In response to the changed H-1B petition amendment requirements following the Simeio decision, the U.S. State Department has circulated a cable to U.S. Consulates worldwide with specific guidance to consular officers on how to address H-1B visa stamping petitions where there is change of employment. While the cable does not create new policies, it specifically [...]
In a sudden and surprising move, a number of immigration-related provisions were inserted into the must-pass government funding bill, titled “Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2016” The bill passed both the House and the Senate and was signed into law by President Obama on [...]
With the end of the year quickly approaching, many of our clients will travel abroad during the Holiday season to visit their homelands and will need to renew their current U.S. visas. We would like to remind our Indian clients and friends about the Interview Waiver Program (IWP) which allows some qualified individuals to apply [...]
The U.S. State Department has just released the January 2016 2015 Visa Bulletin which is the fourth Visa Bulletin for the FY2016 fiscal year. The major [...]
A recent class action lawsuit serves as a reminder that employment policies for H-1B workers must comply not only with Federal immigration laws, but also state and local labor rules. On November 9, 2015, Accenture PLC, a global professional services company, became the defendant in a class action lawsuit filed in New York State. The [...]
On October 9th 2015, California Governor Jerry Brown approved Assembly Bill No. 622 (AB 622). AB 622 is intended to prevent employment discrimination effected through improper use of the federal E-Verify system – the mostly voluntary online program allowing registered employers to check the employment authorization of new employees. AB 622 does not mandate or [...]
Foreign nationals who are in the U.S. on a nonimmigrant status are aware (we hope) that normally they need to have a valid U.S. visa stamp in order to reenter the U.S. after a trip [...]
The U.S. State Department has just released the December 2015 Visa Bulletin which is the third Visa Bulletin for the new FY2016 fiscal year. The major headline in the upcoming month’s Visa Bulletin [...]
As we are about to get into the peak of the U.S. election season, some of the U.S. presidential candidates have expressed opinions on immigration, in connection with the campaign, or previously, and it is natural for some foreign citizens, both living in the U.S. and abroad, to be interested in contributing money and/or services [...]
