Immigration

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has finalized the rule overhauling the H‑1B cap selection process, replacing the longstanding random lottery with a wage-based, weighted selection system. The final rule makes no changes to the regulatory text from the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) in September 2025. The rule is scheduled to take effect February 27, 2026, positioning it to govern the upcoming H-1B cap lottery in March 2026.… Continue Reading

Following acting chair Andrea Lucas’s earlier pledge to more aggressively enforce civil rights laws against employers who disadvantage U.S. workers, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has released a new Technical Assistance document cautioning companies that preferring H-1B visa holders may constitute unlawful national origin discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act.… Continue Reading

U.S. employers and employees with nonimmigrant visa status should be aware of significant disruptions in the scheduling of H-1B and H-4 visa interviews at U.S. embassies and consulates around the world, with the potential for broader disruptions. Many interviews scheduled on or after December 15, 2025, are being unilaterally rescheduled to several months later—some as late as June 2026—to allow for implementation of new Department of State security procedures, which require U.S.… Continue Reading

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) recently confirmed the establishment of a temporary Office of Immigration Policy, aimed at enhancing how DOL administers employment‑based immigration programs.

The new office comes amid growing employer reliance on legal immigration pathways to ensure a “timely, qualified, and stable workforce” through improved visa access as border and interior enforcement has intensified.… Continue Reading

On February 19, the EEOC, through its acting chair Andrea Lucas, pledged rigorous enforcement of civil rights laws against companies that show bias for foreign workers, including visa holders, over US citizens. The change comes amidst the Trump Administration’s wider focus away from protecting immigrants and other demographic groups that have been historically viewed as primary targets of discrimination.… Continue Reading

As part of a final rule published on July 25, 2023, and in connection with its newly published Form I-9 (which employees may use after August 1), certain employers will be able to permanently verify an employee’s employment eligibility remotely. This final rule continues the pandemic-related flexibility offered to employers to meet their Form I-9 verification requirements.… Continue Reading

Since March 2020, the federal Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has permitted employers the flexibility to engage in remote review of certain new employees’ proof of their identity and authorization to work in the United States. At the end of July 2023, those flexibility rules will sunset – although businesses will have until the end of August to fully comply. … Continue Reading

On October 11, 2022, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), citing continued safety precautions related to COVID-19, extended through July 2023 the flexibility rule for the Form I-9 Employment Eligibility Verification, which has been in place since March 2020.

Employers are required to inspect employees I-9 identify and corresponding eligibility documentation in-person for those employees who “who physically report to work at a company location on any regular, consistent, or predictable basis.” … Continue Reading

The registration period for the Fiscal Year 2022 H-1B visa lottery will open at noon Eastern Time (ET) on March 9 and run through noon ET on March 25, 2021. Employers seeking to employ H-1B workers must electronically register with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and create an online account to be eligible for FY 2022 H-1B lottery.… Continue Reading