The Home Office is picking up the pace on immigration compliance matters – we have seen increased activity on everything from right to work enforcement to visa curtailments as well as requests for further evidence across all aspects of sponsorship. We will be focusing on these and other challenges in our webinar on 14 September … Continue Reading
The UK government has announced changes to the EU Settlement Scheme from September 2023 which will affect those living in the UK with pre-settled status. The changes have been made following the case of R (Independent Monitoring Authority for the Citizens’ Rights Agreements) v the Secretary of State for the Home Department [2022] in which … Continue Reading
Now that we’re almost half-way through 2023, it’s time again to review the developments in state and local labor and employment laws. State legislatures and city councils continue to be very busy making new laws and amending existing laws. In fact, due to the large number of updates, we are splitting our post into two parts. … Continue Reading
This is the second in our series of GCC updates, focusing on new developments in UAE immigration, personal data and Emiratisation rules.… Continue Reading
The Home Office has published its latest Statement of Changes to the Immigration Rules, most of which will take effect from 12 April this year. The key changes of interest to employers are likely to be these:… Continue Reading
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has announced that the initial registration period for the fiscal year (FY) 2023 H-1B cap will open at noon EST on March 1st and run through noon EST on March 17, 2023. USCIS intends to notify selected registrants by March 31st. Employers sponsoring selected registrants will be able to file cap-subject H-1B petitions in April.… Continue Reading
On January 12, 2023, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced two significant updates to its premium processing expansion plan: (1) implementation of premium processing for all EB-1 Multinational Executive and Manager and EB-2 National Interest Waiver (NIW) categories and (2) a future expansion of premium processing for F-1 Students Seeking OPT and STEM OPT … Continue Reading
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) just announced, effective January 5, 2023 at 12:01 AM EST, airline passengers (two years of age and older) traveling from mainland China (Peoples Republic of China (PRC)) and the Special Administrative Regions of Hong Kong or Macau must provide either a negative COVID test or documentation … Continue Reading
The Home Office has updated its ‘Workers and Temporary Workers: guidance for sponsors’. The changes affect UK employers with sponsor licences and provide clarification on how to amend a sponsored worker’s start date in the UK after their visa has been granted. Sponsors should take note of the changes in order to comply with their … Continue Reading
UK employers are generally aware of the need to carry out prescribed checks to ensure their employees have the right to work, and the consequences of illegal employment (civil penalty of £20,000, risk to sponsor licence or, in extreme cases, criminal prosecution). But the way in which the Home Office says these checks must be … Continue Reading
In March this year, we wrote about the abrupt suspension of UKVI priority services for new applications made from outside the UK here. Today, after a full 5 months, UKVI has reinstated “priority services” for new work visa applications. The suspension was UKVI’s response to the large influx of applications under the Ukraine Family Scheme. … Continue Reading
On March 10, 2022, the Wage and Hour Division (WHD) of the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) published a Field Assistance Bulletin (FAB) entitled “Protecting Workers from Retaliation.” The FAB provides guidance on worker anti-retaliation protections available under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), the Migrant and Seasonal … Continue Reading
The Home Office has published its latest Statement of Changes to the Immigration Rules taking effect from 6 April 2022 which includes new immigration routes, as well as some changes and rebranding for existing routes. The Home Office is presenting these changes as part of its commitment to simplify the Immigration Rules and provide greater … Continue Reading
UK Visas & Immigration (UKVI) has taken the decision without prior warning to suspend priority and super-priority visa processing services for all applications being made from outside the UK. Not only have the services been suspended, but the UKVI update says that “applications for study, work and family visas may take longer to process.” This … Continue Reading
Back in August we reported on proposed additional visa routes slated for launch in Spring 2022 as part of the ‘UK Innovation Strategy’ to help retain the UK’s position as a hub for global business. It’s common for changes to the Immigration Rules to be released each year around March/April, so what can we expect … Continue Reading
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) recently announced the initial registration period for the fiscal year (FY) 2023 H-1B cap will open at noon EDT on March 1, 2022 and run through noon EDT on March 18, 2022. This occurs one week earlier than last year. This registration process will not apply to H-1B transfers (between employers) or extensions of status applications. It will only impact new H-1B visas subject to … Continue Reading
Due to the limited capacity to adjudicate visa applications during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Department of State (DOS) announced the extension and expansion of its nonimmigrant visa interview waiver program through Dec. 31, 2022. Currently, U.S. consular officers may waive the in-person interview requirement for applicants who are renewing any type of nonimmigrant visa in … Continue Reading
As we previously posted last month, the United States is rescinding and replacing the geographic COVID-19 travel bans with new proof of vaccination requirements for all international travelers. These new requirements will pertain to those entering the U.S. via air, sea or across the land border with Canada or Mexico. As reported by numerous news … Continue Reading
After much anticipation, the White House announced plans to rescind the geographic COVID-19 travel bans and modify restrictions on all international travelers to focus on proof of vaccination. In place of the travel bans and beginning in early November, international travelers will be required to prove they have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19, as well … Continue Reading
Over the last two years, we’ve seen the Home Office try its best to re-boot Tier 1 of the Points Based System. It has introduced the Start-Up visa for those wanting to set up an innovative business in the UK, the Innovator visa (similar to the Start-Up visa but with the possibility of applying for … Continue Reading
According to a new policy from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), effective October 1, 2021, the COVID-19 vaccine is included on the list of vaccines required for applicants to obtain lawful permanent residence (aka “green card”). Under the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), section 212(a)(1)(A)(ii), foreign nationals to be found admissible … Continue Reading
From our Capital Thinking blog, our public policy colleague Stacy Swanson shares the latest federal employment law developments in in the legislative and executive branches during the week of July 26, 2021. *** This is a weekly post spotlighting labor topics in focus by the US legislative and executive branches during the previous week. In this issue, … Continue Reading
Those who have been dealing with immigration matters for some time will remember the old Tier 1 (Post Study Work) visa (PSW). It was a lifeline to overseas students who couldn’t find work right away after finishing their degree/masters/PhD in the UK and so it was an unwelcome change when the Home Office closed the … Continue Reading
