Immigration

On April 11, Douglas Hauer, a Member in our Boston office, will moderate, and William Coffman, Of Counsel on our immigration team, will speak as part of a panel on German-American visa and immigration issues. Topics covered will include dual citizenship, work visas for employment in Germany, US green card issues, and changes in the US visa waiver program.

JD Supra has recognized seven Mintz Levin attorneys, including Bill Coffman, Of Counsel on the immigration team, as part of their 2016 Reader's Choice awards. Bill was recognized for being "a Top Author with readers in the semiconductor industry."

In an update to Canada's announcement of a new Electronic Travel Authorization Program (eTA), Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) has relaxed the eTA registration requirement until "fall 2016".

At 4:50 p.m. today, one of our top software developers, Ben Bedraggled, stumbled into my office. He dropped his suitcase and computer bag on the floor and slumped into a chair looking like he had been on an airplane for about 24 hours - it turns out this was about right.

Today, March 9, 2016, the Department of Homeland Security previewed the final rule governing STEM OPT, to be released on Friday. This rule is effective May 10, 2016, except the addition of 8 CFR 214.16, which is effective from May 10, 2016 through May 10, 2019.

On October 1, 2015 USCIS announced the launch of the Known Employer Pilot Program. Yesterday, March 3, USCIS confirmed the participation of five employers in the pilot. The purpose of the Known Employer Program is to expedite processing of certain immigrant and nonimmigrant visa petitions via a "pre-approval" process of certain employer information.

From proposals to overhaul OPT to decreasing the number of H-1Bs, 2016 is already proving to be an interesting year for business immigration. In a series of posts, the Mintz Levin team will provide an overview of the cases, legislation, and regulations to look out for in the new year.

The US Consulate in Toronto has introduced "streamlined" registration for companies applying for E-1 Treaty Trader or E-2 Investor registrations. In addition, E-1 and E-2 visa processing for employees of companies with valid registrations has been expanded to the US Embassy in Ottawa and US Consulates General in Vancouver, Calgary, and Montreal.

From proposals to overhaul OPT to decreasing the number of H-1Bs, 2016 is already proving to be an interesting year for business immigration. In this series of posts, the Mintz team will provide an overview of the cases, legislation, and regulations to look out for in the new year.

Tips for start-up companies building an immigration petition.

In our increasingly globalized economy, employers strategically place employees in assignments across international locations, and utilize cross-border business trips to facilitate demanding international business needs. However, many employers fail to thoroughly consider the risks or implications of sending their employees abroad.

In an update to our post from January 25, 2016, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security on Thursday further restricted visa-free travel to the U.S. for people who have traveled to Libya, Somalia, and Yemen.

From proposals to overhaul OPT to decreasing the number of H-1Bs, 2016 is already proving to be an interesting year for business immigration. In a series of posts, the Mintz team will provide an overview of the cases, legislation, and regulations to look out for in the new year.

From proposals to overhaul OPT to decreasing the number of H-1Bs, 2016 is already proving to be an interesting year for business immigration. In this series of posts, the Mintz Levin team will provide an overview of the cases, legislation, and regulations to look out for in the new year.

In a notice expected to be published in the Federal Register on Tuesday, February 16th, with an effective date the same day, US Customs and Border Protections (USCBP) announced that it is extending Global Entry eligibility to all citizens of Germany.

From proposals to overhaul OPT to decreasing the number of H-1Bs, 2016 is already proving to be an interesting year for business immigration. In a series of posts, the Mintz Levin team will provide an overview of the cases, legislation, and regulations to look out for in the new year. In our second post we will discuss regulatory issues with OPT.

From proposals to slash the H-1B cap to overhauling the EB-5 investor program, 2016 is already proving to be an interesting year for business immigration. In a series of posts, the Mintz Levin team will provide an overview of the cases, legislation, and regulations to look out for in the new year.

As of April 1, 2016, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will begin accepting H-1B petitions for Fiscal Year 2017 (FY2017). Upon approval, petitions for FY2017 will allow foreign nationals to work for petitioning employers as of October 1, 2016.

One of the major immigration developments for 2016 is a proposed rule from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) that would allow certain F-1 students to extend their period of “optional practical training” (OPT) if they have degrees in science, technology, engineering or math (STEM) from US schools.

On December 18, 2015, President Obama signed the “Visa Waiver Program Improvement and Terrorist Travel Prevention Act of 2015” into law. On January 21, 2016, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Department of State (DOS) began implementing changes to the Visa Waiver Program ("VWP”).