Immigration

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President Biden Issues Proclamation Adding India to COVID-19 Travel Restrictions (US)

On April 30, 2021, the President issued another Proclamation suspending entry into the United States of nonimmigrants and noncitizens who were physically present within the Republic of India during the 14-day period preceding their attempted entry into the United States. These restrictions take effect at 12:01 am EDT on May 4, 2021 and remain in … Continue Reading

COVID-19: UK adjusted Right to Work checks end soon

As a result of the restrictions in place due to the COVID-19 pandemic, employers have faced challenges in carrying out right to work checks, which usually require in-person sight of the individual’s original passport or biometric residence permit. Thankfully these challenges were acknowledged early on by the Home Office which introduced temporary measures on 30 … Continue Reading

US Federal Labor Viewpoints – Week of March 22, 2021

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 March 22. *** This is a weekly post spotlighting labor topics in focus by the US legislative and executive branches during the previous week. In this issue, we … Continue Reading

The “business executive” self-isolation exemption – no-score draw in commerce –v- public health clash (UK)

So we hear by Twitter on Thursday last week that from the crack of dawn on Saturday just gone, “high-value business travellers” are partially exempt from self-isolation requirements when entering or returning to England.  A number of media, arts and sports roles have been granted an exemption also. “Conditions apply”, it said, and so they … Continue Reading

Feeling Lucky?: DHS Proposes Wage-Based Changes to its Annual H-1B Lottery (US)

On Wednesday, October 28, 2020, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced another proposed change to the H-1B visa program.  The new rule would do away with the random lottery system currently used to issue the annual quota of 85,000 H-1B visas and replace it with a new lottery system weighted to favor applications with … Continue Reading

WEBINAR April 29: COVID-19 to Post-COVID-19 – Immigration and Compliance Issues for US Employers

Please join Gregory A. Wald, Samuel J. Mudrick and Luisa E. Koidl for a webinar on  Wednesday, April 29, 2020 at 11 a.m. EDT/8 a.m. PDT discussing the latest developments and impact of the President’s Executive Order suspending certain aspects of US immigration, travel restrictions and related processing challenges in the transition to a post-COVID-19 world.  Hot-button issues of … Continue Reading

US Department of Homeland Security to Permit Flexibility Relating to I-9 Compliance for Hiring of Remote Employees

On March 20, 2020, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced it would exercise discretion to defer the physical presence requirements associated with Employment Eligibility Verification (Form I-9) in relation to hiring and re-verifying employees.  Prior to this announcement, DHS policy required employer representatives to conduct the I-9 verification process in person, examining an employee’s … Continue Reading

US Issues Joint Initiatives with Canada and Mexico Temporarily Restricting Travel Across Borders

Effective March 21, 2020, the United States entered into joint initiatives with Canada and Mexico to restrict travel across the land borders with each country.  All non-essential travel across the US-Canada and US-Mexico borders is temporarily restricted.  The restrictions are to remain in place for 30 days subject to review by each of the respective … Continue Reading

Coronavirus Outbreak U.S. Travel Ban Update: UK and Republic of Ireland Added

Just three days after issuing a Proclamation expanding the scope of the temporary travel (entry) bans, due to the global outbreak of the SARS-CoV-2 virus (COVID-19), which restricted entry and travel to the United States of foreign nationals (immigrants or nonimmigrants) who were physically present within the European Schengen Area, President Trump’s Proclamation now includes … Continue Reading

Coronavirus Outbreak US Travel Ban Expanded To Include Europe Schengen Area

President Trump has issued another Presidential Proclamation expanding the scope of two previously issued travel bans suspending entry of immigrants and nonimmigrants into the United States, subject to certain exceptions detailed below, due to the global outbreak of the SARS-CoV-2 virus (also referred to the as the coronavirus disease 2019 or“COVID-19”). This Proclamation, entitled, Suspension … Continue Reading

Employer Update: DHS Issues New Form I-9 with Mandatory Use by May 1, 2020 (US)

United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) recently issued a new version of its Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification, which is used to verify the employment authorization and identity for all employees in the United States. Although employers may now begin to use the new version, which has a 10/21/2019 version date on the bottom, … Continue Reading

Travel Ban Updates: Temporary Ban of Foreign Nationals Traveling From Mainland China Per Novel Coronavirus Outbreak; Additional Countries Added To Travel Ban 3.0

By Presidential Proclamation, dated January 31, 2020 and effective on February 2, 2020 at 5pm EST, the United States is suspending the entry of “foreign nationals who pose a risk of transmitting the 2019 novel coronavirus.” As a result, foreign nationals (of any nationality), other than immediate family of U.S. citizens, permanent residents and certain … Continue Reading

UK Business Immigration Update – Changes to the Immigration Rules Announced

On 9 September 2019, the UK government announced changes to the Immigration Rules, which go on for nearly 100 pages. Read a summary of the key changes of most direct relevance to employers, sponsors and recruiters, and view the full Statement of Changes online. In addition to these changes, there has been another important and very … Continue Reading

The effect of no-deal on EU citizens already in the UK and new arrivals after 31 October 2019 (UK)

The EU Settlement Scheme designed to protect the rights of EU, EEA and Swiss citizens and their families already resident in the UK by 31 December 2020 is based on the citizens’ rights section of the UK government’s Withdrawal Agreement with the EU. However, the Withdrawal Agreement has been considered and rejected by the House … Continue Reading

Stricter Emiratisation requirements in the UAE

As part of the UAE government’s policy to provide job opportunities to UAE nationals in the private sector, representatives from Tas’heel (the UAE Ministry of Labour’s online service center) have confirmed that the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation (MOHRE) has introduced a requirement for all onshore employers to interview any suitably skilled local nationals … Continue Reading

H-1B Update: DHS Publishes Final Rule Amending Application Process for upcoming H-1B Lottery (US)

The United States Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”) issued a press release on January 30, 2019, announcing revisions to the H1-B visa program, which were made in direct response to President Trump’s April 17, 2017 “Buy American and Hire American” Executive Order (the “Order”). As we discussed in our previous blog post about the then-proposed … Continue Reading

The biggest workplace issue in 2019 will be getting people with the right skills, says recent poll (UK)

Recruiting high-calibre staff topped the list of anticipated challenges for employers in a newly released YouGov survey of 2,035 employees commissioned by Acas. The research did not reveal the reasons why the respondents believed this to be the number one issue facing businesses today, but the spectre of Brexit may have been looming large in … Continue Reading

Applications now open for EU Settlement Scheme

EU citizens and their family members may now apply under the EU Settlement Scheme as part of a public test phase, running from 21 January 2019. Our Brexit Legal Blog contains further information. You can still register for our Brexit Immigration Webinar: White Paper and EU Settlement, which takes place this Thursday 24 January at … Continue Reading

Completing UK right to work checks – top tips for employers

Last week I was proud to speak at Business Forums International’s ‘Vetting and Screening’ Conference regarding the challenges faced by employers when completing right to work checks. I was delighted to share the platform with speakers from Reed Screening, The Forward Trust, Nick Mann Associates, Credence Background Screening, The Security Watchdog and NSL, who covered … Continue Reading
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