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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.

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Practical Guides and FAQs for the Federal STEM Initiatives

Learn how institutions, employers, or talented researchers and other highly skilled individuals in the STEM fields can take advantage of the Early Career STEM Research Initiative.

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  • Blog

Businesses Are Fighting Back Against USCIS’ Restrictive View of H-1B ‘Specialty Occupation’

January 28, 2019

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is making it more difficult to hire temporary foreign workers in a “specialty occupation.” American businesses are fighting back in order to keep...

  • Blog

With Comment Period Expired, Uncertainty Remains About H-1B Registration Process

January 3, 2019

January 2 marked the final day for comments on a proposed rule by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) that would implement a new registration requirement for H-1B visas for well-...

  • Blog

USCIS’ Proposed H1-B Registration Rule Creates More Uncertainty for Employers

December 7, 2018

Just months short of the normal starting date for the annual H-1B petition process, USCIS has proposed major changes. U.S. employers who rely on this visa category, which is for jobs that require...

  • Blog

The United States Must Embrace Global Talent, As High-Skilled Foreign Workers Go Elsewhere

October 10, 2018

If the U.S. government closes the door to highly skilled foreign workers, other countries stand ready to embrace their contributions. For instance, while the Trump administration contemplates an...

  • Blog

How Experts Are Addressing Immigrant Underemployment and Why it Matters

August 22, 2018

Many immigrants bring advanced expertise when they come to the United States, but those skills are often underutilized. Due to a range of complex factors, such as professional credentialing and...

  • Blog

DHS Acts to Eliminate Opportunities for Foreign Entrepreneurs and U.S. Job Growth

May 31, 2018

The Trump administration continued its shortsighted attack on businesses this week, indicating it will end a rule allowing foreign entrepreneurs to grow start-up companies in the United States....

  • Blog

Bipartisan Group of Lawmakers Oppose Revoking Work Authorization for Spouses of H1-B Holders

May 23, 2018

In a rare show of bipartisanship, 130 members of Congress sent a letter to Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kirsten Nielsen urging her to maintain the current regulation granting...

  • Blog

Is USCIS Exceeding Its Authority as It Attempts to Restrict “Specialty Occupation” Workers?

May 10, 2018

As U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) begins adjudicating H-1B petitions subject to the Fiscal Year (FY) 2019 “cap,”—the annual limit on the number of visas that will be made...

  • Blog

Fewer Foreign Doctors Could Spell Disaster for America’s Most Underserved Communities

April 13, 2018

The United States has long been the country of choice for international physicians seeking a graduate medical education. But for the second year in a row, the number of foreign doctors who applied...

  • Blog

H-1B Cap Has Been Reached in First Week for Sixth Consecutive Year, USCIS Announces

April 6, 2018

Demonstrating a critical demand for educated foreign workers in the United States, the annual H-1B cap has been reached within 5 business days. United States Citizenship and Immigration Services...

  • Practice Advisories

Court Decision Ensures Timely Adjudication of Employment Applications Filed by Initial Asylum Applicants

Publication Date: 
March 1, 2021
This Frequently Asked Questions document addresses the status of the case and explains options for first time asylum seekers applying for employment authorization.
  • 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...

  • Blog

What You Need to Know About the Latest Changes to the H-1B Registration Process

January 14, 2021

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) recently issued a final rule changing the way U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) selects the registrations of U.S. employers that want to...

  • Blog

Your COVID-19 Vaccine Was Likely Made by an Immigrant

December 14, 2020

The development of a COVID-19 vaccine is a global endeavor. The scientists and entrepreneurs creating the vaccine are of many nationalities and immigration statuses—as are the millions of people...

  • Comments

Comments Filed To Address Substantive Flaws in Proposed H-1B Regulatory Changes

December 9, 2020

The American Immigration Council and the American Immigration Lawyers Association filed comments to address the substantive flaws in the Department of...

  • Blog

District Court Stops Regulations Restricting the H-1B Visa Category

December 2, 2020

On December 1, a federal district court judge disrupted the Trump administration’s relentless attack on legal immigration by halting two new sets of regulations. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and...

  • Practice Advisories

Practice Tip: The Government Answered a Complaint Alleging Administrative Procedure Act Violations – Now What?

Publication Date: 
November 20, 2020
This practice tip responds to a frequent question from attorneys new to federal court litigation who filed a lawsuit claiming the government violated the Administrative Procedure Act.
  • Press Release

Lawsuit Now Covers Hundreds of H-1B Petitions for Market Research Analyst Positions Filed by American Businesses

November 18, 2020
A federal judge has granted class certification in MadKudu Inc., et al. v. USCIS, et al., a lawsuit challenging U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ pattern and practice of arbitrarily denying H-1B nonimmigrant employment-based petitions for market research analyst positions filed by businesses in the United States.
  • Blog

USCIS Is Proposing an H-1B Rule That Ignores Why the Category Exists

November 13, 2020

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) recently issued a proposed rule that will change the way it selects the registrations of U.S. employers that want to file H-1B petitions subject...

  • Amicus Briefs

Council Submits Amicus Brief Challenging Agency Failure to Undergo Notice and Comment Rulemaking

Publication Date: 
November 11, 2020
The Council filed an amicus brief supporting plaintiffs’ preliminary injunction and summary judgment motion that the government did not satisfy the stringent requirements necessary to sidestep notice and comment rulemaking.

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