The U.S. Supreme Court has heard oral argument in a case in which it will decide whether a state may prosecute individuals for using false information on a Form I-9 Employment Eligibility Verification, a federal employment eligibility verification form. Our article is here.…

President Donald Trump’s new “Presidential Proclamation on the Suspension of Entry of Immigrants Who Will Financially Burden the United States Healthcare System” likely will reduce drastically the number of legal immigrants admitted to the U.S. It is scheduled to go into effect on November 3, 2019. Exempting refugees and asylees, the Proclamation suspends the entry of aliens who will purportedly “financially burden the United States healthcare system” because such entries are “detrimental to the interests…

Here is our update on the required use of E-Verify by employers in the construction industry in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.…

Although not legal on the federal level, the marijuana industry is a fast-growing economic sector in the U.S. Thirty-three states have legalized medical marijuana and 10 of those have legalized recreational use. Based on online job search websites, there are about 200,000 to 300,000 marijuana-related jobs available (many on the lower-paid agricultural-side). As the industry grows, the need for more high-skilled workers, such as chemists, is likely to grow. Canada legalized marijuana in 2018 and…

Continuing the Administration’s high scrutiny of businesses using foreign workers, including highly skilled visas, the Department of Homeland Security has announced that it will be conducting inspections of employers employing F-1 students using STEM Optional Practical Training to work. Under the STEM regulations, ICE has the discretion to conduct on-site inspections. Reportedly, it has started inspections. The purpose of the inspections is to confirm that employers and student-employees are complying with all STEM OPT…

Since 2017, USCIS under the Trump Administration has essentially directed its adjudicators to find ways to deny H-1B petitions. The most recent statistics on Requests for Evidence (RFEs) and denials certainly support this, but evidence has been made available for analysis. Through a FOIA request, instructional documents for USCIS adjudicators issued after President Donald Trump’s “Buy American, Hire American” Executive Order (BAHA) provide guidance on denying benefits to foreign nationals and the companies that want…

DHS has proposed a fee of $10 per H-1B petition. The agency considers this to be an “appropriate, nominal fee” to recover some costs involved. In January 2019, DHS published the rule establishing an H-1B electronic registration system. At that time, no fee was proposed, but the “door was left open.” In mid-August, DHS announced that there would be fee. As to what information will be required, that is still a bit up in the…