Employment Based

The enforcement of immigration laws is a complex and hotly-debated topic. Learn more about the costs of immigration enforcement and the ways in which the U.S. can enforce our immigration laws humanely and in a manner that ensures due process.

All Employment Based Content

  • Litigation

Lawsuit Challenges Postponement of the International Entrepreneur Rule

Entrepreneurs, start-up companies and a trade association joined together to oppose the postponement of the International Entrepreneur Rule.
  • Amicus Briefs

USCIS Should Accept Provisional Degree Certificate as Proof Degree Was Received for Advanced Degree Professionals

Publication Date: 
February 28, 2017
The Council filed an amicus brief in a case pending before the Administrative Appeals Office (AAO), an administrative body at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) that reviews denials of most employment-based visa petitions.
  • FOIA Litigation

FOIA Lawsuit on H-1B Lottery Policies and Procedures

On behalf of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), the Council, in cooperation with Hughes Socol Piers Resnick & Dym, Ltd., filed a lawsuit against USCIS and DHS seeking the...

  • Legal Resources and Litigation

Statement for the Senate Committee on the Judiciary on High-Skilled Immigrant Workers

March 17, 2015
The statement discusses the powerful role that immigration has played in developing a strong and competent work force for the 21st century, especially in regards to the science, engineering, technology, and math (STEM) fields.
  • Amicus Briefs

Mantena v. Napolitano - Second Circuit

Publication Date: 
December 15, 2014
The Council, with AILA, filed an amicus brief arguing that a district court has jurisdiction to review procedures followed by USCIS to revoke an employment-based visa petition. Amici argue that INA § 242(a)(2)(B), which limits judicial review over certain discretionary decisions, does not preclude review over the question of whether USCIS was required to provide notice of the visa petition revocation proceedings to the beneficiary. This is particularly true where, as in this case, the beneficiary had utilized the “porting” provision of INA § 204(j) to change employers more than 2 ½ years earlier, but USCIS issued its notice of intent to revoke only to the former employer and revoked the petition when the former employer did not respond.
  • Litigation

Visa Programs for High-Skilled Workers

Valorem, an IT consulting company, petitioned to employ a software developer for three years in H-1B status as part of a project development team at its office. Initially, USCIS denied the petition, but later – after Valorem, represented by AILA member Susan Bond, filed suit – approved it for one year.
  • Amicus Briefs

Simply Soup Ltd. d/b/a NY Soup Exchange - BALCA

Publication Date: 
August 29, 2014
The Board of Alien Labor Certification Appeals (BALCA), the administrative body at the Department of Labor that reviews denials of PERM labor certifications, concluded that the Certifying Officer (CO) had the discretion, but not the obligation, to request missing documentation. BALCA failed to address arguments made by the Council and AILA in their amicus brief: that due process and fundamental fairness, as well as the PERM regulatory structure, require the CO to request supplemental documentation when the employer’s compliance with documentation requirements is evident from the record.
  • Amicus Briefs

Microsoft Corporation - BALCA

Publication Date: 
November 7, 2013
The Council and AILA filed an amicus brief in an en banc case pending before BALCA, an administrative body at the Department of Labor that reviews denials of PERM labor certifications. The case turned on the proper interpretation of a regulation which requires employers to notify certain laid-off U.S. employees about new job opportunities before the employers are permitted to hire foreign workers. The brief focused on the agency’s failure to provide fair warning before applying a new, more restrictive interpretation of the notification requirement.
  • Litigation

Visa Programs for High-Skilled Workers

On behalf of AILA, the American Immigration Council, in cooperation with counsel at Steptoe & Johnson LLP, filed a FOIA lawsuit against DHS and USCIS in July 2010 seeking the public release of records concerning agency policies and procedures related to fraud investigations in the H-1B program.
  • Litigation

Lawsuit on Visa Bulletin, Adjustment of Status

On July 17, 2007, the American Immigration Council was poised to file a lawsuit alleging that the federal government’s refusal to accept tens of thousands of applications for green cards (and discouragement of thousands of other workers from even applying) violated federal statutes, regulations and policies, as well as the U.S. Constitution. Many of these applicants had waited in line for years and were following the government’s rules to obtain a green card. The suit would have argued that the government must comply with its own regulations and policies and accept these adjustment of status (“green card”) applications.
  • Blog

Congress Ends Months of Uncertainty for Immigrant Investors in Regional Centers

March 25, 2022

For more than 8 months, noncitizens with approved immigrant petitions for investments in regional centers have been in limbo. Congress has now ended that limbo, by reauthorizing the EB-5 regional...

  • Blog

Biden Administration Actions to Attract ‘International STEM Talent’ and Increase Global Competition

January 26, 2022

The Biden administration recently announced four actions intended to improve immigration “pathways” for noncitizens in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields. However,...

  • Blog

Declining Immigration Is Leaving US Jobs Unfilled

January 25, 2022

The labor shortages currently afflicting many sectors of the U.S. economy are being aggravated by the arrival of fewer and fewer workers from abroad. Although immigration has been slowing since...

  • Blog

Over 250,000 Young People Are at Risk of Deportation When They Turn 21

December 1, 2021

A lesser-known group of young people who grew up in the United States with immigration status—typically the children of noncitizens who entered the U.S. on temporary work visas—is increasingly at...

  • Blog

Changing Cut Off Dates Leave India EB-3 Applicants in an Immigration Limbo

November 5, 2021

Annual limits on immigrant visa numbers, combined with processing delays and wasted numbers, mean even longer waits for people to become U.S. permanent residents. In November, the “cut off” date...

  • Blog

Class Action Settlement Gives Second Chance to Qualifying US Employers for H-1B Petition Approval

October 27, 2021

A recent class action settlement is expected to result in U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) approving more market research analyst H-1B petitions. The lawsuit was filed by four U.S...

  • Blog

Lawsuits Challenge Change to H-1B Lottery Selection That Would Hurt Small Businesses, Start-ups

May 26, 2021

Businesses and industry organizations are among those pushing back against a rule that would change eligibility for filing an H-1B petition. The new rule would require the H-1B lottery selection...

  • Blog

Ban on J-1 Exchange and Other Employment-Based Visas Set to Expire

March 30, 2021

A ban blocking certain employment-based visas implemented and extended by former President Trump is set to expire on March 31. The ban has likely prevented hundreds of thousands of people from...

  • Blog

USCIS Begins to Reverse Course on H-1B Petitions

March 19, 2021

Employers and workers are starting to see a shift from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) on unlawful restrictions of the H-1B specialty occupation visa category. Over the past nine...

  • Blog

The Biden Administration Is Already Supporting Employment-Based Immigration, But Uncertainty Remains

February 5, 2021

Business immigration has already benefited from the change in administrations. On January 25, President Biden issued an executive order directly replacing a Trump-era executive order that wreaked...

  • Press Release

Immigration Council Urges U.S. Department of Labor to Ensure Fairness

September 17, 2014

Washington, D.C.

  • Press Release

American Immigration Council Files BALCA Brief Challenging Unfair DOL Process

November 8, 2013

Yesterday, the American Immigration Council, in collaboration with AILA, filed an amicus brief

  • Blog

USCIS Changes Employment Eligibility Verification: One Step Back and One Step Forward

July 31, 2023

Despite concerns expressed by stakeholders, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has returned to a one-page format for Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification. What may seem...

  • Research and Analysis

Coalition Urges Department of Labor to Update Schedule A Occupation List to Meet Current Labor Market Needs

Publication Date: 
June 28, 2023
The American Immigration Council joined a coalition letter to encourage the Department of Labor (DOL) to annually update its Schedule A Group I occupation list to better reflect the conditions facing...
  • Special Report

The Growing Demand for Healthcare Workers

Publication Date: 
April 18, 2023
A new research series from the American Immigration Council, The Growing Demand for Healthcare Workers, highlights the crucial role immigrants are playing to help address critical workforce shortages...
  • Fact Sheet

The Growing Demand for Physicians in Nevada

Publication Date: 
March 9, 2023
This research brief highlights the crucial role immigrants in Nevada are playing to help address critical physician shortages.
  • Fact Sheet

The Economic Benefits of the Empire State Licensing Act

Publication Date: 
February 16, 2023

New research from the American Immigration Council, Economic Benefits of the Empire State Licensing: Immigrants in New York State’s Workforce, highlights the crucial role of immigrants and...

  • Press Release

New Research Shows Immigrants Account for Nearly 13 Percent of Utah Physicians as Demand for Bilingual Workers Jumps 38.8 Percent

February 7, 2023
The American Immigration Council released new research, The Growing Demand for Healthcare Workers in Utah, which underscores the crucial role immigrants play in some of the state’s fastest growing and most in demand healthcare fields.
  • Blog

Amid a Severe Shortage of Home Health Aides, Immigrants Help Care for Our Seniors

January 26, 2023

The United States will need to fill nearly three-quarters of a million open jobs for home health and personal care aides every year through 2031. Currently, immigrant workers fill these jobs in...

  • Blog

Immigrant Workers Who Report Labor Violations Will Be Protected Under This New Policy

January 19, 2023

Immigrant workers who are the victims of labor exploitation are often faced with a difficult choice. They can either stay quiet out of fear of deportation or come forward to report coercive...

  • Practice Advisories

Practice Tip: Opposing a Motion to Dismiss Asserting the Consular Nonreviewability Doctrine in Agency Delay Cases

Publication Date: 
December 16, 2022
Practitioners who challenge delays in visa processing often face a motion to dismiss based on the consular nonreviewability doctrine. This practice tip examines the scope of the doctrine. It provides arguments, with supporting documentation, to oppose common situations that the government claims are final, nonreviewable decisions.
  • Blog

USCIS’ 2022 Progress Report Shows Promise, But Agency Still Has a Long Way to Go

December 15, 2022

From the displacement following the Russian invasion of Ukraine to migrant bussing across the United States, the immigration field has faced unique challenges this year while continuing to manage...

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