Immigration

The European Commission is being urged to require U.S. citizens to obtain visas for travel to Europe in an effort to obtain full visa waiver reciprocity for all European Union (EU) nations.

After losing the emergency motion to stay the District Court’s Temporary Restraining Order (the “TRO”) halting the implementation of major portions of President Trump’s January 27th Executive Order, the administration has conveyed that it could pursue any or all of the following options:

On February 9, 2017, a three-judge panel of the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled unanimously against the Government’s emergency motion to stay the District Court’s Temporary Restraining Order (the “TRO”) halting the implementation of major portions of President Trump’s January 27th Executive Order. (See our previous alerts on the order here).

On February 9, 2017, a three-judge panel of the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled unanimously against the Government’s emergency motion to stay the District Court’s Temporary Restraining Order (the “TRO”) halting the implementation of major portions of President Trump’s January 27th Executive Order.

We are currently serving as co-counsel with the ACLU of Massachusetts, the Massachusetts Attorney General’s office, and others in a lawsuit against the president’s executive order curbing immigration by refugees and others traveling from seven majority Muslim countries.

As indicated in our alert from Saturday, February 4th, on Friday, February 3rd, the United States Federal District Court in Seattle, Washington issued a temporary restraining order (TRO) temporarily invalidating key portions of President Trump’s January 27 Executive Order, and enjoining enforcement at all United States borders and ports of entry pending further orders.

On Friday night, February 3, 2017, U.S. District Court Judge James Robart of the Western District of Washington in Seattle, granted a Temporary Restraining Order (the “TRO”) invalidating key portions of President Trump’s January 27 Executive Order and enjoined enforcement of its ban on the entry to the U.S. of travelers from the 7 designated countries.

The President’s Executive Order signed on January 27, 2017 continues to affect travelers on passports from Iraq, Syria, Sudan, Iran, Somalia, Libya, and Yemen who are applying for entry to the United States at any port of entry—air, land or sea.

Please note that the information below is up-to-date as of Monday afternoon, January 30, 2017. This issue is evolving rapidly and readers should stay tuned for further updates and consult immigration counsel before making any travel decisions.

On the heels of the January 25, 2017 Executive Orders regarding Border Security and Public Safety in the Interior of the U.S., President Trump has signed the Executive Order, Protecting the Nation from Terrorist Attacks by Foreign Nationals.

On January 25, 2017, President Trump issued two Executive Orders impacting immigration.  As promised in his presidential campaign, the orders involve enhancing border security, but also include increased interior enforcement.

Update -  NEW BOSTON EVENT DATE: Due to safety concerns surrounding the recent snow storm, Mintz Levin rescheduled the Boston Immigration Seminar to Thursday, March 2. To register, please click here or see below. We hope you can join us!

At the end of the 2016 calendar year, the Administrative Appeals Office (AAO) published a welcome precedent decision, Matter of Dhanasar, 26 I&N Dec. 884 (AAO 2016).

H-1B visas have long been the U.S. employment visa of choice due to their flexibility for professionals to work in “specialty occupations”.

Federal law requires that every employer who recruits, refers for a fee, or hires an individual for employment in the U.S. must complete Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification.

On January 17, 2017, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) published a final rule in the Federal Register amending the immigration regulations to expand the use of the government’s “parole” authority to authorize parole for foreign entrepreneurs who can demonstrate that they will provide a significant public benefit to the United States as a result of economic growth and/or job creation resulting from their entrepreneurial activities.

As previously noted in this space, two small but significant changes from United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) are coming in the next month. First, on December 23, 2016, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) will increase the filing fees for certain benefit requests.

In light of the general unavailability of H-1B visas due to the limited and inadequate H-1B visa quota, it is more important than ever that U.S. employers and highly skilled foreign nationals be able to take maximum advantage of exemptions from the quota.

In a final regulation published on November 18, 2016 which takes effect on January 17, 2017, DHS has clarified the requirements and parameters associated with cap-exempt employment of H-1B workers by nonprofit entities that are affiliated with or related to an institution of higher education or other cap-exempt institutions.

In a welcome development, on November 18, 2016 the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) published a final rule benefitting many highly skilled nonimmigrant foreign workers and EB-1, EB-2, and EB-3 employment-based immigrant workers and their employers.