Yesterday, December 2, 2015 the state of Texas brought suit against the federal government and the International Rescue Committee (IRC), before the United States District Court in Texas Health and Human Services Commission V. United States et al., 12/2/15. In its suit, the state of Texas claims that the…
Articles Posted in Immigration Compliance
House Votes to Increase Security Checks for Syrian and Iraqi Refugees Amid Paris Attacks
Last week, in a 289-137 vote the House of Representatives overwhelmingly voted in favor of a bill that would require a comprehensive background check to be conducted for every Syrian and Iraqi seeking refugee admission to the United States. Among its provisions, the bill, better known as the American Security…
Visa Bulletin Fiasco: House Democrats Demand Action from DOS
Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson On October 28, 2015 sixteen Democrats from the House of Representatives including —Zoe Lofgren, Michael M. Honda, Judy Chu, Katherine M. Clark, Elijah E. Cummings, Anna G. Eshoo, Tulsi Gabbard, Luis V. Gutierrez, James A. Himes, Ruben Hinojosa, Eddie B. Johnson, James P. McGovern,…
Sanctuary Cities Bill Dubbed the ‘Donald Trump Bill’ Fails to Pass the Senate
On October 20, 2015 Democrats in the Senate successfully blocked the Republican backed bill S. 2146: Stop Sanctuary Policies and Protect Americans Act from moving forward with a vote of 54-45. At its core, the bill aimed to hold sanctuary jurisdictions accountable for noncompliance of federal orders including detainment of…
Sign the White House Petition to Restore Initial Dates of Filing beginning with the October Visa Bulletin
Last week, we reported to our readers that on September 25th the Department of State and USCIS re-issued the October Visa Bulletin and changed the date of filing chart drastically, rolling back the ‘Dates of Filing’ for heavily used visa categories, including employment based and family-sponsored petitions. The American Immigration…
USCIS Issued Final Guidance on When to File an Amended or New H-1B Petition After Matter of Simeio Solutions, LLC
By Yingfei Zhou, Esq. On July 21, 2015, USCIS issued the final guidance on when an employer must file an amended or new petition when the H-1B employee has changed or is changing his or her job location. Except the situations listed below, the general requirement is that an employer…
Reforming the EB-5 Program
Since the year 1990, USCIS has administered the Immigrant Investor Program, better known as ‘EB-5’. The program was first launched by Congress with the goal of expanding the U.S. economy by encouraging job creation and capital investment through foreign investment. It has now become known for its Regional Center pilot…
I-9 Compliance Lawyer: Indian IT Corporation, Infosys, Agrees to Pay $34 Million Fine to Settle Allegations of Systemic Visa Fraud and Abuse of Immigration Processes
Infosys Limited, an Indian company involved in consulting, technology and outsourcing, has agreed to a record $34 million civil settlement based on allegations of systemic visa fraud and abuse of immigration processes, and also agreed to enhanced corporate compliance measures. The $34 million payment made by Infosys as a result…
I-9 Forms: Tips on Responding to a Form I-9 Notice of Inspection
AILA recently released a great summary about responding to a Notice of I-9 inspection, here is a brief summary. A company’s Employment Eligibility Verification Forms, also known as Form I-9, is used to verify employee’s identity and employment authorization. Employers must complete Form I-9 to document verification of the identity…