Tag: immigration

Attorney Spotlight: Shehryar Chaudhry at BAL

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By Shail Sturm and Ryan Mernin Business immigration can present interesting challenges to immigration attorneys and their industry partners. Seasonal workloads and annual changes to the regulatory rhythm of petition filings sometimes disrupt the day-to-day operations even for industry leaders - not to mention delays and difficulties brought on by the global pandemic. But recent updates from USCIS seem to point toward a smoother process and more responsive regulatory environment. This week, Ryan and Shail spoke with Shehryar Chaudhry at Berry Appleman & Leiden to focus in on regulatory updates, USCIS' efforts to address consulate backlogs, and other upcoming ...

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Attorney Spotlight: Hiba Anver of EIG

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By Shail Sturm and Ryan Mernin Despite pandemic shocks, business immigration continues to be a strong route for the world's talent to enter the United States. Shail and Ryan caught up with Hiba M. Anver at Erickson Immigration Group to provide clarity on current trends and obstacles facing foreign nationals seeking entry to the United States on the H-1B visa. This entry in our Attorney Spotlight series continues our focus on emerging challenges and changes in the business immigration world. Park Evaluations: What visas do your firm typically handle and what trends have ...

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Reopening Continues: Impact on H-1B Visa Petitions

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By Ben Chappelow With Mark Rogers  Special thanks to Susanne Heubel, Special Counsel with Duane Morris, for contributing to this post. Be sure to follow Park Evaluations on LinkedIn for future updates. Introduction As vaccination rates increase and COVID-19 restrictions ease, companies will be looking to safely reopen offices. Reopening continues to present challenges as business leaders, especially in spaces served by foreign nationals immigrating the United States on a non-immigrant work visa, work hard to keep up with the latest guidance to ensure safe and effective workplaces. Leading IT services companies are transitioning to a hybrid model, where select employees will come into the office on designated workdays. Industry watchers believe this return-to-work model of work will have a comparative advantage ...

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Vaccine Mandates Restrict P-1A Athletes in the NBA

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By: Maddie Carlson As of early December, a memo issued by the National Basketball Association (“NBA”)  revealed that any unvaccinated athlete who possesses a temporary visa status will not be allowed to reenter the United States following international travel. This statement primarily pertains to those with the P-1A Athlete visa classification, which allows athletes to compete in the United States temporarily. Concurrently, the Canadian government also announced that non-vaccinated NBA athletes are now not allowed to enter the country to participate in competitions against their Toronto team. Both announcements threaten the legal status of U.S. athletes who have planned, and are expected to, participate in any upcoming basketball competitions in Toronto. Many NBA Athletes are eligible for the P-1A visa based ...

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Visa Extensions Granted for L-2 and H-4 Holders

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By: Annika Minton Spouses of L-1 and H-1B visa holders recently  got some good news. A US court decision is granting L-2 and H-4 visa holders an extension of their work authorization, lengthening the amount of time spouses can remain in the United States on work visas. L-2 visa holders will receive a 180-day auto extension of their work authorization (or an I-94 expiration date, whichever is shorter); and all H-4 visa holders will get extensions of their H-4 employment authorization document (EAD) until the expiration of their I-94s, or 180 days from the expiration of the prior EAD, whichever comes first. L-2 visa holders will get the extension automatically without applying for it, but H-4 visa holders are still required ...

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USCIS’s Response to the Afghanistan Conflict

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By Dillan Wright Intro With the withdrawal of US forces and subsequently rapid Taliban takeover of Afghanistan, there is a present and obvious need for clarity on the part of USCIS regarding the steps Afghani residents must take in order to take refuge in the United States. We will examine USCIS’s initial response to the crisis and offer a glance at how some organizations have responded in kind. USCIS’s Response USCIS last updated their policies for Afghani refugees on August 26, 2021, shortly after the closure of the US embassy in Kabul. Their site offers a comprehensive breakdown of how to achieve “parole”, including steps on how to apply, directions on waiving application fees, and a list of necessary documentation that must be ...

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Second Lottery for 2022 H-1B Applicants Conducted by USCIS

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By: Hannah Welbourn A second round of H-1B seekers has been selected to submit their petitions for the highly sought-after visa. This is the second year in a row that USCIS has conducted a second lottery, releasing a statement Thursday reading: “We recently determined that we needed to select additional registrations to reach the FY 2022 numerical allocations.” Last year’s decision to make another round of selections was largely affected by the initial COVID-19 outbreak, as many who were offered employment early in the year were not able to be hired as a result of the pandemic. The Trump Administration’s travel ban also impacted the decision, as many who had been initially selected were then unable to get into the US. Following ...

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Top 5 Things to Remember for a Successful PERM Advertising Campaign

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By: Rachel Horner When producing a PERM advertising campaign, there are several factors to consider: timeliness, accuracy, detail, and more. One mistake, and the applicant’s journey to obtaining their green card can be halted. Park Advertising knows that the stakes are especially high and is fully equipped to help. Throughout our experience with the DOL and PERM, we have seen our fair share of advertising pitfalls and have constantly tailored and adapted our services to help avoid and prevent such issues. Below is a rundown of important points to remember when undertaking a PERM advertising project—and what Park does to make that process easier. Make Sure the Ad is Correct in Every Sense The PERM process can be overwhelming, ...

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The Future of the Work Visa Under Biden’s Presidency

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By: Rachel Horner Joe Biden has a long list of pressing issues awaiting him once he is inaugurated as the 46th President. For the immigrants affected by the Trump Administration’s policies on work visas, there’s hope that immigration is towards the top of that list. While the Trump Administration has made attempts to restrict who can enter the country by revising America’s immigration system, the H-1B program became a larger target after the pandemic began to affect the United States. In June 2020, Trump issued Proclamation 10052, which suspended H-1B visas from being issued. Soon after, with the sharp decrease in immigration , USCIS almost furloughed a significant portion of their employees. However, a judge in California ...

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Major Flaw in New DOL Rule Taken to Court

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By: Rachel Horner Only a few weeks after its publication, the DOL’s new IFR, “Strengthening Wage Protections for the Temporary and Permanent Employment of Certain Aliens in the United States,” which restructured the wage level for H-1B employees, has been challenged to court twice. The first lawsuit, ITServe Alliance, Inc. v. Scalia, argued that the data behind the rule is inaccurate. Another lawsuit has since followed suit, led by the American Immigration Lawyers Association. According to Forbes, the lawsuit, entitled Purdue University et. al. v. Eugene Scalia et. al., argues that the new DOL rule unfairly mandates an annual salary of $208,000 for over 18,000 occupations.  Because the percentiles for many occupations have been increased ...

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