Category: Immigration

Canada Launches New Program To Attract U.S. H-1B Visa Holders

A new program through which highly skilled foreign workers with U.S. H-1B visas can live and work in Canada based on their U.S. visa status was flooded with so many applications that it filled its quota in one day. The program’s wild popularity underscores the problems with the current U.S. H-1B visa program, both for employers and H-1B visa beneficiaries....

DHS Issues Final Rule Allowing I-9 Remote Verification Option for E-Verify Participants

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has published a final rule that will permit employers that participate in the E-Verify program and that used the temporary remote verification policy to continue to conduct I-9 verifications remotely. The final rule essentially makes permanent—with some significant changes—the temporary policy that DHS implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic and that was scheduled to expire July 31,...

USCIS Completes FY 2024 H-1B Visa Lottery

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has notified employers who were selected during its recent annual H-1B visa lottery that they can now file H-1B visa petitions for the upcoming fiscal year. Selected petitioners were able to begin the H-1B petition process starting April 1 and must file within the period indicated on their registration selection notice, which should be at...

USCIS Announces That Current Version of I-9 Form Should Be Used Until Further Notice

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) agency within the Department of Homeland Security has announced that the current version of the Form I-9, “Employment Eligibility Verification” (version OMB No. 1615-0047, dated October 21, 2019), should be used until further notice even though the form shows an expiration date of October 31, 2022. The I-9 is used by U.S. employers...

Recent Bias Settlements Serve as a Reminder of IRCA’s Nondiscrimination Protections

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) recently announced the settlement of some 20 enforcement actions brought against multiple employers involving allegations that job postings made on college career websites contained unlawful citizenship status restrictions in violation of the 1986 Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA), as amended. DOJ alleged that the settling employers advertised job postings on college career pages...