Since 2013, a growing number of states have been issuing driver’s licenses in one form or another to undocumented workers. New York and New Jersey are just joining the list that includes California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, New Mexico, Oregon, Nevada, Utah, Vermont, Washington, and the District of Columbia. The trend is continuing in other states. Following passage of the New York “Green Light” bill, the Trump Administration has decided to conduct…

The peak H-2B filing season opened on January 2, 2020, and by the next day the Office of Foreign Labor Certification (OFLC) in the Department of Labor (DOL) had received approximately 5,000 applications for 87,000 seasonal workers. Only 33,000 are available for the spring/summer period, which starts on April 1, 2020. Another 33,000 are available for the winter season. Once the 33,000 visas run out for the spring/summer period, DHS can decide to make more…

U.S. firefighters coming to help extinguish the devastating forest fires were cheered when they arrived at the airport in Sydney, Australia. In the past, in what became a reciprocal arrangement, Australian firefighters have assisted U.S. firefighters. A different sort of reciprocity has led to the sudden increase in visa fees for Australians coming to the United States. This increase was announced in response to President Donald Trump’s 2017 “Protecting the Nation from Foreign Terrorist Entry…

USCIS is starting the year with a growing backlog of processing delays. In May 2019, a bi-partisan group of Senators wrote to USCIS requesting information on why the service-oriented agency adjudicating immigration benefits, such as work authorization, is disrupting American businesses through administrative inefficiencies. Here are some of the facts: For FY 2018, the gross backlog at USCIS reached 5,591,839, representing a 69% increase since 2014 and a 29% increase since 2016; Case completion…

After receiving several H-1B approvals for periods shorter than requested, IT consulting services company Flexera Global has sued USCIS in the federal court for the Southern District of Texas requesting an order directing USCIS to approve H-1B petitions for the periods requested. The Trump Administration has made it harder to onboard workers requiring an H-1B visa. RFE and denial rates for H-1B petitions have skyrocketed, and delays in processing are expected. The Administration has particularly…

The federal government’s practice of designating individuals born in American Samoa as “noncitizen nationals” is unconstitutional, U.S. District Judge Clark Waddoups has ruled. Fitisemanu et al. v. U.S., No. 1:18-cv-00036-CW (D. Utah Dec. 12, 2019). Judge Waddoups has directed the government to recognize the citizenship of individuals born in American Samoa. U.S. Citizenship can be either acquired at birth or after birth. It is acquired at birth if a person is: Born in the U.S.…