Duane Morris Immigration Law

February 19, 2025February 19, 2025 by Valentine A. Brown

State Department Announces Worldwide Restrictions on “Drop Box” Interview Waiver Program

Effective immediately, the Department of State has reinstated the pre-pandemic eligibility criteria for the Dropbox program. This change reverts the eligibility window from 48 months back to 12 months and continues to mandate that the renewal be for the same visa category as the prior visa. These changes have significant implications for nonimmigrant visa holders, particularly in countries with existing consular backlogs, as they may lead to increased wait times for visa stamping.

The U.S. Visa Interview Waiver Program, commonly referred to as the “Dropbox” process, was initially designed to streamline the visa renewal process for eligible applicants by allowing them to bypass the in-person interview at U.S. consulates. This program was particularly beneficial during the COVID-19 pandemic, as it helped reduce consular backlogs and minimized in-person interactions. During this period, the Department of State extended the eligibility period from 12 months to 48 months and allowed renewals across different visa categories, thereby expediting visa renewals and minimizing disruptions for international travelers.

February 13, 2025 by Valentine A. Brown

USCIS Announces FY 2026 H-1B Cap Initial Registration Period Opening on March 7

The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has announced the opening of the initial registration period for the fiscal year (FY) 2026 H-1B cap. This announcement is a significant milestone for employers and foreign professionals seeking to work in the United States under the H-1B visa program. The registration period will commence on March 7, 2025, and will remain open until March 21, 2025.

The H-1B registration process is a critical step for employers wishing to sponsor foreign workers. Employers must first create an online account with USCIS to submit their registrations. During the registration period, employers can submit basic information about the company and each prospective employee. It is important to note that only those with selected registrations will be eligible to file H-1B cap-subject petitions.

November 7, 2024November 7, 2024 by Duane Morris

The 2024 Presidential Election’s Impact on Business Immigration

The stated goals of Donald Trump and the Republican Party are to restrict both humanitarian immigration and legal business immigration. The party’s 2024 platform was discussed in more detail in our blog post, “Business Immigration Planning for 2025.” Now that Trump has been elected as our next president, here are some actions businesses can take between now and January 2025 to manage, or even minimize, the impact of those likely restrictions on foreign national employees.

Read the full Alert on the Duane Morris LLP website.

October 25, 2024October 25, 2024 by Duane Morris

Federal Jury Finds IT Firm Liable for Discrimination Against Non-Indian, Non-South Asian Workers

On October 4, 2024, a California federal jury found Cognizant Technology Solutions engaged in a pattern or practice of intentional discrimination against a class of non-South Asian and non-Indian employees. Cognizant is a U.S.-based multinational IT consulting company and one of the country’s top users of the H-1B (specialty occupation) visa.

Read the full Alert on the Duane Morris LLP website.

September 6, 2024September 16, 2024 by Kristopher Peters

U.S. Immigration Practice 2024: Noteworthy Developments and Possible Changes Ahead

2024 has seen a plethora of developments impacting U.S. immigration. While many developments represent incremental changes to U.S. immigration practice, particularly concerning conventional business and employment-based immigration, more substantial changes to immigration law are only achievable through congressional legislation and, given the current political climate, such congressional action is unlikely. Nonetheless, here are some of the noteworthy developments in 2024 and possible changes in U.S. immigration practice worth watching for the year to come:

1. State Actions/Proposed Actions

- Workplace Enforcement: In August, the Governor of the state of New Jersey signed a law that will levy penalties of up to $10,000 for employers in the state who disclose — or threaten to disclose — a worker’s immigration status to the government to conceal possible violations of state laws on wages, benefits or taxes. The first offense is $1,000, a second violation can be up to $5,000, and subsequent violations can be up to $10,000. The recovered fees would go to the state Department of Labor.

- Pay Transparency: Following a trend in recent years, additional states have implemented or enacted Pay Transparency laws in 2024. States including, but not limited to, Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts, and Minnesota enacted or effectuated pay transparency laws requiring certain employers to disclose additional pay information (such as pay ranges, benefits, and other compensation) on job postings and/or other forms of recruitment. Some state pay transparency laws enacting similar rules passed in 2023, like the amendment to the Illinois Equal Pay Act, are also set to go into effect in 2025. As job postings and recruitment are mandated in certain immigration cases, keeping abreast of pay transparency requirements in different locations is crucial to remain compliant with the law.

Continue reading “U.S. Immigration Practice 2024: Noteworthy Developments and Possible Changes Ahead”

August 26, 2024 by Duane Morris

Tax and Immigration Issues Surrounding the Surrender of a Green Card

There are several reasons why lawful permanent residents (LPRs) might choose to abandon their green cards. One common reason is relocation due to employment opportunities in another country, where a green card holder no longer needs to maintain permanent residence in the United States. Additionally, changes in personal circumstances, such as family commitments or lifestyle preferences, might prompt someone to move somewhere else and give up their green card, which is officially known as a Permanent Resident Card or Form I-551.

Tax considerations also play a significant role. U.S. green card holders are subject to U.S. tax obligations on their worldwide income and may also face U.S. estate, gift and generation-skipping transfer (GST) taxes, as green card holders are also frequently determined to be domiciled in the United States. In addition, once an LPR becomes a “long-term resident” (LTR) under the U.S. Internal Revenue Code’s expatriation tax provisions (generally, by having had the green card for any portion of eight years within a 15-year period), the abandonment of the green card can subject the LPR to a mark-to-market capital gains tax on global assets. So surrendering the green card in a timely fashion and with the benefit of effective pre-surrender tax planning can greatly simplify a former LPR’s tax situation and minimize unanticipated tax consequences.

Read the full Alert on the Duane Morris LLP website.

August 22, 2024 by Duane Morris

Filing Guidance Now Available for Applications for Parole in Place for Certain Noncitizen Spouses and Stepchildren of U.S. Citizens

The Department of Homeland Security recently announced the implementation of the Biden-Harris administration’s Keeping Families Together Program, which allows certain noncitizens present in the United States for at least 10 years and married to U.S. citizens on or before June 17, 2024, (and qualifying stepchildren) to apply for parole without leaving the U.S. and being separated from their families. Some DACA and TPS recipients who are spouses or stepchildren of U.S. citizens may also be eligible. Parole in place has already been available for certain military service members and their family members.

Read the Alert on the Duane Morris LLP website.

August 21, 2024August 22, 2024 by Kristopher Peters

USCIS Publishes Filing Guidance for Applications for Form I-131F, Parole in Place for Certain Noncitizen Spouses and Stepchildren of U.S. Citizens

DHS recently announced the implementation of the Biden-Harris’ administration’s “Keeping Families Together” program, which allows certain noncitizen spouses and stepchildren of U.S. citizens to apply for parole without leaving the U.S. and being separated from their families. Some DACA and TPS recipients who are spouses or stepchildren of U.S. citizens may also be eligible. DHS has the sole discretion to approve parole and can terminate it at any time.

If granted parole, the noncitizen spouse or stepchild’s parole period will be valid for 3 years from the date of approval, allows them to apply for an Employment Authorization Document (EAD) by filing Form I-765, and may make them eligible to apply for adjustment of status to become lawful permanent residents. Continue reading “USCIS Publishes Filing Guidance for Applications for Form I-131F, Parole in Place for Certain Noncitizen Spouses and Stepchildren of U.S. Citizens”

July 30, 2024 by Valentine A. Brown

USCIS to Conduct 2nd H-1B Lottery

On July 30, 2024, USCIS announced that it will be conducting a second H-1B lottery “soon.” We anticipate that this second round will occur on or about August 1. Employers who submitted entries in March 2024 and were not selected in the first round will remain eligible for the second round and will be automatically entered into the second round.

USCIS has confirmed that the Masters Cap has been completely filled, so the second round lottery will be for all remaining applicants , regardless of their degree level or graduation country.

If an entry is selected in the second round, employers will receive an email from their My USCIS account notiftying them that there has been a change in their account. Once they log in, they will be able to see the additional selections and retrieve the offical selection notice from their site. These notices contain important information about where the application should be submitted as well as required deadlines. Continue reading “USCIS to Conduct 2nd H-1B Lottery”

July 17, 2024July 30, 2024 by Duane Morris

Business Immigration Planning for 2025

By Ted Chiappari

The Republican and Democratic Parties have both released their draft 2024 party platforms this month. So it’s an opportune time for US businesses currently planning their 2025 hiring, international personnel transfers and global mobility budgets to consider the impact of the major parties’ platforms on business immigration after the election in November.

The Democratic Platform

The draft 2024 Democratic platform identifies four immigration goals, the first two of which are, at least in broad strokes, shared by Republicans:

Secure the border;
Reform the asylum system;
Expand legal immigration;
Support long-term undocumented individuals in order to keep families together.

Acknowledging that “lasting, comprehensive reforms require congressional action,” the draft platform states that President Biden “will push Congress to pass legislation” to achieve these goals. Securing the border was not part of the 2020 platform and is presumably a nod to widespread concern about the integrity of our land borders, in particular, our border with Mexico. The other goals are consistent with the 2020 platform, even if the draft 2024 platform lacks the detail and perhaps some of the ambition of the 2020 platform.

While US businesses would certainly benefit from an expansion of legal immigration, the Biden Administration can’t deliver on that without Congressional action.

The GOP Platform

The 2024 GOP platform explicitly seeks to restrict business immigration in the following ways:

“Protect American Workers,” “Put American Workers First,” and “Hire American.”
In the name of protecting US workers, the 2017-2021 Trump Administration made multiple attempts to issue regulations that, among other things, change how the prevailing wage was calculated in order to increase minimum compensation levels for the H1B and E3 (specialty occupation) temporary work visa and the PERM green card process. It’s reasonable to assume that these efforts would resume in a second Trump Administration.

Continue reading “Business Immigration Planning for 2025”