Two dozen defendants were indicted on federal conspiracy charges after a transnational, multi-year investigation into an alleged human smuggling and labor trafficking operation that illegally imported agricultural workers from Mexico, Guatemala, and Honduras,...
Topic: Immigration Updates
State Dept. Changes DV-2022 Document Submission Processing Requirements
The Department of State (DOS) announced that as of December 9, 2021, individuals who were randomly selected to participate in the diversity visa (DV) program for fiscal year (FY) 2022 only need to submit to the Kentucky Consular Center (KCC) the DS-260 immigrant visa...
USCIS Releases Fourth-Quarter Data Showing Persistent Backlogs, Some Progress
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) released fourth-quarter fiscal year (FY) 2021 reports offering a snapshot of statistics for the entire fiscal year. The agency noted: Employment-based adjustments: USCIS said it faced an unprecedented challenge of...
DHS Extends I-9 Flexibility to April 30, 2022
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced an extension of the flexibility policy in complying with certain physical inspection requirements related to Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification. The...
Immigration Provisions of Social Spending Bill in Limbo as Senate Democrats Struggle With Parliamentarian Rejections, Uncertainties
After the Senate parliamentarian rejected a plan that included work permits and protection from deportation favored by Democrats for inclusion in the "social spending" budget reconciliation bill, lawmakers struggled to consider their options, including revisions to...
Miller Mayer’s Steve Yale-Loehr Quoted re Proposed Immigration Spending
Miller Mayer immigration attorney Steve Yale-Loehr was quoted by Bloomberg Tax in "Immigration Agency in Line for Billions in Fees in Spending Bill." He noted that if the Senate passes the social spending bill, the question will become how quickly USCIS can make the...
Miller Mayer’s Steve Yale-Loehr Writes Op-ed on Proposed Immigration Legislation
Miller Mayer immigration attorney Steve Yale-Loehr authored an op-ed published in The Hill, "With This Immigration Fix, Employers Can Hire the Workers They Need." The op-ed can be found here.
E-Verify Consolidates User Profile Screen
On December 7, 2021, E-Verify notified users via email that they can now view and complete several actions from a consolidated user profile screen, which "allows users to view all of their account information quickly and easily, without having to navigate to multiple...
Labor Dept. Provides Guidance on Employers’ H-2B Visa Program Overtime Pay Obligations
The Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division (WHD) disseminated a field assistance bulletin on December 7, 2021, providing enforcement guidance on employers' overtime obligations related to the H-2B visa program. Among other things, the bulletin notes that the...
USCIS Temporarily Waives 60-Day Rule for Civil Surgeon Signatures
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is temporarily waiving, until September 30, 2022, the requirement that the civil surgeon sign Form I-693, Report of Medical Examination and Vaccination Record, no more than 60 days before an applicant files an...
