Despite a major win in the Supreme Court, which ruled on June 18 that the Trump administration improperly terminated the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, Dreamers remain in limbo, their fate closely tied to the election that is two months away. There are an estimated 800,000 Dreamers, and about 90% are working for
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On March 30, the State Department published new Foreign Affairs Manual (FAM) guidance for consular officers that changes the standard of proof for blanket L adjudications and is likely to increase the refusal rate for multinational companies with blanket L visa programs. The previous guidance advised consular officers that L-1 visa adjudications based on blanket
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As employers implement social distancing in the workplace, work-from-home policies have raised questions about how companies can meet compliance requirements for H-1B employees, in particular how changes to an employee’s work location affects Labor Condition Application (LCA) requirements. It was hoped that the Department of Labor would provide temporary measures allowing flexibility in LCA compliance
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Employees in the green card process are seeing additional flexibility in processing as the COVID-19 national emergency continues to complicate the normal steps, and the government appears to be relaxing certain requirements. All U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) offices have been closed to the public since March 18 and are not scheduled to reopen
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As governments continue to grapple with concerns over the COVID-19 virus, and policies around international travel are still in flux, the State Department recently expanded its recommendations that will limit travel for most J-1 international exchange visitors. U.S. employers that sponsor J-1 exchange visitors should plan to adjust their training schedules and take other actions
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As the holiday season approaches and your employees begin requesting time off for vacation and international travel, it’s important that your foreign employees are aware of immigration-related requirements and the consequences of heading overseas for the holidays. Employees who were selected in this past April’s H-1B lottery and have an approved H-1B may wish to
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Foreign student enrollment at U.S. universities is on the decline for the first time in more than a decade. New enrollment of foreign students at U.S. universities dropped by 1% in the 2018-19 school year, 7% in 2017-2018, and 3% in 2016-17.1 This year, U.S. business schools saw a 13.7% drop in foreign student applicants,
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By Stephen D. Parker With continued unpredictability in the ever-growing green card immigrant visa backlog, employees are often concerned about their children turning 21 during the process and “aging out.” Children are typically included as “derivative” beneficiaries on their parent’s permanent residence process, and immigration law defines a child as unmarried and under 21. But
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By Martin Robles-Avila The Supreme Court will hear arguments on Nov. 12 about whether the Trump administration acted lawfully when it terminated Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, the Obama-era program that has benefited roughly 700,000 Dreamers. Courts have kept DACA on life support and have required the government to continue accepting renewal applications while the
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Expansion into Santa Clara offers tech clients on-the-ground support in Silicon Valley DALLAS, Oct. 17, 2019 – Berry Appleman & Leiden (BAL) LLP, one of the world’s largest immigration law firms, is expanding its presence in the U.S. through the addition of a new office in Santa Clara, the heart of Silicon Valley. BAL is already
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