Immigration Law Blog | Burr & Forman LLP

Ready, Set, Go . . . H-1B FY2025 Lottery Registration Dates Announced with Process Changes

Jonathan C. Eggert, Melissa Azallion Kenny, Anna L. Scully — Wed, 07 Feb 2024 09:00:01 -0500

Employers wishing to sponsor a candidate for an H-1B visa in Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 are approaching an important time of year. United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) recently announced the H-1B cap lottery registration period will open on March 6, 2024, at noon Eastern Standard Time and close on March 22, 2024, at noon Eastern Standard Time. USCIS also announced several changes that will implemented in this year’s registration process.

H-1B cap lottery registration was introduced in FY 2021 and is an annual electronic process through which USCIS receives ...

Fiscal Year 2024 H-1B Lottery Limits Reached

Jonathan C. Eggert, Melissa Azallion Kenny, Anna L. Scully — Fri, 29 Dec 2023 09:00:02 -0500

United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) recently announced all available visas in the Fiscal Year 2024 H-1B lottery program have been utilized. Each year, 65,000 H-1B visas are available for positions requiring at least a U.S. Bachelor’s degree. An additional 20,000 visas are available to foreign nationals who have earned at least a U.S. Master’s degree and are sponsored for an H-1B eligible position. Registrants were selected at random for an opportunity to fill one of the H-1B cap positions. The H-1B program is regularly used by U.S. employers to ...

Planning Ahead for Foreign National Holiday Travel

Jonathan C. Eggert, Melissa Azallion Kenny, Anna L. Scully — Tue, 12 Dec 2023 09:00:03 -0500

Foreign nationals often coordinate travel abroad to coincide with the holidays. December can be one of the busiest times of year for visa processing at U.S. Consulates and Embassies abroad. Here are a few helpful considerations to make foreign national holiday travel a little less stressful.

Do I have a valid passport?

While seemingly obvious, an immediately expiring passport can cause a multitude of issues for foreign national travelers. Initially, U.S. Consulates and Embassies may require a passport to have a specific amount of validity in order to issue a visa. Additionally ...

Domestic Visa Renewal Could Return in 2024

Jonathan C. Eggert, Melissa Azallion Kenny, Anna L. Scully — Thu, 09 Nov 2023 09:00:04 -0500

The Department of State (DOS) appears primed to renew the practice of domestic visa renewal for at least some foreign nationals in 2024. DOS sent a Federal Register notice titled Pilot Program to Resume Renewal of H-1B Nonimmigrant Visas in the United States for Certain Qualified Noncitizens to the White House for review last month. While the full scope of the program will not be known until publication, the notice is expected to outline criteria for participation in a pilot program that would allow some H-1B workers to renew their visas without exiting the United States. Employers can ...

Revised I-9 Becomes Mandatory November 1, 2023

Jonathan C. Eggert, Melissa Azallion Kenny, Anna L. Scully — Wed, 01 Nov 2023 09:00:05 -0400

United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has instituted a revised Form I-9 that is mandatory for all employers, starting November 1, 2023.

USCIS announced the new version in August, in part to aid with the implementation of the new alternative I-9 remote document verification procedures. More information on the new remote document verification procedures is available here. Moving forward, use of the prior I-9 version, dated October 21, 2019, may subject an employer to penalties. Employers that utilize an electronic I-9 system should contact their provider to ...

Employment Authorization Documents Associated with Adjustment of Status Now Valid for Five Years

Jonathan C. Eggert, Melissa Azallion Kenny, Anna L. Scully — Wed, 11 Oct 2023 09:00:06 -0400

In an effort to address the ongoing Employment Authorization Document (more commonly known as an “EAD”) processing backlog, USCIS recently announced it would lengthen the maximum validity period for certain EAD categories to five years. The change is welcome news to many employers and foreign nationals who may have experienced gaps in work authorization due to processing delays over the last several years.

One of the EAD categories affected by the change is pending Adjustment of Status Application beneficiaries. Adjustment of Status is the final step in the Green Card process ...

USCIS to Revert to 180-day EAD Automatic Extension Starting October 26, 2023

Jonathan C. Eggert, Melissa Azallion Kenny, Anna L. Scully — Wed, 06 Sep 2023 09:00:07 -0400

On May 4, 2022, the Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”) issued a rule temporarily increasing the Employment Authorization Document (“EAD”) automatic extension period for certain renewal applicants. Under the temporary rule, the automatic extension was increased from 180 days to up to 540 days to address historically long processing times.

USCIS recently announced plans to revert back to 180-day automatic extensions, starting October 26, 2023. The following criteria must be satisfied to qualify for the automatic extension:

The applicant must be renewing their ...

DHS Advances Remote I-9 Document Pilot Program for Non-E-Verify Employers

Jonathan C. Eggert, Melissa Azallion Kenny, Anna L. Scully — Tue, 22 Aug 2023 09:00:08 -0400

Last month, DHS announced E-Verify employers would be eligible to utilize an alternative remote document verification procedure when completing Section 2 of Form I-9, starting August 1, 2023. Only a few days later, DHS published a Federal Register notice requesting comments on a pilot program that would allow employers not enrolled in E-Verify to utilize remote examination procedures as well.

The proposed new rule would largely track the new rule for E-Verify employers, details of which are available here: DHS Announces Remote I-9 Document Procedure for E-Verify Employers | Burr ...

DHS Announces Remote I-9 Document Procedure for E-Verify Employers

Jonathan C. Eggert — Fri, 28 Jul 2023 09:00:09 -0400

DHS Announces Remote I-9 Document Procedure for E-Verify Employers

Beginning August 1, 2023, E-Verify employers will be eligible to utilize an alternative remote document verification procedure when completing Section 2 of Form I-9. The DHS announcement is welcome news for E-Verify employers, many of whom became accustomed to temporary remote document verification procedures during the COVID-19 pandemic. According to DHS, over 1 million employers covering more than 2.4 million hiring sites are currently enrolled in E-Verify. Thousands of additional employers may consider ...

Alternative Financing Sources for Developers: EB-5 And E-2 Investors

Jonathan C. Eggert, Jennifer M. Moseley — Fri, 19 May 2023 09:00:10 -0400

The EB-5 immigrant visa investor program has been used as an alternative source of funding for many real estate developers. EB-5 investors have typically preferred real estate related projects, and EB-5 capital has been used to fund high-profile projects by major brand-name developers and chains because it is most often less expensive than other sources. EB-5 capital can be used as any typical source capital: equity, unsecured mezzanine debt, or secured, senior debt.

While differing in structure—both from an immigration and financial standpoint—the E-2 visa program can ...