Tag: Immigration

DOL Guidance Spotlights FLSA, FMLA, and Visa Program Retaliation

On March 10, 2022, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) Wage and Hour Division (WHD) issued guidance on forms of prohibited retaliation under various laws the agency enforces, including the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), immigration visa programs, and other laws and executive orders. The new guidance suggests […]

Employers Receiving Notifications After 2022 H-1B Visa Lottery

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) held its annual H-1 visa cap lottery in late March 2022. As of this writing, the first 85,000 cases to be selected for the annual allocation are receiving notifications. Then, the successful employers have 90 days to complete and submit an H-1B petition to the agency for employment to […]

Immigration Updates in COVID-19 Times

International borders have been closed for 18 months, U.S. embassies abroad have been operating at a limited capacity, and yet employers struggle to find and retain talent. Corporate immigration, including H-1Bs and other visas, continues to provide a solution for savvy employers. Below are the most important immigration changes within the last year.

marijuana

Immigration, Marijuana Don’t Mix

If members of your workforce are immigrants (they have a green card) or are working temporarily in the United States in any visa category, including as farm workers, hospitality workers, healthcare workers, or students, they shouldn’t use any drugs or substances prohibited under federal or state drug schedules. The schedules prohibit cannabis, or marijuana, use […]

Changes to rules regarding Canadian citizenship

by Arlin Sahinyan In a time when immigration rules and regulations in many jurisdictions are becoming more stringent, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has made changes to the citizenship guidelines making grants of Canadian citizenship more accessible to permanent residents of Canada. On June 19, Bill C-6 received Royal Assent resulting in immediate changes […]

Suit filed over Trump’s phaseout of DACA: what employers should know

On September 5, President Donald Trump announced that the federal Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program will be phased out over the next six months. In response, 11 states and the District of Columbia have filed suit, alleging that the repeal of DACA violates the Equal Protection Clause of the U.S. Constitution and the […]

New immigration bill called radical and not proemployment

The new immigration bill President Donald Trump touts as a way to “restore our competitive edge in the 21st century” calls for cutting immigration levels in half over a decade and creating a points-based system that favors highly educated and skilled immigrants with English ability over those with family in the United States. The bill […]

Supreme Court’s action on ‘travel ban’ eases some employer concerns

by Tammy Binford and Holly Jones The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to allow a limited form of President Donald Trump’s “travel ban” to take effect means people from the affected countries who work for employers in the United States are probably exempt from the ban. But the decision doesn’t clear up all questions for those […]

Supreme Court ruling allows ‘travel ban’ Executive Order to take limited effect

On June 26, the last day of the current term, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to determine whether the “travel ban” Executive Order’s (EO) focus on primarily Muslim countries violates the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and whether the EO exceeds President Donald Trump’s authority granted by the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). The […]