The Government Publishes New Wage Rates for H-2A Workers and Proposes Rule Changes There is a new Adverse Effect Wage Rate (AEWR) for 2022. The AEWR is the minimum wage an H-2A non-immigrant agricultural worker must be paid. The DOL has also proposed...

H-1B Approval Rates Surged in Fiscal Year 2021 Data recently released by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has shown that in the 2021 fiscal year from October 2020 to September 2021, the agency had record H-1B visa approval rates....

Employing Foreign National Workers During the COVID-19 Pandemic With international borders facing severe restrictions and embassies working at limited capacity, immigration has been immensely limited for the last 18 months. However, despite this,...

USCIS Will Expedite Renewal of EADS for Healthcare Workers The USCIS has taken steps to bring relief to the healthcare industry, which is struggling to maintain a minimum level of staff. Due to the immense backlog, the USCIS is facing, they have...

Its Time to Prepare for the H-1B Lottery The H-1B Cap Lottery is coming up, and it is the season for United States employers to prepare. Many employers have likely already begun the process, but for those who haven’t and intend to hire a foreign...

New Fees Planned for USCIS The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) intends to put in place a new fee structure that they claim will not limit legal citizenship to people who are very wealthy. The current administration will soon be...

Members of Congress Press State Department to Reduce Visa Backlog A group of Congressional members has sent a letter to the U.S. Department of State pressing the agency to bring the visa processing backlog back to the level existing before COVID-19....

Travel Ban Lifted for 8 Southern African Countries The current administration has ended the ban on travel from eight African Countries as of December 31, 2021. The ban started in November and prevented travel to the United States by almost all...

How to Avoid Immigration-Related Litigation in Today’s Job Market The Bureau of Labor Statistics stated recently that there are more than three million additional unfilled jobs this year over last year. The construction industry is one of the industries...

Judge Rules Government’s Work Permit Processing Delays Are Not Unreasonable A judge in a recent case found that it is not an unreasonable delay for the government to take a number of years to approve a work permit. Therefore, the request...