Last week, the New Jersey Assembly sent legislation to Governor Phil Murphy’s desk that would prohibit the state’s professional and occupational licensing agencies from requiring applicants to establish lawful presence in the United States as a condition of obtaining a professional or occupational license. Gov. Murphy is expected to sign the bill into law according to his spokesperson, Alyana Alfaro, who said in a statement to NorthJersey.com, that READ MORE READ MORE

The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has announced an extension of flexibility in complying with the Form I-9 requirements. This was originally extended on March 19, 2020, due to the COVID-19 national emergency. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has decided to extend this policy once again for an additional period of 30 days. The DHS temporarily halted the requirement that employers physically review employee READ MORE READ MORE

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) data between 2015 and 2019 show that denials of the H-1B Specialty Occupation Nonimmigrant Visa Petitions have quadrupled for both initial H-1B petitions and those seeking the continuation of employment with the same employer. According to immigration policy analysts, including the National Foundation for American Policy (NFAP), this is a result of more restrictive Trump administration policies, specifically the 2017 “Buy READ MORE READ MORE

The COVID-19 pandemic has compelled many states to issue stay-at-home orders, which has called for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to issue a temporary policy regarding the expired List B documents used for the renewal of Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification. The challenge employers now face is that some documents listed in the List B identification documents are expired and unable to be renewed due to READ MORE READ MORE

United States Customs and Immigration Services (USCIS) made significant changes to the “Handbook for Employers: Guidance Completing Form I-9.” Form I-9 itself was updated on October 21, 2019. A Recap of the Important Changes Made to Form I-9 The changes clarified who can serve as an authorized representative to correspond with revisions in the Form I-9 Instructions. The change further clarified that the second List B document READ MORE READ MORE