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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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All High Skilled Content

  • Fact Sheet

The Economic Contributions of Immigrants in Texas

Publication Date: 
July 11, 2022

New research from the American Immigration Council, The Economic Contributions of Immigrants in Texas, highlights the crucial role of immigrants in the state’s workforce across the manufacturing,...

  • Special Report

Practical Guides and FAQs for the Federal STEM Initiatives

Publication Date: 
June 14, 2022
Recent federal policy changes have opened up new avenues for American businesses of all sizes to connect with talented researchers and other highly-skilled individuals in the STEM fields. The...
  • Fact Sheet

Foreign-born STEM Workers in the United States

Publication Date: 
June 14, 2022
Foreign-born workers make up a growing share of the country’s STEM workforce and are critical to the country’s innovation, and STEM workers are responsible for many of the cutting-edge ideas and...
  • Special Report

The Impact of COVID-19 on Noncitizens and Across the U.S. Immigration System

Publication Date: 
September 30, 2020
This report identifies disruptions throughout the immigration system because of the COVID-19 pandemic and makes recommendations for improvements to the federal government’s response.
  • Fact Sheet

The Rules for Immigrants Wanting to Work in the United States on a Permanent Basis

Publication Date: 
April 6, 2020
This fact sheet defines the various components of the permanent, employment-based immigration system—and then describes how those components relate to each other in the application processes for each...
  • Fact Sheet

The H-4 Visa Classification

Publication Date: 
March 26, 2018
Temporary workers—such as those in H-1B status—typically can bring their spouses and children with them to the United States in what is called H-4 status. This fact sheet provides an overview of the...
  • Special Report

Foreign-Trained Doctors are Critical to Serving Many U.S. Communities

Publication Date: 
January 17, 2018
U.S. immigration policies significantly limit the ability of these doctors to immigrate to and practice in the United States. As policy-makers debate what immigration reforms would best serve the...
  • Special Report

Wages and High-Skilled Immigration

Publication Date: 
December 14, 2017
This wage calculation is at the heart of the employment-based immigration system Congress devised to protect U.S. workers from unfair competition, while refraining from micromanaging the hiring...
  • Fact Sheet

Capitalizing on the Economic Potential of Foreign Entrepreneurs

Publication Date: 
September 13, 2017
This fact sheet describes the legal avenues in the United States available to promising entrepreneurs, as well as some of the barriers they face securing immigration status through these paths.
  • Fact Sheet

The RAISE Act

Publication Date: 
August 11, 2017
The Reforming American Immigration for Strong Employment Act (RAISE Act) or S. 354 would mark a sweeping overhaul of the U.S. immigration system. It would significantly reduce levels of legal...
  • FOIA Litigation

Lawsuit Demands Response to FOIAs Seeking Data About Immigrant and Nonimmigrant Adjudications

With the data sought through the requests, the Council hopes to better understand USCIS’ adjudication of employment-based immigrant and nonimmigrant petitions and how the adjudication process has evolved over multiple years.
  • Litigation

U.S. Employer Challenges USCIS “Not a Specialty Occupation” H-1B Petition Denial Disregarding Employer’s Evidence of Specific Specialty Degree Requirement

This case is representative of the difficulties employers encounter when new occupations emerge to fill business needs which require at least a bachelor’s degree, but no consensus exists as to the degree requirement.
  • FOIA Litigation

Lawsuit Demands USCIS Comply with FOIA Requests regarding H-1B Adjudications

On behalf of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), the American Immigration Council filed a lawsuit under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) challenging U.S. Citizenship and...

  • Litigation

Challenging USCIS Denial of Multinational Manager Immigrant Petition

Prioritizing the immigration of multinational executives and managers recognizes the need for the United States to remain competitive in an increasingly global economy.
  • 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 Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration and the National Interest on "The Impact of High-Skilled Immigration on U.S. Workers"

February 25, 2016
The statement highlights the critical role that high-skilled foreign employees can bring, especially with regards to science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM).
  • 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

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.
  • 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...

  • 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...

  • 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...

  • 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...

  • Press Release

Foreign Student Admission Restrictions Hurt America’s Leadership in Innovation

October 22, 2020
The proposal would negatively impact American colleges and universities and foreign students seeking a higher education degree in the United States and have long-term effects for the legal immigration system.
  • Press Release

An Expanded and More Permanent Ban on Immigration Threatens Our Values and Compromises Our Future

June 22, 2020
The Trump administration announced a more permanent order that suspends many categories of immigration to the United States and an expanded ban that halts many legal employment-based immigration categories for those outside of the United States.
  • Press Release

Class Action Lawsuit Seeks to Challenge USCIS’ Unlawful Denial of H-1B Petitions Filed by American Businesses

April 16, 2020
The American Immigration Council, the American Immigration Lawyers Association, and the law firms Van Der Hout, LLP, Joseph & Hall P.C., and Kuck Baxter Immigration LLC filed a nationwide class action lawsuit today challenging U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ pattern and practice of arbitrarily denying H-1B nonimmigrant employment-based petitions for market research analysts positions filed by businesses in the United States.
  • Press Release

Judge Rules USCIS Must Adjudicate Employment Authorization for Asylum Seekers Within 30-Days

August 2, 2018
A judge ordered last week that United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) must adjudicate work authorization applications for asylum seekers within the prescribed 30-day deadline.
  • Press Release

Judge Certifies Nationwide Class in Employment Authorization Case

July 19, 2017
U.S. District Court Judge James Robert granted a motion to certify a nationwide class in Northwest Immigrant Rights Project v. USCIS, recognizing that USCIS must adjudicate asylum seekers’ employment authorization applications within 30 days if they are submitted in a timely manner.
  • Press Release

Lawsuit Seeks Transparency in H-1B Lottery Process

May 23, 2016

shington D.C. - The American Immigration Council (Council) and the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) have teamed up on a lawsuit against the U.S.

  • Press Release

USCIS “Do-Over” of Visa Bulletin Undercuts Administration’s Goal of Visa Modernization

September 29, 2015

Washington D.C.

  • Press Release

Executive Director Benjamin Johnson Testifies Before Senate on High-Skilled Immigration

March 17, 2015

Washington D.C. - Today, the American Immigration Council's Executive Director, Benjamin Johnson, testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee about the integral role immigration plays in

  • Press Release

LAC Wins Release of H-1B Fraud Documents for AILA

November 19, 2012

For Immediate Release

LAC Wins Release of H-1B Fraud Documents for AILA

  • Press Release

Immigrants in America: More Skilled and Educated Than Ever Before

June 9, 2011

Washington D.C. - Today, the Brookings Institution released a new report,

  • Press Release

New Report Shows Immigrants in Androscoggin County, Maine Paid Over $24 Million in Taxes and Held Over $74 Million in Spending Power in 2019

April 4, 2024
Immigrants play a crucial role in the labor force in southern Maine, according to data in a new report.
  • Blog

On International Women’s Day, We Celebrate the Important Contributions of Immigrant Women in the American Workforce

March 8, 2024

Since its conception in 1977, International Women’s Day has evolved into a global celebration highlighting women’s achievements and the challenges they face. The holiday’s origins can be traced...

  • Practice Advisories

Litigation for Business Immigration Practitioners

Publication Date: 
January 8, 2024
This Practice Advisory has information practitioners need to assess whether filing suit in federal court is the right option for challenging an employment-based petition denial.
  • Blog

Employment-Based Immigration to Get an Important Update with Biden’s Artificial Intelligence Executive Order

November 17, 2023

Written by Steven Hubbard, Senior Data Scientist and Leslie Dellon, Senior Attorney (Business Immigration) The White House’s recent executive order on artificial intelligence marks an important...

  • Blog

USCIS Proposes Significant Changes to the H-1B Program

November 3, 2023

The H-1B program may undergo significant changes as early as October 1, 2024. The Department of Homeland Security U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) recently published a 94-page...

  • Fact Sheet

New Americans in Greater Salem

Publication Date: 
October 10, 2023
New research from the American Immigration Council shows that immigrants in Greater Salem paid over $200 million in taxes and held over $536 million in spending power in 2019. The new report, New...
  • Fact Sheet

New Americans in Allen County

Publication Date: 
September 6, 2023
New research from the American Immigration Council shows that immigrants in Allen County paid over $160 million in taxes and exceeded $496.0 million in spending power in 2019. The new report, New...
  • Press Release

New Report Reveals Immigrant Roots of Fortune 500 Companies

August 29, 2023
In an annual review of the most successful companies in the United States, the American Immigration Council unveiled today (August 29, 2023) a report that sheds light on the contributions of immigrant entrepreneurs and their children to the U.S. economy.
A landscape of several tall buildings with a bridge in the foreground
  • Special Report

New American Fortune 500 in 2023

Publication Date: 
August 29, 2023
See our updated web report on the largest American companies and their immigrant roots.
  • Blog

The Success of the CHIPS Act Depends on Skilled Immigrants

August 2, 2023

The Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), a major Apple supplier, has delayed the production schedule for its Arizona chip plant to 2025. The company said it is having trouble finding...

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