BIG Immigration Law Blog

Latest from BIG Immigration Law Blog

July 20, 2020

Posting early morning on July 20, but dated July 18, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) confirmed that employers have an additional 30-day extension to the flexibilities in rules related to Form I-9 compliance. This relaxation of the requirement to physically inspect all new hires’ identity and employment eligibility documentation was granted earlier this year, extended in May, and in June. The expiration date for these accommodations is now August 19, 2020.…

BIG Immigration Law Blog

Still No Word From ICE On Virtual I-9s

By Dawn Lurie

July 17, 2020

As of early Friday morning, July 17, there’s been no announcement by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) confirming whether it will continue the flexibility granted in the Form I-9 process, temporarily suspending the in-person physical inspection requirement. ICE originally announced the relaxation on March 20, as employers were beginning to grapple with COVID-19 work-from-home and shelter-in-place orders. The initial guidance allowed companies to review “Section 2 documents remotely (e.g., over video link, fax or email, etc.)…

BIG Immigration Law Blog

Trump Administration Defrosts ICE’s International Student Directive

By Dawn Lurie & Randel Johnson

July 15, 2020

The Trump administration, in response to a lawsuit filed by Harvard University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology, as well as several other suits, agreed to rescind its surprise Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) directive. We previously blogged about ICE’s Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) July 6th announcement, prohibiting foreign students from studying in the United States where their colleges and universities had canceled in-person class instruction.…

BIG Immigration Law Blog

ICE Gives the Cold Shoulder to Foreign Students

By Dawn Lurie & Angelo A. Paparelli

July 8, 2020

student-visa-denied-seal-stamped-in-passport-customs-office-picture-id1144494624

This blog was updated on July 8th to reflect the Harvard and MIT lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced a policy change on July 6 that will substantially disrupt higher education for the fall semester. This major change in policy was issued without any opportunity for notice and comment by the public. Despite the resurgent COVID-19 pandemic, ICE announced that it will no…

BIG Immigration Law Blog

Pursuing a National Interest Exception to the Presidential Entry Bans on Economic Grounds — Not A Fool’s Errand

By Angelo A. Paparelli

July 6, 2020

We’ve seen this movie before. Scene 1: The President issues a proclamation in reliance on his authority to restrict the entry of certain noncitizens under Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) § 212(f) so long as he asserts that allowing them in would be “detrimental to the interests of the United States.” Scene 2: The proclamation creates exceptions to the entry bans based on the national interests of the United States (among other grounds). Scene 3: …

BIG Immigration Law Blog

Register for Seyfarth’s Presidential Proclamation Pop-Up and Return to Business I-9 Webinars

By Dawn Lurie

June 24, 2020

Please join members of Seyfarth’s Immigration and Immigration Compliance teams for upcoming sessions on the recent presidential proclamations on immigration and virtual I-9 compliance concerns as they relate to returning to work in the COVID-19 era. Register today! Friday, June 26, 2020 Immigration & Presidential Proclamations – What it Means for the Business Community https://www.seyfarth.com/news-insights/immigration-and-presidential-proclamations-what-it-means-for-the-business-community.html Monday, June 29, 2020 Return to Business: Virtual I-9 and other COVID Compliance Concerns https://www.seyfarth.com/news-insights/return-to-business-immigration-compliance-i-9-return-to-work-rtw-best-practices.html If you have any questions regarding…

BIG Immigration Law Blog

FAQ – New Proclamation Suspending Entry of H-1B, L-1, J-1, and H-2B Nonimmigrants

By Gabriel Mozes, Mahsa Aliaskari & James W. King

June 24, 2020

Seyfarth Synopsis: President Trump issued a new entry ban directly affecting foreign nationals in H-1B, H-2B, J-1 and L-1 status. Below is a list of 20 questions and answers that have surfaced in the first 24 hours since the proclamation was published. 1. When does the entry ban take effect and for how long? The entry ban portion of the proclamation takes effect at 12:01 a.m. Eastern Standard Time on June 24, 2020. The proclamation…

BIG Immigration Law Blog

Litigation Victories Force USCIS to Rescind Restrictive H-1B Memoranda — Agency Also Offers Unclear Guidance on H-1B “Nonproductive” Status

By Seyfarth Shaw LLP

June 23, 2020

By Angelo A. Paparelli In the wake of recent losses in the federal courts, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) – on June 17, 2020 – issued a memorandum that rescinds two agency policies which, for more than ten years, had forced employers of H-1B (Specialty Occupation) workers stationed at customer worksites to submit voluminous and burdensome evidence. Thankfully, under the new interpretation such evidence will no longer be required. The June 17 memorandum also…

BIG Immigration Law Blog

A Win for Dreamers: Supreme Court Rejects Bid to end DACA

By Mahsa Aliaskari & Deeba Fahami

June 19, 2020

dreamers-yes-concept-using-chalk-on-slate-blackboard-picture-id910507498 (1)

Seyfarth Synopsis: The Supreme Court allows DACA to proceed on the grounds that DHS did not meet the regulatory Administrative Procedures Act requirements in rescinding the program. The Court did not rule on the legality of the DACA program itself. In the Supreme Court’s June 18th decision on Department of Homeland Security v. Regents of the University of California, the Court rejected an attempt to dismantle the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program on…

BIG Immigration Law Blog

ICE Extends Virtual I-9 Flexibility for 30 Days: Announcement Does Not Address Increasing Employer Questions

By Dawn Lurie & Angelo A. Paparelli

June 19, 2020

On June 16, 2020, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) once again announced a 30-day extension of flexibility for the remote completion of Form I-9 (Employment Eligibility Verification), and a dispensation from the usual rule requiring an in-person review of original documents of an employee’s identity and employment eligibility within three days of hire. The flexibility now runs until July 18th.…

BIG Immigration Law Blog

Blog Authors

Better Late Than Never: ICE Announces Another Extension to I-9 Compliance Flexibility

Still No Word From ICE On Virtual I-9s

Trump Administration Defrosts ICE’s International Student Directive

ICE Gives the Cold Shoulder to Foreign Students

Pursuing a National Interest Exception to the Presidential Entry Bans on Economic Grounds — Not A Fool’s Errand

Register for Seyfarth’s Presidential Proclamation Pop-Up and Return to Business I-9 Webinars

FAQ – New Proclamation Suspending Entry of H-1B, L-1, J-1, and H-2B Nonimmigrants

Litigation Victories Force USCIS to Rescind Restrictive H-1B Memoranda — Agency Also Offers Unclear Guidance on H-1B “Nonproductive” Status

A Win for Dreamers: Supreme Court Rejects Bid to end DACA

ICE Extends Virtual I-9 Flexibility for 30 Days: Announcement Does Not Address Increasing Employer Questions

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