Legal Updates Archive

The Iowa Supreme Court recently provided employers some much-needed guidance.

What is all the buzz about Federal OSHA’s new COVID-19 Emergency Temporary Standard for healthcare providers?

On June 26, 2021, passing with bipartisan support, Minnesota’s Natural Gas Innovation Act (Special Session HF6, the Commerce and Energy Omnibus) was presented and signed into law by Governor Walz.

The North Dakota Supreme Court recently addressed an issue of first impression related to the valuation point of oil for purposes of determining royalty due to a mineral owner.

Effective May 17, 2021, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services will temporarily suspend the biometrics submission requirement for certain applicants filing Form I-539, Application to Extend/Change Nonimmigrant Status, requesting an extension of stay in or change of status to H-4, L-2, and E nonimmigrant status.

USCIS announced that DHS is withdrawing a 2018 proposed rule that would have removed the International Entrepreneur parole program from DHS regulations.

The Department of Homeland Security issued a final rule, effective May 19, 2021, that removes an interim final rule issued in October 2020 and later vacated by a federal district court, “Strengthening the H-1B Nonimmigrant Visa Classification Program.”

The Departments of Homeland Security and Labor published a joint temporary final rule making available an additional 22,000 H-2B temporary nonagricultural guest worker visas for fiscal year 2021 “to employers who are likely to suffer irreparable harm without these additional workers.”

ACE and a group of higher education associations sent a letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas urging them to take immediate action to allow international students to return to their campuses and institutions in the fall semester.

Due to updated guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has updated its visitor policy.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement announced an extension until August 31, 2021, of the flexibilities in rules related to Form I-9 compliance that were initially granted last year due to precautions related to COVID-19.

Alejandro Mayorkas, Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, announced on June 1, 2021, that he has terminated the Migration Protection Protocols program.

On May 27, 2021, the Department of State expanded the National Interest Exception criteria for individuals subject to proclamations restricting travel to the United States due to physical presence in China, Iran, India, Brazil, South Africa, the Schengen Area, the United Kingdom and Ireland.

Under the recently announced H-2B supplemental cap temporary final rule, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced on June 3, 2021, that it has received enough petitions to reach the cap for the additional 16,000 H-2B visas made available for returning workers only.

President Biden revised the United States’ annual refugee admissions cap to 62,500 for fiscal year 2021, with a goal of 125,000 admissions for FY 2022.

The Department of Labor has delayed a final rule on prevailing wage computations from May 14, 2021, until November 14, 2022.

USCIS announced on May 11, 2021, that applicants, petitioners, requestors and beneficiaries may now call to reschedule their biometric services appointments scheduled at a USCIS Application Support Center.

Due to shifting commodity prices, land use regulations, and a variety of other factors, mineral interests often go unused for significant periods of time.

The playground adage “finders keepers, losers weepers” appears to have been taken to new heights in a recent court decision authored by U.S. District Judge Jesse Furman, costing Citibank around $500 million.

This next installment in our Vendor Contracts 101 series takes a closer look at how to plan for mergers and acquisitions when negotiating vendors contracts.

This article outlines practical steps for banks to take to protect themselves against check fraudsters.

Deficiency judgments are common occurrences in mortgage foreclosures and typically arise when the amount bid at sale is less than the amount due on the mortgage debt. It is rare, however, when the amount bid at sale exceeds the mortgage debt.

The USPTO is launching a Pilot Prioritized Review Program for Appeals Related to COVID-19 where the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) will expedite the review and issuance of ex parte appeal decisions for applications examined under the COVID-19 Prioritized Trademark Examination Program.

On May 21, 2021, USCIS and DOL announced they will issue a joint temporary final rule on May 25, 2021, making available 22,000 additional H-2B visas for certain foreign national workers and U.S. businesses.

President Biden has issued a proclamation suspending the entry of non-U.S. citizens who were physically present within India during the 14-day period preceding their entry or attempted entry into the United States, with some exceptions.

Effective immediately, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services updated its policy guidance to generally restore its 2004 instructions directing officers to defer to prior determinations of eligibility when adjudicating petition extensions involving the same parties and facts as the initial petition.

On April 30, 2021, the Department of State announced a tiered prioritization approach to "triage" immigrant visa applications in light of reduced operating capacity as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Social Security Administration has ended the practice of sending employers “no-match” letters, called Employer Correction Request Notices.

In light of increased labor demands, the Department of Homeland Security announced a supplemental increase of 22,000 visas this fiscal year for the H-2B Temporary Non-Agricultural Worker program.

The Department of Homeland Security has suspended certain regulatory requirements for F-1 nonimmigrant students whose country of citizenship is Venezuela or Syria.

Effective May 19, 2021, the Department of State is changing the certification authority for noncitizen physicians from the American Board of Medical Specialties to the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education.

The Department is warning travelers against going to “approximately 80% of countries worldwide.”

USCIS announced that F-1 students seeking optional practical training can now file Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization, online if they are filing under one of several categories.

Attorneys Jeff Joseph of Joseph and Hall PC, Charles Kuck of Kuck Baxter Immigration LLC, and Greg Siskind of Siskind Susser PC, along with the American Immigration Lawyers Association, filed a complaint on behalf of scores of plaintiffs against the Department of State and Secretary Antony Blinken.

The Department of Labor's Office of Foreign Labor Certification revised its Form ETA-9141, Application for Prevailing Wage Determination, for use beginning May 3, 2021.

Students seeking to start studies in the fall, certain academics, journalists and individuals who provide critical infrastructure support in countries affected by a geographic COVID-19 restriction may now qualify for a national interest exception.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection issued guidance on March 5, 2021, for its Carrier Liaison Program on the current policy for boarding of lawful permanent residents.

The anticipated amendment to the rules regarding outsourcing in Mexico was published on April 23, 2021. The decree amends several Mexican laws, including the Federal Labor Law, Social Security Law, National Workers’ Housing Fund Law, Tax Code, Income Tax Law and Value Added Tax Law.

On April 7, 2021, the U.S. Department of Labor issued guidance in the form of Frequently Asked Questions and model notices to help employers comply with the federal COBRA premium subsidy assistance requirements under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021.

New legislation introduced on March 29, 2021, by Democratic and Republican senators would provide unused employment-based immigrant visas for up to 25,000 foreign nurses and 15,000 foreign physicians and their family members.

USCIS announced that it received enough electronic registrations during the initial registration period to reach the fiscal year 2022 H-1B numerical allocations, including the advanced degree exemption (master’s cap).

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced an extension until May 31, 2021, of the flexibility in complying with requirements related to Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification, due to ongoing COVID-19 pandemic precautions.

The Department of State issued an update on Presidential Proclamation 10052, which suspended the entry of certain H-1B, H-2B, J (for certain categories within the Exchange Visitor Program) and L nonimmigrants.

On April 2, 2021, the Department of Labor invited interested parties to provide information on the sources of data and methodologies for determining prevailing wage levels covering employment opportunities that U.S. employers seek to fill with foreign workers on a permanent or temporary basis through certain employment-based immigrant visas or through H–1B, H–1B1 and E–3 nonimmigrant visas.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has extended flexibilities in response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) reported a drop of 72 percent in new international student enrollment in U.S. schools in 2020 as compared to calendar year 2019.

On March 18, two bills passed in the House of Representatives with bipartisan support; American Dream and Promise and Farm Workforce Modernization Acts.

On March 19, 2021, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced the withdrawal of a proposed rule, “Affidavit of Support on Behalf of Immigrants,” published on October 2, 2020.

The Alliance of Business Immigration Lawyers (ABIL) formally submitted a comment asking the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to withdraw its final rule prioritizing wages in adjudicating H-1B applications.