Thousands of children born in the United States to Indian parents including those born on US soil to visitor visa holders automatically get US citizenship by virtue of their birth in the country.   Recently, President Trump announced in an interview that he planned to end the so-called “birthright citizenship” for babies of non- US citizens […]

A proposal to require H-1B employers to pre-register electronically – for each beneficiary – for the H-1B cap lottery, prior to filing petitions for adjudication is now under review at the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). This is the first step towards a possible change in the H-1B cap petition process.  Currently, employers are […]

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (“USCIS”) has issued a policy memorandum regarding changes in the validity period of a Form I-693, Report of Medical Examination and Vaccination Record, when filed in support of a Form I-485 Adjustment of Status Application for Green Card applicants.  Green card applicants are required to undergo a medical examination […]

The Ministry of External Affairs has issued a notification in an attempt to protect and ensure the welfare of Indian emigrants overseas.  All Non- Emigration Check Required (Non-ECR) passport holding Indian nationals who are going to the following eighteen (18) countries on an employment visa are now required to register online through the website www.emigrate.gov.in with immediate […]

Last week, The Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”) published a proposed regulation that would significantly reform the H-1B cap selection (lottery) process. The proposed regulation would introduce two main changes: Pre-registration by employers for the H-1B lottery; Flipping the order of the two H-1B lotteries. Pre-registration by employers for the H-1B lottery: H-1B employers would […]

A group representing some of the country’s top technology companies like Google, Facebook, Microsoft, IBM etc. sent a letter to the Trump administration on November 1, 2018 calling H-1B adjudication practices into question. The group, Compete America addressed the letter to Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen, USCIS director L. Francis Cissna and other high-ranking Department […]

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued a Policy Memorandum dated November 29, 2018 clarifying the “one-year foreign employment requirement” for a qualifying U.S. organization that wishes to file for L-1 intracompany transfer petition to transfer an executive or manager (L-1) or a specialized knowledge worker (L-1B) from a qualifying foreign office to its related […]

Immigration enforcement has been the focal theme of the Trump administration.  Immigration issues and compliance continue to be often times, complex, and misunderstood by many.  It is more important now than ever for employers to not only be compliant, but also be well informed about their rights and duties in the event of a worksite […]

It is time to begin preparations for the new H-1B (cap-subject) filing season. The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will begin accepting H-1B visa petitions on April 1, 2019 for Fiscal Year (FY) 2020, which starts on October 1, 2019.  Each FY, there are only 85,000 new H-1Bs of which 65,000 are for foreign […]