden administration recently announced four actions intended to improve immigration “pathways” for noncitizens in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields. However, these changes are constrained by the delays at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and congressional limits on immigrant visa numbers. These actions include: Early Career STEM… Read More
Declining Immigration Is Leaving US Jobs Unfilled
The labor shortages currently afflicting many sectors of the U.S. economy are being aggravated by the arrival of fewer and fewer workers from abroad. Although immigration has been slowing since 2016, the biggest declines have occurred since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020. According to economists… Read More
Changing Cut Off Dates Leave India EB-3 Applicants in an Immigration Limbo
Annual limits on immigrant visa numbers, combined with processing delays and wasted numbers, mean even longer waits for people to become U.S. permanent residents. In November, the “cut off” date for visa eligibility retrogressed (moved backward in time) for people born in India who are in the employment-based (EB) third… Read More
Class Action Settlement Gives Second Chance to Qualifying US Employers for H-1B Petition Approval
A recent class action settlement is expected to result in U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) approving more market research analyst H-1B petitions. The lawsuit was filed by four U.S. employers whose H-1B petitions had been denied when USCIS determined that market research analysts were not a “specialty occupation”… Read More
Will Immigrant Investors and Regional Centers Benefit From Court Win or Has Time Run Out?
A recent court win that restored lower minimum investment amounts was good news for regional centers and immigrant investors in the EB-5 program. But the bad news is the EB-5 regional center program will end on June 30, because Congress did not extend it. While Congress may restore the program,… Read More
Lawsuits Challenge Change to H-1B Lottery Selection That Would Hurt Small Businesses, Start-ups
Businesses and industry organizations are among those pushing back against a rule that would change eligibility for filing an H-1B petition. The new rule would require the H-1B lottery selection to be conducted by salary level. A range of industries—from health care to higher education—that employ U.S. and H-1B workers… Read More
Another Trump Barrier Broken as DHS Withdraws Two Proposed Rules for Limiting Access to Legal Immigration
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) recently withdrew two rules proposed by the Trump administration. On the surface, it seems they have nothing in common: a proposed expansion in collecting biometrics and the proposed end to a program for foreign entrepreneurs to develop new ventures in the United States. But… Read More
Ban on J-1 Exchange and Other Employment-Based Visas Set to Expire
A ban blocking certain employment-based visas implemented and extended by former President Trump is set to expire on March 31. The ban has likely prevented hundreds of thousands of people from participating in the American economy. In June 2020, the Trump administration… Read More
USCIS Begins to Reverse Course on H-1B Petitions
Employers and workers are starting to see a shift from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) on unlawful restrictions of the H-1B specialty occupation visa category. Over the past nine months, USCIS rescinded three policy memoranda after federal courts found the agency’s positions to be contrary to the law and… Read More
The Biden Administration Is Already Supporting Employment-Based Immigration, But Uncertainty Remains
Business immigration has already benefited from the change in administrations. On January 25, President Biden issued an executive order directly replacing a Trump-era executive order that wreaked havoc on the H-1B visa category. Biden’s ‘Made in America’ Order The recent executive order adopted “Buy American” policies and revoked President… Read More
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