Major Immigration Updates

October 2020

U.S. Department of Labor (Employment and Training Administration) and U.S. Department of Homeland Security Publish New Rules on Prevailing Wages, H-1B
October 21, 2020

1. DOL Publishes Rule: “Strengthening Wage Protections for the Temporary and Permanent Employment of Certain Aliens in the United States.” On October 8, 2020, the US Department of Labor, Employment […]

Summary – USDHS PROPOSED Rule Impacting Period of Admission for F, J, and I Visa Status
October 20, 2020

As we first noted on September 25, 2020, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) published a Proposed Rule to change the period of admission to the U.S. for F and J […]

U.S.-Canada-Mexico “Non-Essential” Travel Restrictions Extended to 11/21/2020
October 19, 2020

UPDATED 10/19/2020: USCBP announces that Non-Essential travel restriction between Canada, the U.S. and Mexico has been extended to November 21, 2020. This is an additional 30-day extension of a restriction […]

USCIS Increases Premium Processing Fee
October 19, 2020

On Friday, October 16, 2020, US Department of Homeland Security published an Announcement indicating the fee for “premium processing” of applications by US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will rise […]

September 2020

USCIS Temporarily Prohibited from increasing fees on October 2, 2020
September 30, 2020

On September 29, 2020, the U.S. District Court for Northern California issued a temporary injunction and stay on implementation of the 2020 USCIS final fee rule.  The ruling temporarily prevents […]

USDHS Publishes PROPOSED Rule Impacting Period of Admission for F, J, and I Visa Status
September 25, 2020

On September 25, 2020, the US Department of Homeland Security (USDHS) published a Proposed Rule to change the period of admission to the U.S. for F and J students and exchange visitors, […]

REMINDER: USCIS Implements New Application Fees Increases, and certain New Form Versions, Effective October 2, 2020
September 21, 2020

As part of a final rule published by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) on August 3, 2020, new application fees, and a new form version for certain applications, will apply to […]

“Non-Essential” Travel Restrictions between the U.S., Canada, and Mexico Extended to October 21, 2020
September 18, 2020

On September 18, 2020, U.S. Department of Homeland Security (USDHS) Acting Secretary Chad Wolf released a statement via Twitter that restrictions on “Non-Essential” travel between the U.S., Canada, and Mexico […]

August 2020

New Form I-765 (Application for Employment Authorization) available and effective August 25, 2020
August 23, 2020

As a reminder, a new version of the Form I-765 Application for Employment Authorization (version 08/25/2020), used for applications for F-1 Optional Practical Training (OPT), F-1 STEM OPT Extension, and […]

U.S.-Canada-Mexico “Non-Essential” Travel Restrictions Extended to 09/21/2020
August 14, 2020

UPDATED 09/18/2020: USCBP announces that Non-Essential travel restriction between Canada, the U.S. and Mexico has been extended to October 21, 2020.* * * * On August 14, 2020, USDHS Acting […]