The Alien Registration Requirement regulation (including Address Change requirements) went into effect on April 11, 2025 (with a 30-day deadline to comply) and carries stiff penalties for non-compliance, including the possibility of criminal prosecution and removal...
Effective January 8, 2025, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) published an update to its Policy Manual, providing clarity and consolidation of existing policy on how USCIS evaluates evidence for O-1 eligibility. These Policy Manual updates provide...
On January 17, 2025, U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS)’s H-1B modernization regulation took effect, covering several H-1B-related subjects (89 FR 103054, 12/18/24). In this blog post, we take a closer look at the regulation’s provisions relating to USCIS investigations and worksite visits to enforce H-1B compliance, at 8 CFR 214.2(h)(4)(i)(B)(2). This updates our prior blog posts in 2009, 2017, 2019, and 2024 on H-1B worksite visits.
Summary
The final rule delineates USCIS’s authority and companies’ compliance requirements for H-1B site inspections. Per the Final Rule, USCIS at any time after filing of the petition, including after petition approval, may conduct unannounced site visits, hold interviews of petitioners, beneficiaries, or third parties without the presence of counsel, and may perform investigations to verify that the information in the H-1B petition is/was true. Failure or refusal to cooperate in a site visit may result in denial or revocation of the H-1B petitions of any H-1B workers at the work site in question. Most details of the site-visit regulation are codifications of pre-existing USCIS practice from 2009 to the present.
No advance notice of site visit
The regulation allows USCIS to perform on-site inspections, without notice, as needed to verify the facts asserted in an H-1B petition. To be prepared for an unannounced site visit, employers may wish to instruct their reception staff on a protocol to follow.
U.S. immigration law requires that all foreign nationals, including lawful permanent residents (green card holders), report any change of address to USCIS within ten days of moving by submitting Form AR-11, the Alien's Change of Address Card. Note that changing your...
As of today, December 2, 2024, U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) is requiring Form I-693, Report of Immigration Medical Examination and Vaccination Record to be submitted with Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status....
Dear Clients and Community:First and foremost, we want to emphasize that we stand in solidarity with immigrants and firmly oppose any form of anti-immigrant rhetoric. In light of Donald Trump's re-election, we want to extend our assurances to you as we navigate this...
On October 11, 2024, USCIS will publish a new edition of Form I-131 (edition 06/17/2024). The form will be renamed “Application for Travel Documents, Parole Documents, and Arrival/Departure Records.” There is no filing grace period for the new form due to the...
On Monday, April 8, 2024, U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) published a Temporary Final Rule (TFR) in the Federal Register (89 FR 24628) that provides a temporary increase in the automatic extension period of employment authorization for certain...
On Friday, February 2, 2024, U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) published a Final Rule in the Federal Register that will bring significant changes to the annual H-1B cap selection process (89 FR 7456). The Final Rule is based on a Notice of Proposed...
