USCIS Rescinds Trump-Era Computer Programmer Policy Memorandum

By Roujin Mozaffarimehr On February 3, 2021, USCIS issued a new Policy Memorandum[1] that rescinds the Trump-era Computer Programmer Policy Memorandum.[2] This 2021 Policy Memorandum was issued in direct response to the decision issued in the Ninth Circuit in Innova Solutions v. Baran. By way of background, in December 2000, the Director of the USCIS…

President Biden Signs Executive Order Revoking BAHA

by Roujin Mozaffarimehr On January 25, 2021, President Biden signed an Executive Order[1] which effectively revoked President Trump’s Buy American and Hire American Executive Order (commonly known as “BAHA”).[2] On April 18, 2017, President Trump signed the Buy American and Hire American Executive order, which was used as the basis for many restrictive immigration policies…

DOL Wages Revised Through Interim Final Rule on October 8, 2020

by Roujin Mozaffarimehr On October 7, 2020, the Department of Labor published an interim final rule (IFR) (85 FR 63918) that dramatically changes the calculation methodology of the prevailing wage for OES-based wage levels for all occupations. This new rule took effect immediately on October 8, 2020 and impacts wage rates for H-1Bs, H-1B1s, and…

President Trump Signs Executive Order for Aligning Federal Contracting and Hiring Practices

By Radhika Balaji, Associate Attorney On August 3, 2020, President Donald Trump signed an Executive Order (EO 13940) on “Aligning Federal Contracting and Hiring Practices With the Interests of American Workers.”[1] This EO directs heads of federal agencies to review federal contracts and assess any negative impact on U.S. workers stemming from the use of…

USCIS Announces Final Rule to Be Published on Fee Increases

By Roujin Mozaffarimehr Today, USCIS announced that it plans to publish its final rule in the Federal Register on Monday, August 3rd, 2020 to increase fees across the board for immigration-related filings. A copy of the rule for public inspection can be found here. Notable changes include: I-90 Application to Replace Permanent Resident Card (online…

New June 17, 2020 USCIS Policy Memo dramatically changes adjudication of H-1Bs for IT Consulting Companies

By Radhika Balaji US Citizenship and Immigration Service’s settlement with ITServe Alliance will dramatically change the way H-1B visas have been adjudicated for the last 10 years for Information Technology companies. In its March 10, 2020 ruling in the ITServe Alliance lawsuit, the District Court opined that the two key policy memos from 2010[1] and…

Victory in the Courts—USCIS Required to Rescind 2018 Third Party Worksite Memorandum

On May 16, 2020 a landmark settlement was reached in the case, IT Serve Alliance, Inc. v. United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (IT Serve Alliance) after a decision was issued on March 10, 2020 by the District Court for the District of Columbia. The USCIS has agreed to rescind the February 2018 USCIS memo,…

USCIS Plans to Reopen Offices and Public Services on June 4th

On May 27th, the USCIS announced that it expects to begin reopening domestic offices and public services beginning on June 4th or later. All asylum interviews, naturalization ceremonies, interviews, appointments, and biometrics appointments canceled due to office closures will be automatically rescheduled. All applicants will be issued new notices confirming the rescheduled event.

USCIS Makes Technical Updates to its Policy Manual to Clarify Guidance on Portability for Physicians with approved NIW immigrant petitions

On Wednesday May 20, 2020, USCIS updated its Policy Manual to clarify guidance on portability for physicians with an approved immigrant  petition based on a national interest waiver (NIW) applying for adjustment of status and the applicability of the two-year foreign residence requirements to certain NIW physicians. This change was made in Chapter 8 of…