BIG Immigration Law Blog

Latest from BIG Immigration Law Blog

January 13, 2021

By Dawn Lurie and Tieranny L. Cutler Likely triggered by complications resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic[1] and increases in processing times to replace permanent resident cards, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced on January 12 that the agency will issue a revised Form I-797, Notice of Action, for all Form I-90[2] applications filed beginning in January 2021. This I-797 notice will serve as a receipt notice for the I-90, as well…

BIG Immigration Law Blog

What’s New in the New Year? Initial I-9 Musings & Treasures from 2020

By Dawn Lurie

January 13, 2021

By Dawn Lurie With a new Administration moving into Washington D.C. amidst tension and confusion, immigration compliance remains top of mind for employers. I know that because I hear from H.R. leadership, General Counsel’s offices, administrators running small family businesses, and shift managers at local pizza places across the country. Some companies tell me they continue to “work from home,” some never left the workplace, and others are operating in a hybrid model. Whatever the…

BIG Immigration Law Blog

U.S. Requires Negative COVID-19 Tests for International Air Passengers

By Seyfarth Shaw LLP

January 13, 2021

By: Jake Campbell and Gabriel Mozes Seyfarth Synopsis: Effective January 26, 2021, all international passengers (with minor exceptions) traveling by air must provide a negative COVID-19 viral test to enter the U.S. Alternatively, passengers may provide results proving recovery from COVID-19 with a doctor or physician authorizing international travel. I. Negative COVID-19 Test Requirement The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (“CDC”) order requires that all internationally arriving U.S. air passengers (ages 2 and…

BIG Immigration Law Blog

E-Verify Rings in the New Year with Shadows of 2020

By Dawn Lurie

January 6, 2021

Blog updated January 7 with USCIS clarifications found below. As employers across the country started 2021 with optimism for a better year, E-Verify was stuck in 2020, experiencing a short period of technical trouble. The site was down unexpectedly from Monday, January 5 at 1:53 PM EST until Tuesday, January 6 at 8:06 PM EST. Both the Web Services and Direct Access portals were affected. Background on the Program E-Verify was first authorized by Congress…

BIG Immigration Law Blog

President Trump Extends Immigrant and Nonimmigrant Visa Ban

By Seyfarth Shaw LLP

January 5, 2021

By: Tieranny L. Cutler, Michelle Gergerian, and Jason Burritt Seyfarth Synopsis: Previously scheduled to expire on December 31, 2020, Proclamations 10052 and 10014 have been extended by President Trump until March 31, 2021. These visa bans will continue to restrict the issuance of certain immigrant and nonimmigrant visas, as well as travel to the United States by certain nonimmigrants, including those in H-1B, H-2B, J-1 and L-1 status. The newly issued proclamation also…

BIG Immigration Law Blog

About Face: President-Elect Biden’s Task of Rescinding Trumpian Immigration Policies

By Seyfarth Shaw LLP

December 8, 2020

From Seyfarth’s December 7, 2020 Policy Matters Newsletter: President-Elect Biden has indicated that he will seek to completely overhaul the current administration’s immigration policies, as well rescind the numerous Executive Orders issued by President Trump to enforce those policies. As we discussed in our Election 2020 Special Report, Biden supports expanding guest-worker programs, maintaining family preferences, giving a green card to everyone who earns a doctorate from an American university, increasing refugee admissions, and…

BIG Immigration Law Blog

Big-Picture, Clean-Slate Immigration Reforms for the Biden-Harris Administration

By Seyfarth Shaw LLP

November 19, 2020

By Angelo A. Paparelli and Stephen Yale-Loehr As a new administration takes office on January 20, and the tantalizing prospect of enlightened immigration reforms looms on the horizon, an intriguing question has surfaced on Twitter: “Is there a progressive version of Stephen Miller? Someone who has (1) put in the time to understand how the immigration system works in great detail, (2) relentlessly committed to changing the system, and (3) is actually politically effective?” Austin …

BIG Immigration Law Blog

ICE Extends COVID I-9 Rules to December 31-Happy New Year!

By Dawn Lurie

November 18, 2020

By: Dawn M. Lurie Today, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced an extension of the flexibilities in rules related to Form I-9 compliance that was granted earlier this year. This announcement was expected in light of the increase in COVID-19 cases across the country. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) agreed to extend the policy until December 31, 2020.…

BIG Immigration Law Blog

Last Minute TPS Extension for South Sudan

By Dawn Lurie

November 3, 2020

By: Dawn M. Lurie Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Chad F. Wolf extended the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) designation for South Sudan for 18 months, from November 3, 2020 through May 2, 2022. Current beneficiaries who want to maintain their status must re-register Nov. 2, 2020, through January 4, 2021. The announcement also stated that U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) automatically extended the validity of certain Employment Authorization Documents (EADs) issued under the TPS…

BIG Immigration Law Blog

Hidden ICE Guidance On Virtual I-9s

By Dawn Lurie

October 21, 2020

Buried within the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) website is seemingly recent guidance regarding how to update “virtual” Forms I-9 after companies return to “normal business operations.” While it’s unclear when the guidance was actually published, we have been predicting an update to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Form I-9 Examples Related to Temporary COVID-19 Policies released in late June and further updated on July 27. So the fact that this guidance is…

BIG Immigration Law Blog

Blog Authors

Another Day, Another Rule to Remember: USCIS Adds New I-9 List A Document Combo

What’s New in the New Year? Initial I-9 Musings & Treasures from 2020

U.S. Requires Negative COVID-19 Tests for International Air Passengers

E-Verify Rings in the New Year with Shadows of 2020

President Trump Extends Immigrant and Nonimmigrant Visa Ban

About Face: President-Elect Biden’s Task of Rescinding Trumpian Immigration Policies

Big-Picture, Clean-Slate Immigration Reforms for the Biden-Harris Administration

ICE Extends COVID I-9 Rules to December 31-Happy New Year!

Last Minute TPS Extension for South Sudan

Hidden ICE Guidance On Virtual I-9s

Stay Connected

Company

Products

Support

New to the Network