Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
by Leigh Polk Cole Each year, employers looking to hire H-1B workers for hard-to-fill positions have to focus on preparing H-1B petitions for the April 1 H-1B lottery deadline. All you can do is hope for success in the lottery, which in recent years has led to H-1B approval in fewer than half the cases […]
by Elaine Young Here are two situations in which you must avoid discrimination while fulfilling your obligation to hire only authorized workers. Situation #1 ABC Resort is a beautiful, large new resort in the Utah mountains. Some of its managers heard about Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids a few years ago at other resorts […]
by Jacob M. Monty President Barack Obama’s executive actions on immigration were not upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court. Some of your employees are probably disappointed and unsure of how to move forward. The disappointment they are experiencing and displaying doesn’t mean they are undocumented workers, and you shouldn’t assume they are. Here are some […]
by Elaine Young The rules affecting how long international students in certain fields can work in the United States without changing their visa status will change on May 10. Currently, when international students in F-1 visa status graduate with a bachelor’s, master’s, or doctorate from a U.S. school, they can work for one year, in […]
The current revision of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Form I-9 expired March 31. However, USCIS has instructed employers to continue using this version of the form until a new revision is approved. Meanwhile, revisions to Form I-9 have been proposed, but the new form cannot be finalized and adopted until the public has […]
No quick resolution is in sight to the uncertainty surrounding President Barack Obama’s executive actions on immigration. On May 26, a three-judge panel of the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals refused to lift a temporary hold on Obama’s actions, which were designed to ease deportation worries for millions of undocumented immigrants who have been […]
by Mary Pivec Employers face a high cost if they are accused of engaging in discriminatory employment verification procedures. The Office of Special Counsel for Immigration-Related Discrimination (OSC) in the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has made it a priority to pursue employers that allegedly misuse or abuse their access […]
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has published final regulations that will extend employment authorization eligibility to spouses of certain nonimmigrant workers who are in the United States on H-1B visas. The H-1B, or highly-skilled worker, visa is the most commonly discussed and highly sought employment-based nonimmigrant visa. The number of visas available each year […]
by Christine D. Mehfoud Whether the president’s recent series of immigration-related executive actions will survive potential legal challenges and congressional action remains to be seen. For now, set aside your political views (while I love a good political debate, this space is for practical business implications), and let’s focus on how the executive actions will […]
by Alka Ramchandani A new California law taking effect January 1 clarifies a previous law prohibiting immigrant-related discrimination. Last year, a law creating California Labor Code Section 1019 was enacted. That law makes it unlawful for an employer or any other person to engage in—or direct another person to engage in—any “unfair immigration-related practice” against […]