On May 24, 2020, President Trump issued a proclamation restricting travel from Brazil, which now has the second-highest number of confirmed coronavirus cases after the United States. The restrictions mirror those already in effect for China, Iran, UK, Ireland, and Europe’s Schengen Area (which includes 26 European countries).
Specifically, the order restricts and suspends the entry into the United States for individuals “who were physically present within the Federative Republic of Brazil during the 14-day period preceding their entry or attempted entry into the United ...
The COVID-19 crisis has strained the field of medicine in the United States more than any other time in the last 100 years. In an effort to provide some relief for nurses and doctors, legislators recently proposed The Healthcare Workforce Resilience Act on April 30, 2020. The Act seeks to recapture up to 40,000 (15,000 for doctors and 25,000 nurses) unused green card numbers from the prior fiscal year and make them available to nurses (25,000) and doctors (15,000). Families of the medical workers would be included and would not count against the 40,000 allotment. Importantly, green ...
On April 22, 2020, President Trump signed an Executive Order restricting immigration to the United States with the stated intent of protecting U.S. citizens from job competition and preserving medical resources as the economy aims to reopen following the COVID-19 crisis. The President initially indicated an intent to suspend all immigration, but the final Executive Order was much more limited.
Effective April 23, the order temporarily suspends the entry of those seeking to enter the United States as new Lawful Permanent Residents (more commonly known as Green Card holders) for 60 ...
There are many COVID-19 challenges facing employers in the current environment, including how to properly handle H-1B employees working from home or another remote work location. There are special notice and posting obligations associated with H-1B sponsorship, and an employer must comply with these obligations when the employee’s work location changes and/or expands.
When an H-1B employee's remote work location falls within a normal commuting distance from their primary work location, a new Labor Condition Application (LCA) and amended H-1B petition are not generally ...
On March 20, 2020, the DHS announced that it is temporarily relaxing some of the employer requirements for completing Employment Eligibility Verification Form I-9 (“Form I-9”) as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Prior to the DHS’s announcement on Friday, all employers completing the Form I-9 process for new employees were required to physically examine the original work authorization and identification documents that employees presented upon hire. Additionally, the employee had to be physically present with the document examiner. Physical examination of the ...
Effective March 20, 2020, USCIS announced it has suspended all I-129 and I-140 Premium Processing requests. Petitions not receipted in by March 20th will have the I-907 Premium Processing application and $1,440.00 fee returned, although properly submitted I-129 and I-140 petitions will continue to be processed. This announcement follows the suspension of Premium Processing on all FY 2021 Cap-Subject H-1B petitions just days earlier. In recent years, it is not uncommon to see several categories, including H-1B Cap-Subject petitions, H-1B extensions, and other non-immigrant ...
It is no secret that teacher shortages are proving to be a significant challenge for school districts across the country. The Learning Policy Institute estimates the country-wide shortage was at as many as 110,000 teachers by the end of the 2017-2018 school year. In its annual report on the number of teachers leaving the classroom in South Carolina, the South Carolina Center for Educator Recruitment Retention and Advancement (“CERRA”) confirmed more than 6,500 teachers left their positions during the 2018-2019 school year. While the number of teachers leaving the profession ...
It’s official, almost. Implementation of the new H-1B filing process for 2020 is fast approaching and more details have been released. DHS published a notice in the Federal Register on January 9, 2020, which officially announced the process.
Under the new system, employers, or their legal representative, will complete an online registration process, at a cost of $10.00 per petition, which requires basic information about the company and the requested H-1B beneficiary. Information such as employer legal name, employer identification number, country of birth and citizenship ...
As 2019 draws to a close and millions of people contemplate their resolutions for the new year, USCIS made good on their promise and announced the implementation of a new H-1B filing process for 2020. USCIS originally announced the change in early 2019, but delayed implementation. The new process significantly changes the H-1B petition timeline and requires employers to prioritize foreign national hiring decisions earlier than previous years.
In the past, employers seeking to sponsor foreign nationals for H-1B visas prepared and filed full visa petitions in the first five ...
On August 7, 2019, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) conducted a raid of seven Mississippi food processing plants, arresting 680 employees suspected of working without proper documentation. Since the Trump administration came into office, ICE has significantly stepped up worksite enforcement by ramping up the number of I-9 audits. In Fiscal Year 2018, HSI conducted 5,981 I-9 inspections, compared to 1,360 in Fiscal Year 2017.
Increase in Form I-9 Penalties – How Small Mistakes Can Cost You Big Money
A recent Department ...