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USCIS Publishes EB-5 Modernization Rule: the Impact on the EB-5 Program

By Seyfarth Shaw LLP on July 26, 2019

By Dawn Lurie, Mark Katzoff, Angelo A. Paparelli and Randy Johnson Seyfarth Synopsis: On July 24, 2019, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), the immigration-benefits component of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), published a final regulation on “EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program Modernization” (the “Rule”) to reform the EB-5 program in the Federal Register. Absent successful court challenges, or the passage by Congress of EB-5 legislation, the Rule will take effect on November…

BIG Immigration Law Blog

ICE Chills the Summer with Thousands of Audit Notices Issued to Businesses Nationwide

By Dawn Lurie on July 22, 2019

This blogpost has been updated on July 23, 2019 with information regarding the number of audit notices issued. Seyfarth Synopsis: The temperature may be heating up in the nation’s capital, but Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is keeping things cool. ICE Acting Director, Matthew Albence, confirmed that almost 3330¹ Notices of Inspection (NOI) have already been served, across the 50 states and Puerto Rico, initiating Form I-9 audits for companies of all shapes and sizes. It is expected…

BIG Immigration Law Blog

Houses Passes Bill Lifting “Per-Country Caps”

By Seyfarth Shaw LLP & Dawn Lurie on July 11, 2019

By Randy Johnson and Dawn Lurie Seyfarth Synopsis: On July 10, 2019, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 1044 – the “Fairness for High-Skilled Immigrants Act of 2019,” on the Suspension Calendar[1] with a bipartisan vote of 365-65. The legislation, originally introduced by Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), would eliminate the existing “per-country cap” for employment-based immigrants while also increasing the per-country cap on family-based immigrant visas. The current employment-based system for immigrant visas…

BIG Immigration Law Blog

Too Natural for Naturalization: An Update

By Leon Rodriguez on July 1, 2019

On May 29, 2019, forty-seven members of Congress wrote a letter to Attorney General Bob Barr and Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Kevin McAleenan registering their disagreement with the application of USCIS policy guidance to those who have been employed in the legal cannabis industry. The letter’s signatories, led by Reps. Joe Neguse, Kelly Armstrong and Hakeem Jeffries, noted that thirty states and the District of Columbia have legalized cannabis for medical and/or recreational purposes.…

BIG Immigration Law Blog

Too Natural for Naturalization: Even Decriminalized Marijuana Can be a Bar to US Citizenship

By Leon Rodriguez on June 24, 2019

Seyfarth Synopsis: As a number of states and the District of Columbia have moved to permit possession, use and sale of marijuana for both medicinal and recreational purposes and the business of legalized cannabis distribution has grown exponentially, federal law banning such activity remains unchanged. Deeming the trend in state law irrelevant, federal immigration authorities have in fact moved in the opposite direction. Last month, on April 19, US Citizenship and Immigration Services announced policy …

BIG Immigration Law Blog

Immigration Haunting: Social Security Administration Resumes Issuing No-Match Notices

By Seyfarth Shaw LLP on May 16, 2019

By Angelo Paparelli Seyfarth Synopsis: The Social Security Administration has once again resumed issuing No-Match notices to employers. The notices alert businesses that SSA has identified data discrepancies between the agency’s records and employer-provided data submitted for payroll tax reporting to the IRS. Issuance of the notice triggers a duty upon employers to take action. While a No-Match notice may involve an innocent clerical mistake or an unreported name change, it could also offer a…

BIG Immigration Law Blog

FY 2020 Cap Reached

By Seyfarth Shaw LLP on April 9, 2019

Seyfarth Synopsis: USCIS Announces the FY 2020 H-1B Cap Reached. On April 5, 2019, United States Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that it received sufficient H-1B petitions to meet the regular H-1B quota (or “cap”) for Fiscal Year 2020, which begins on October 1, 2019. This means that USCIS received more than 65,000 H-1B petitions in the first week of filing (April 1 – April 5). USCIS will next determine if it received a…

BIG Immigration Law Blog

One Year “Wind-Down” Auto Extension Granted for Liberian Nationals with DED Status

By Seyfarth Shaw LLP on April 9, 2019

Seyfarth Synopsis: The Deferred Enforced Departure (DED) work authorization for eligible Liberian nationals has been extended automatically until March 30, 2020. While the previous wind-down period for DED was set for March 31, 2019, President Trump, on March 28, 2019, issued a presidential memorandum directing Secretary Nielson to provide continued work authorization for an additional 12-months. On April 3, the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USICS) published notice in the Federal Register with information on…

BIG Immigration Law Blog

Brexit: UK Parliament Votes to Delay Departure

By Seyfarth Shaw LLP on March 15, 2019

By: Deirdre M. Murphy The following is directed to organizations with a presence in the UK or who anticipate the need to place talent at a UK work site. Seyfarth Shaw’s Global Mobility Practice hosts attorneys licensed to practice in the UK, Canada, Ireland and Germany. The group has the capability to assist clients with obtaining work and residence visas for over 70 jurisdictions around the world. If we can assist you in placing talent,…

BIG Immigration Law Blog

Upcoming Webinar: Compliance Chatter Series Part 1: Inside E-Verify

By Dawn Lurie, Leon Rodriguez & Angelo A. Paparelli on March 13, 2019

Seyfarth Synopsis: On Friday, March 22, 2019, Seyfarth Shaw’s Immigration Compliance and Enforcement Group invites you to join the first webinar in our new Compliance Chatter Series: Inside E-Verify While, following the federal government shutdown, E-Verify has returned to a modicum of normality, increasing audits and other government oversight activities mean that employers need to pay careful attention to compliance issues in their use of E-Verify. Up until recently there has been little or no…

BIG Immigration Law Blog

Blog Authors

USCIS Publishes EB-5 Modernization Rule: the Impact on the EB-5 Program

ICE Chills the Summer with Thousands of Audit Notices Issued to Businesses Nationwide

Houses Passes Bill Lifting “Per-Country Caps”

Too Natural for Naturalization: An Update

Too Natural for Naturalization: Even Decriminalized Marijuana Can be a Bar to US Citizenship

Immigration Haunting: Social Security Administration Resumes Issuing No-Match Notices

FY 2020 Cap Reached

One Year “Wind-Down” Auto Extension Granted for Liberian Nationals with DED Status

Brexit: UK Parliament Votes to Delay Departure

Upcoming Webinar: Compliance Chatter Series Part 1: Inside E-Verify

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