The U.S. Department of Education has released its long-awaited Title IX regulations addressing sexual discrimination and sexual harassment, which also include coverage of sexual orientation, gender identity and pregnancy.
In March 2024, the SEC adopted new climate disclosure rules requiring publicly traded companies to provide comprehensive information about their climate-related risks and impacts. These rules mandate narrative disclosures covering governance, risks, strategy, targets, goals, and—for larger filers—emissions and attestations.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, on April 10, 2024, issued a final rule establishing National Primary Drinking Water Regulations for per- and polyfluoroalkyl chemicals. The new regulations establish the agency’s first drinking water standards addressing PFAS chemicals, a group of several thousand synthetic chemicals that persist in the environment and have adverse impacts upon human health and the environment.
The Department of State’s Visa Bulletin for April 2024 notes that little to no additional forward movement in final action dates for visa categories is expected in the coming months.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced on March 12, 2024, that it has begun implementing a streamlined process to provide Employment Authorization Documents more efficiently to eligible refugees after they are admitted into the United States.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced on March 21, 2024, that it has updated guidance in its USCIS Policy Manual, effective immediately.
The Department of Homeland Security is extending and redesignating Burma (Myanmar) for Temporary Protected Status.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has proposed a new rule that would eliminate its current procedures for National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) compliance and instead follow the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation’s NHPA regulations (36 C.F.R. part 800). The comment deadline on the proposed rule—April 9, 2024—is approaching.
On March 8, 2024, when President Biden signed into law a $459 billion legislation package to fund portions of the government for the next six months, most media attention focused on the last-minute aversion of a partial government shutdown. However, buried in the legislation are provisions that demonstrate increasing concern about the foreign acquisition of U.S. agricultural land and a move to increase coordination between the CFIUS and the USDA.
H.F. 3680 was introduced in the Minnesota House of Representatives on February 13, 2024, and would amend Minnesota law by opting out of the federal interest rate preemption established under the federal Depository Institutions Deregulation and Monetary Control Act of 1980.
On February 9, 2024, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services released end-of-fiscal-year 2023 data. Included are selected highlights of the data and USCIS's plans for FY 2024.
On February 14, 2024, President Biden directed the Secretary of Homeland Security to grant Deferred Enforced Departure to Palestinians in the United States for 18 months, with some exceptions.
E-Verify announced on February 22, 2024, that it will launch its "next generation" service, E-Verify+, as a pilot in spring 2024. E-Verify said the "plus" in E-Verify+ represents benefits the new service will provide to employers and employees, including "added efficiency" for employers and "more control over their personal information" for employees.
The Alliance of Business Immigration Lawyers reminded its clients that fees for Form I-907, Request for Premium Processing, increased on February 26, 2024.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services reminded employers that the initial registration period for the FY 2025 H-1B cap season will open at noon ET on March 6, 2024, and run through noon ET on March 22, 2024. A USCIS online account is required to register each beneficiary electronically for the selection process and pay the associated $10 registration fee.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services issued a reminder that under the new fee final rule effective April 1, 2024, the new 04/01/24 editions of several forms will be required.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced on February 27, 2024, that eligible Ukrainian citizens and their immediate family members who are physically present in the United States can now be considered for re-parole to continue to temporarily remain in the United States.
The Department of State's Visa Bulletin for April 2024 notes that little to no additional forward movement in final action dates for visa categories is expected in the coming months because the final action dates for many categories advanced for April 2024, in many cases by several months to a year.
A recent federal court decision sheds light on what may be required for disclosure of document preservation efforts. In Doe LS 340 v. Uber Technologies, Inc., --- F. Supp. 3d ----, 2024 WL 107929 (N.D. Cal. Jan. 29, 2024), the court looked to Rule 26 and local practice for the initial disclosure of information regarding efforts to preserve documents and ESI sources.
In a case of first impression, the North Dakota Supreme Court ruled that, despite the language of a declaration of covenants and restrictions to the contrary, a homeowners’ association (HOA) lien for unpaid assessments does not have super priority over a later recorded mortgage.
On March 7, 2024, USCIS received enough petitions to meet the congressionally mandated H-2B cap for the second half of FY 2024.
The Minnesota Department of Transportation has begun announcing start dates for spring load restrictions across the state.
Questions concerning cash management programs are some of the most frequent to cross my desk these days. Some are spurred by outdated agreements, some by fraud incidents, and many by new or changing products and services. As both technology and customer expectations evolve, it naturally follows that cash management programs and agreements will need to evolve too. So, what are the most common themes of these questions and updates?
The Community Reinvestment Act final rule is almost 1,500 pages and undoubtedly challenging to digest. As of the drafting of this article, the final rule has not been published in the Federal Register, and this article is based on the version published on the federal banking agencies’ websites on October 24, 2023.
In response to President Biden’s Executive Order on Artificial Intelligence, the USPTO has issued guidance for how AI-assisted inventions, or inventions where artificial intelligence contributed to the conception of the invention, will be examined.
On February 13, 2024, the Department of Labor (DOL) released an update that affects H-2A and H-2B employers.
USCIS will be increasing the filing fees for H-2 petitions filed on or after February 26, 2024.
USPTO issued inventorship guidance for AI-assisted inventions. The guidance explained that “while AI-assisted inventions are not categorically unpatentable, the inventorship analysis should focus on human contributions, as patents function to incentivize and reward human ingenuity.”
This article highlights some of the key issues courts are facing with AI in intellectual property litigation.
There are many known and unknown risks associated with using generative AI in the legal industry such as not fact checking the output of generative AI tools, confidentiality and security, bias and copyright issues. Attorneys who use generative AI need to determine if they are required to provide notice to the court.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services published a final rule, effective April 1, 2024, to adjust certain immigration and naturalization benefit request fees.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services plans to launch organizational accounts for non-cap filings and the fiscal year 2025 H-1B cap season.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has announced that the initial registration period for the fiscal year 2025 H-1B cap season will open at noon ET on March 6, 2024, and run through noon ET on March 22, 2024.
On January 12, 2023, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced that it has received enough petitions to reach the cap for the additional 20,716 H-2B visas made available for returning workers for the first half of fiscal year 2024 with start dates on or before March 31, 2024, under the
H-2B supplemental cap temporary final rule.Effective January 15, 2024, as part of annual inflation adjustments, the Department of Labor is increasing D-1, H-1B, H-2A and H-2B civil monetary penalties it assesses or enforces for employer violations.
The Department of State has released guidance and frequently asked questions on its new pilot program to resume domestic visa renewals for qualified H-1B nonimmigrant visa applicants who meet certain requirements.
On January 24, 2024, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services updated its policy guidance to provide that USCIS, “in our discretion and under certain conditions, may excuse a nonimmigrant’s failure to timely file an extension of stay or change of status request if the delay was due to extraordinary circumstances beyond the control of the applicant or petitioner.”
On January 13, 2024, the Department of Homeland Security announced that noncitizen workers who are victims of, or witnesses to, violations of labor rights can now access a “streamlined and expedited deferred action request process.”
The Department of Homeland Security is extending and redesignating Syria for Temporary Protected Status. DHS also announced Special Student Relief for F-1 nonimmigrant students from Syria.
The U.S. Supreme Court recently denied certiorari in a case finding that a declaratory judgment on liability was sufficient to trigger the three-year statute of limitations for seeking contribution under section (g)(f) of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act, 42 U.S.C. § 9613(f).
In “the latest round in the battle over chlorpyrifos,” the Eighth Circuit recently found the Environmental Protection Agency’s ban on chlorpyrifos—a pesticide used in a variety of agricultural production—was arbitrary and capricious in violation of the Administrative Procedures Act.
On November 27, 2023, the Minnesota Court of Appeals, for a second time, reversed and remanded the City of Eagle Lake’s determination that an environmental impact statement was not required for a proposal to construct a motorsports park on agricultural land.
In December 2023, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency released its "Framework for Developing and Evaluating Site-Specific Sulfate Standards for the Protection of Wild Rice."
The Iowa Court of Appeals recently had an opportunity to review an employer’s drug testing policy and procedures, shedding helpful light on the importance of procedural and administrative requirements in the statute and in your policies.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services released frequently asked questions about employment-based adjustment of status.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced on December 13, 2023, that it has received a sufficient number of petitions needed to reach the congressionally mandated 65,000 H-1B visa regular cap and the 20,000 H-1B visa U.S. advanced degree exemption, known as the master’s cap, for fiscal year 2024.
The Department of Homeland Security published a Federal Register notice reiterating extensions of the periods to re-register for Temporary Protected Status under the existing designations of El Salvador, Haiti, Honduras, Nepal, Nicaragua and Sudan.
In Scripps College v. Jaddou, a U.S. District Court in Nebraska held that U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services improperly denied the plaintiff’s I-140 immigration petition when it found that the beneficiary of the petition did not qualify for an employment-based first preference visa as an “outstanding professor or researcher.” The court ruled in favor of the plaintiff, Scripps College.
The Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration has announced Adverse Effect Wage Rates for H-2A agricultural workers in 2024 for range and non-range occupations.
The Department of State’s Visa Bulletin for January 2024 notes that H.R. 6363, a stopgap funding bill signed on November 16, 2023, extended the employment fourth preference Certain Religious Workers category until February 2, 2024.
On February 26, 2024, the Department of Homeland Security will increase premium processing fees charged by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
The Department of State announced a pilot program to resume domestic visa renewal for qualified H-1B nonimmigrant visa applicants who meet certain requirements. The pilot program will accept applications from January 29 to April 1, 2024.
On December 22, 2023, the Department of Labor’s Office of Foreign Labor Certification reminded employers that the filing window to submit an H-2B Application for Temporary Employment Certification (Form ETA-9142B and appendices) requesting work start dates of April 1, 2024, or later opened on January 2, 2024.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services issued policy guidance regarding F and M nonimmigrant students, including the agency’s role in adjudicating applications for employment authorization, change of status, extension of stay, and reinstatement of status for these students and their dependents in the United States.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services issued policy guidance, effective immediately, on how it analyzes an employer’s ability to pay the proffered wage for immigrant petitions in certain first, second and third preference employment-based immigrant visa classifications, including instances when the sponsored worker changes employers.
The Department of State announced a “bright forecast” for worldwide visa operations. DOS said its visa processing capacity “has recovered faster than projected. We issued more nonimmigrant visas worldwide in 2023 than in any year since 2015.”
USCIS will soon be announcing the opening of the fiscal year 2025 H-1B Lottery.
On October 7, 2023, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law the Voluntary Carbon Market Disclosures Act establishing reporting and disclosure requirements for voluntary carbon offset market participants that do business in California and other business entities that make certain climate-related claims about themselves or their products in California.
On August 24, 2023, a District of Minnesota Court issued an opinion granting a portion of a motion to dismiss arising from a challenge to Minnesota’s vehicle emissions standards for greenhouse gases by staying the case pending resolution of a similar challenge before the D.C. Circuit.
In a case primarily turning on county ordinance interpretation, the Minnesota Court of Appeals affirmed Grant County’s grant of a conditional use permit to neighboring Stevens County.
On July 21, 2023, the U.S. EPA published a final rule titled “Removal of Title V Emergency Affirmative Defense Provisions from State Operating Permit Programs and Federal Operating Permit Program” 88 Fed. Reg. 47029 (2023). The rule removes the “emergency” affirmative defense provisions from the federal Title V operating permit program regulations.
On November 21, 2023, the EPA released draft guidance for applying the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2020 ruling in County of Maui v. Hawaii Wildlife Fund.
Trademark holders should be wary of official-looking communications urging them to take immediate steps to register their trademark or to renew their registration.
Beginning on January 1, 2024, the federal Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) will require “reporting companies” to report information about the organization, its “beneficial owners,” and, if formed after January 1, 2024, its “company applicants.”
If you do business in Washington, collect or process consumer health information, and such information is not HIPAA-regulated PHI, the Washington My Health My Data Act may apply to you. In particular, retail businesses, as well as health and fitness apps, wearables, or Internet of Things (IoT) developers, should pay attention to this law.
On November 9, 2023, the Department of Justice announced a landmark agreement with Apple Inc. to resolve allegations that the company illegally discriminated in hiring and recruitment against U.S. citizens and certain non-U.S. citizens whose permission to live in and work in the United States does not expire.
The Department of Homeland Security, in consultation with the Department of State, announced the lists of countries whose nationals are eligible to participate in the H‑2A and H‑2B visa programs in the next year. Each country’s designation is valid until November 8, 2024. Bolivia has been added to the list of countries eligible to participate in both programs.
Effective November 17, 2023, in consultation with the Department of Labor, the Department of Homeland Security is increasing the total number of noncitizens who may receive an H‑2B nonimmigrant visa by up to 64,716 for fiscal year 2024. 20,000 visas are reserved for nationals of Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Haiti, Colombia, Ecuador and Costa Rica. The visas will be available "only to businesses that are suffering or will suffer impending irreparable harm, as attested by the employer." DHS is also providing temporary portability flexibility, explained in more detail in the temporary rule.
Following on the heels of the Department of Justice's $25 million settlement agreement with Apple Inc., DOJ has settled immigration-related discrimination cases with a New York City health care system and a staffing agency with offices nationwide.
On November 21, 2023, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced that it is expanding myProgress (formerly known as personalized processing times) to Form I‑821, Application for Temporary Protected Status, and Form I‑485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status. myProgress will initially only be available for family-based or Afghan special immigrant I‑485 applicants.
The new federal Corporate Transparency Act requires the reporting of the ownership and organizers of many entities formed on or after January 1, 2024, and of the ownership of many active entities formed prior to January 1, 2024. The law imposes significant penalties for failure to comply.
Minnesota’s legislature passed a slew of laws in the 2022-23 session. One that continues to generate a fair amount of buzz among employers is the ban of virtually all noncompete agreements entered into on or after July 1, 2023, except for those relating to the sale or dissolution of a business. Although the new law is not retroactive, it limits the tools an employer can use moving forward to protect its business interests.
Bankers who have been in the game for some time will remember a scam that had great popularity in past decades: the fake Canadian cashier’s check. The most common targets were businesses that routinely shepherd funds to various parties involved in a transaction—title companies, law firms, money managers and the like. It was fraud, plain and simple, and money laundering to boot.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service and the Department of Labor have released the joint temporary rule implementing the process for employers who have a certified ETA 9142B with an employment start within fiscal year 2024 to apply for the 64,716 additional H-2B visa numbers.
While landlords must handle the situation of a death of an owner of a manufactured home (home) within a manufactured home community on a case-by-case basis, below is certain general information as it relates to this topic.
A notice informing employees of their rights under the new Minnesota Sick and Safe Time Act must be provided to each employee, in the employee’s primary language, by January 1, 2024, or at the start of the employment if it is after January 1, 2024.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced on October 13, 2023, that it has received enough petitions to reach the cap on H-2B visas for temporary nonagricultural workers for the first half of fiscal year 2024. October 11, 2023, was the final receipt date for new cap-subject H-2B worker petitions requesting an employment start date before April 1, 2024.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services provided additional guidance on its interpretation of changes to the EB-5 program made by the EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act of 2022, specifically the required investment timeframe and how USCIS treats investors who are associated with a terminated regional center.
The Department of Homeland Security is suspending certain regulatory requirements for F-1 nonimmigrant students whose country of citizenship is Cameroon, regardless of country of birth (or individuals having no nationality who last habitually resided in Cameroon), and who are experiencing severe economic hardship as a direct result of the current armed conflict and humanitarian crisis in Cameroon.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has launched a new Enterprise Change of Address self-service tool to allow those with pending applications, petitions or requests to update their addresses with USCIS online.
On October 19, 2023, the Department of Homeland Security announced the start of visa-free travel for short-term visits to the United States for eligible Israeli citizens and nationals following Israel’s admission into the Visa Waiver Program.
On October 20, 2023, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services issued policy guidance to clarify that a sole proprietorship may not file an L-1 petition on behalf of its owner because the sole proprietorship does not exist as a distinct legal entity separate and apart from the owner.
On October 18, 2023, the Department of Homeland Security announced a new family reunification parole process for certain nationals of Ecuador that also allows for work authorization. The new process is for certain nationals of Ecuador whose family members are U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents and who have received approval to join their family in the United States.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced that certain renewal applicants who have filed Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization, qualify for an automatic extension of their expiring work authorization and/or employment authorization documents while their renewal applications are pending.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced that beginning November 1, 2023, all H-2A, H-2B, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands-related Form I-129 petitions, Form I-129CW petitions, and CNMI-related Form I-539 applications must be filed directly with the Texas Service Center.
The Citizenship and Immigration Services Ombudsman reminded employers to use the revised Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification, with the edition date August 1, 2023, starting November 1, 2023.
Michigan is expected to enact legislation adopting state-level jurisdiction over large-scale renewable energy projects.
Starting January 1, 2024, the Corporate Transparency Act will require many newly formed and existing businesses to report certain information, including ownership information, to the federal government. Please review our guide to find out whether your business is subject to the Act, what it will need to report and when.
A Montana state court issued a ruling in favor of 16 youth plaintiffs, declaring that the state of Montana violated the youth’s constitutional rights to a clean and healthful environment.
The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals recently affirmed a South Dakota District Court’s grant of summary judgment that dismissed a farmer’s claims against the United States Department of Agricultural and Natural Resources Conservation Service.
Environmental Protection Agency announced a framework for evaluating new PFAS and new uses of existing PFAS. Minnesota Pollution Control Agency released a draft PFAS Remediation Guidance for public review and comment.
No public company is immune from becoming an activist target. The good news is that in today’s environment, being approached does not signal that the company is on the brink of disaster. The bad news is that anticipating an activist threat is more challenging than ever.
Public companies that conduct share buybacks are currently facing the prospect of disclosing extensive details about those programs on a quarterly basis, pursuant to rules adopted by the SEC in May 2023.
On October 18, 2023, St. Paul City Council adopted sweeping new zoning rules that would allow developers to build “missing middle” housing across most St. Paul neighborhoods. As a result, the Zoning Code now permits two-to-six-unit multi-family buildings almost anywhere in the city, with some restrictions.
The Internal Revenue Service has announced the 2024 cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs) for benefit plans.
As a lawyer representing creative clients, I am excited, interested and anxious about the ways in which Generative AI will shape our work and lives. Because Generative AI tools are so powerful, my own personal view is that businesses should strongly consider engaging and experimenting with Generative AI, while simultaneously taking steps to understand and manage risk.
Shortly before the deadline on September 30, 2023, Congress passed and President Biden signed H.R. 5860, a short-term funding bill to keep the federal government funded for 45 days. A shutdown is still possible after November 17.
On September 18, 2023, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced a proposed rule to strengthen protections for temporary workers under the H‑A temporary agricultural and H‑B temporary nonagricultural worker programs. The proposed rule is intended to improve the H‑2 programs by providing more flexibility and protections for the workers, as well as improving efficiency.
On September 18, 2023, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Ombudsman’s Office released a tip sheet for F-1 international students on how to avoid delays with adjudications on Form I-765, Applications for Employment Authorization.
Immigration Customs Enforcement and the Student and Exchange Visitor Program recently updated Form I-983 to remove the requirement for wet signatures.
On September 19, 2023, the Office of Management and Budget received a proposed rule from the Department of Homeland Security to amend regulations governing H‑1B specialty occupation workers and F‑1 students who are beneficiaries of timely filed H‑1B cap-subject petitions.
On September 20, 2023, the Department of Homeland Security announced the extension and redesignation of Venezuela for Temporary Protected Status for 18 months. The extension and redesignation are based upon a review of country conditions and findings that Venezuela continues to experience increased instability and safety concerns.
On September 21, 2023, the Department of Homeland Security announced the extension and redesignation of Afghanistan for Temporary Protected Status for 18 months, from November 21, 2023, to May 20, 2025. The extension and redesignation are based upon a review of country conditions and ongoing armed conflict in Afghanistan.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced on September 27, 2023, that it is increasing the maximum validity period to five years for initial and renewal Employment Authorization Documents for certain noncitizens who are employment-authorized incident to status or circumstance, including those admitted as refugees, paroled as refugees, and granted asylum, as well as recipients of withholding of removal.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced on September 25, 2023, that it is exempting the biometric services fee for Form I-539, Application to Extend/Change Nonimmigrant Status. Beginning October 1, 2023, applicants do not need to pay the $85 biometric services fee.
Effective September 29, 2023, Israel has been designated eligible for participation in the Visa Waiver Program.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services reminded employers about the November 1, 2023, deadline for using the updated Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification with the 08/01/2023 edition date.
The Department of Homeland Security will extend and redesignate Cameroon for Temporary Protected Status for 18 months, beginning on December 8, 2023, and ending on June 7, 2025.
The Department of State announced that U.S. passport processing times have fluctuated several times in 2023. As of October 2, 2023, routine applications were being processed in eight to 11 weeks, and expedited applications in five to seven weeks. Processing times do not include mailing time.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has completed the second random selection process from previously submitted registrations for the fiscal year 2024 H-1B cap.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced changes to how the agency issues receipts for L-1 nonimmigrant intracompany transferees (executives, managers, or specialized knowledge professionals) under a previously approved Blanket L petition.
The Department of State's Visa Bulletin for September includes Diversity Visa 2024 lottery results, availability of employment-based visas during September and determination of the numerical limit on immigrants for fiscal year 2023.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services reminded employers that the new version of Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification, is now available for use. The new version incorporates an alternative procedure for E-Verify employers to remotely examine employee documents. Other changes include shortening the form to one page and reducing the instructions to eight pages.
The Department of State released a fact sheet on August 7, 2023, on new family reunification parole processes for individuals from El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Colombia, and updated processes for individuals from Cuba and Haiti. Nationals of these countries may be considered for parole on a case-by-case basis for a period of up to three years while they apply to become lawful permanent residents pursuant to their approved I-130 petition.
The Department of Homeland Security is extending and redesignating Ukraine for Temporary Protected Status. The extension allows approximately 26,000 current beneficiaries to retain TPS through April 19, 2025, if they continue to meet TPS eligibility requirements. An estimated 166,700 additional individuals may be eligible for TPS under the redesignation of Ukraine. This population includes nationals of Ukraine (and individuals without nationality who last habitually resided in Ukraine) in the United States in nonimmigrant status or without lawful immigration status. DHS also announced special student relief for Ukraine.
The Department of Homeland Security is extending and redesignating Sudan for Temporary Protected Status. The extension allows approximately 1,200 current beneficiaries to retain TPS through April 19, 2025, if they continue to meet TPS eligibility requirements. An estimated 2,750 additional individuals may be eligible for TPS under the redesignation of Sudan. This population includes nationals of Sudan (and individuals without nationality who last habitually resided in Sudan) in the United States in nonimmigrant status or without lawful immigration status. DHS also announced special student relief for Sudan.
Earlier this year, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services rolled out premium processing for F-1 students seeking optional practical training or science, technology, engineering and mathematics OPT extensions. As students began to file premium processing requests, stakeholders informed the Citizenship and Immigration Services Ombudsman that they were experiencing delays in receiving their Employment Authorization Documents. The CIS Ombudsman is reminding stakeholders that premium processing times are separate from work permit production timelines.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has issued policy guidance, effective August 16, 2023, to confirm the evidentiary requirements for physicians seeking a national interest waiver of the job offer requirement based on work in an underserved area or at a U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs facility.
On August 21, 2023, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced a new online form for individuals, attorneys and accredited representatives to request an in-person appointment at their local field office without having to call the USCIS Contact Center.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services recently announced that the Office of Refugee Resettlement has issued updated guidance clarifying that ORR benefits and services will be available to eligible Afghan parolees who have a pending re-parole application, a pending asylum application or a pending adjustment of status application with USCIS. This guidance applies to eligible Afghan parolees whose initial period of parole expires while their applications are pending with USCIS, the agency said.
In a recent ruling, the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit upheld the 2021 EPA standards regulating greenhouse gas emissions from domestic aircraft. California v. Environmental Protection Agency, 72 F.4th 308 (D.D.C. 2023). The EPA’s standards aligned with those adopted by the International Civil Aviation Organization. Petitioners, made up of twelve states, the District of Columbia, and three environmental groups, challenged the EPA’s regulations, claiming they should have been more stringent than those promulgated by ICAO in an effort to combat climate change.
On July 13, 2023, the EPA published a final rule rescinding the agency’s 2020 Trump-era rule titled “Increasing Consistency in Considering Benefits and Costs in the Clean Air Act Rulemaking Process” (the Benefit-Cost Rule or Rule). 88 Fed. Reg. 44710 (2023).
On August 2, 2023, the Minnesota Supreme Court affirmed in part, reversed in part, and remanded the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System/State Disposal System permit issued by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency for a new copper mining project in St Louis County, MN, proposed by New Range Copper Nickel (formerly Poly Met Mining).
Since the failure of Silicon Valley Bank, Signature Bank, and Republic Bank, several agencies have issued reports on factors that contributed to the failures. If you have not added the recent post-mortem reports and speeches to your list of weekend or bedtime reading, you should do so. They provide an important window into the minds of bank regulators on what is to come.
The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act passed in 2010, but it seems like decades ago given what has happened since its passage—the regulatory agencies and financial services industry digested it and spent hundreds of thousands of hours issuing rules and more hours implementing those rules.
The Department of Labor's Office of Foreign Labor Certification reminded employers and other interested stakeholders that the three-day filing window to submit an H-2B Application for Temporary Employment Certification (Form ETA-9142B and appendices) requesting a work start date of October 1, 2023, will open on July 3, 2023 and close on July 5, 2023. October 1, 2023, is the first day of the semiannual visa allotment for the first half of fiscal year 2024. Applications will be denied if they are filed before July 3.
The Department of Labor's Office of Foreign Labor Certification has published the Assignment Groups for 2,157 H-2B applications covering 40,947 worker positions with a work start date of October 1, 2023. OFLC said it completed the randomization process on July 6, 2023, and assigned to National Processing Center analysts all H-2B applications placed in Assignment Group A for issuance of Notices of Deficiency or Acceptance. Group A includes enough worker positions to reach the H-2B semiannual visa allotment of 33,000.
A Federal Register notice published on June 16, 2023, by the Department of Labor's Employment and Training Administration updated the Adverse Effect Wage Rates under the H-2A temporary agricultural employment program that apply to a limited set of H-2A job opportunities for which the AEWR is determined using the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Statistics Survey.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services seeks comments by August 28, 2023 on "E‑Verify NextGen" (I-9NG), a new online "demonstration project" intended to further integrate the Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification, process with the E-Verify electronic work eligibility confirmation process "to create a more secure and less burdensome employment eligibility verification process overall for employees and employers."
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has launched a new self-service tool allowing benefit requestors, and their attorneys and accredited representatives, to reschedule most biometric services appointments before the date of the appointment. USCIS also clarified its guidance on policies and procedures related to "good cause" in this context.
On July 7, 2023, the Department of Homeland Security announced the implementation of new family reunification parole processes for eligible nationals of Colombia, El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras. DHS said the new processes are for "nationals from those countries whose family members are U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents and who have received approval to join their family in the United States.
The Department of Homeland Security has amended the DHS STEM Designated Degree Program List by adding eight qualifying fields of study and a corresponding Department of Education Classification of Instructional Programs code for each. No CIP codes from the existing list are being removed.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced on July 12, 2023, that it is expanding myProgress (formerly known as personalized processing times) to Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization, and Form I-131, Application for Travel Document. MyProgress is also available for applicants with a USCIS online account who file Form I-90, Application to Replace Permanent Resident Card, among others.
The Department of Labor's Office of Foreign Labor Certification has issued a set of Frequently Asked Questions regarding the final rule, "Adverse Effect Wage Rate Methodology for the Temporary Employment of H-2A Nonimmigrants in Non-Range Occupations in the United States," which was published on February 28, 2023.
On July 31, 2023, USCIS announced the second selection process is complete and all prospective petitioners with selected registrations have been notified that they are eligible to file an H-1B cap-subject petition for the beneficiary.
The Office of the Citizenship and Immigration Services Ombudsman's Annual Report for 2023 examines the effects of backlogs and additional challenges facing the agency. It recommends actions USCIS can take to address the human consequences and detrimental effects on the agency of backlogs.
The Department of State recently clarified the Final Action Date retrogression applicable to employment-based third preference visa applicants chargeable to India, effective with the July 2023 Visa Bulletin, and explained the reason for prorating India EB-3 visas.
The Department of State's Visa Bulletin for August includes information on establishment of a Worldwide EB-1 final action date; retrogression in the EB-1 category for India; and retrogression in the EB-3 category for Rest of World countries, Mexico and Philippines.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced on July 18, 2023, that it is updating its visa availability approach for managing the inventory of Form I-526, Immigrant Petition by Alien Investor.
Residential landlords in Iowa and other parts of the country continue to struggle with the inconsistency and confusion among state courts regarding whether the additional 30-day notice to vacate requirement of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act of 2020 is still applicable.
January 1 is New Year’s Day, and it is also the opening of the H-2B filing season for employers seeking to sponsor H-2B workers on April 1, 2024, or later. Due to a steady labor shortage for essential workers, there has been exponential growth in the use of the H-2B visa.
On July 21, 2023, the Department of Homeland Security announced a new I-9 rule which will allow employers enrolled in E-Verify and in good standing an alternative option to remotely prepare Form I-9s for new hires.
The recently concluded Minnesota legislative session resulted in a historical amount of legislation across a variety of topics. One of these was a residential landlord-tenant law. The legislature enacted a number of tenant-friendly provisions, most of which will take effect on January 1, 2024.
Department of State has recently announced in the August 2023 Visa Bulletin that India will be subject to a final action cutoff date of January 1, 2012, within the Employment Based First Preference category (EB-1), having reached their limit for FY-2023.
The Department of State announced on May 30, 2023 that for the Diversity Visa program for fiscal year 2024 and onward, selectees only need initially to submit to the Kentucky Consular Center the DS-260 immigrant visa application form for themselves and any accompanying family members.
USCIS said it has received many duplicate filings of Form I-134A, Online Request to be a Supporter and Declaration of Financial Support, and related inquiries. Some potential supporters are filing multiple Forms I-134A for the same beneficiary. "This adds to our workload, which delays processing," USCIS said, noting that potential supporters who wish to support more than one beneficiary must file one Form I-134A for each beneficiary.
The Department of State notes that due to high demand, retrogressions have been necessary for the EB-3 category for India, Mexico, Philippines and Rest of World.
- DHS Updates Guidance on Parole Periods, Work Authorization for Certain Afghan and Ukrainian Parolees
The Department of Homeland Security has released updated guidance on parole periods and employment authorization for certain Afghan and Ukrainian parolees.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced on June 9, 2023, that certain individuals requesting parole based on urgent humanitarian reasons or significant public benefit can file Form I-131, Application for Travel Document, online.
At a hearing on June 7, 2023, of the House Subcommittee on Oversight and Accountability, Rena Bitter, Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of Consular Affairs, said the Bureau and the Department of State have taken "extraordinary measures" to meet current U.S. passport and visa demand.
The Department of Homeland Security has rescinded the Trump administration's terminations of the temporary protected status designations for El Salvador, Honduras, Nepal and Nicaragua, and extended TPS for these countries for 18 months.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has released policy guidance on the eligibility criteria for initial and renewal applications for an Employment Authorization Document in compelling circumstances.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services is expanding premium processing for applicants filing Form I‑539, Application to Extend/Change Nonimmigrant Status, and seeking a change of status to F‑1, F‑2, M‑1, M‑2, J‑1 or J‑2 nonimmigrant status. Online filing of Form I-907, Request for Premium Processing Service, will also be available for these applicants. This phase of premium processing service is only available for change-of-status requests. Premium processing is not available for individuals seeking an extension of stay in M-1 or M-2 status.
Effective July 1, 2023, the Department of Labor's Employment and Training Administration is updating the adverse effect wage rates under the H‑2A temporary agricultural employment program that apply to a limited set of H‑2A job opportunities for which the AEWR is determined using the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has updated policy guidance regarding the J visa classification, including USCIS's role in the adjudication of waivers of the two-year foreign residence requirement and change-of-status requests.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's online change-of-address form for noncitizens is now fully operational, ICE announced on June 13, 2023. The new system gives noncitizens the option to update their information online instead of doing so by phone or in person.
Employers will have an additional 30 days to comply with Form I-9 requirements after COVID-19 flexibilities sunset on July 31, 2023, according to the Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Following the Department of Homeland Security's recent announcement that it was rescinding the Trump administration's terminations of the temporary protected status designations for El Salvador, Honduras, Nepal and Nicaragua, and reinstating and extending TPS for these countries for 18 months, DHS has published notices for each country in the Federal Register providing the eligibility criteria, timelines, and procedures necessary for current beneficiaries to re-register for TPS and renew their employment authorization documents.
Clients often contact us seeking to raise capital for or invest in North Dakota farm and ranch land. North Dakota’s previously strict corporate farming law made this a complicated process. Things have changed. In the recently completed 2023 legislative session, North Dakota lawmakers added a substantial new exemption for livestock operations, allowing significant new direct capital investment into the state.
The Minnesota legislature got busy this year. Changes to Minnesota’s pregnancy and parenting leave, lactation and pregnancy accommodations, and city minimum wages, as well as marijuana legalization, a noncompete ban, and new prohibitions on so-called captive audience meetings become effective imminently. Employers would be wise to pay close attention to implementation dates for these laws.
What was intended to be a short-term, soon-to-be-supplanted directive, the interim policy remains in place, and the NCAA has offered little in the way of additional guidance since its adoption. As a result, NIL activity has skyrocketed across its hundreds of member institutions with participating parties operating in an environment akin to “The Wild West,” largely free of significant oversight and clear boundaries.
On May 26, 2023, Minnesota's Governor Walz approved a bill (HF 402) that requires advance notice to the attorney general and commissioner of health of certain health care transactions and prohibits anticompetitive transactions.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement announced on May 4, 2023, that employers will have 30 days to comply with Form I-9, Employment Authorization Verification, requirements after the COVID-19 flexibilities sunset on July 31, 2023.
On May 3, 2023, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced the extension and expansion of employment authorization under Deferred Enforced Departure for eligible Hong Kong residents.
As of May 12, 2023, COVID-19 vaccines will no longer be required for international travelers entering the United States via air, land ports of entry, and ferry terminals. The Biden administration said the rescission of these travel restrictions were in alignment with the end of the Public Health Emergency on May 11, 2023.
As of May 6, 2023, Diversity Visa entrants can check their status online at Entrant Status Check, using their unique confirmation number, to see if their entry was selected.
The Department of State’s (DOS) Visa Bulletin for June 2023 reports a retrogression for the India EB-5 category and a likely retrogression soon for the India EB-3 category.
The Department of Labor’s Office of Foreign Labor Certification is postponing to June 1, 2023, the date for filers to begin submitting the new, revised applications for permanent employment certification and CW-1 applications for temporary employment certification in the Foreign Labor Application Gateway system.
The Office of the Citizenship and Immigration Services Ombudsman released tips on how F-1 students seeking Optional Practical Training can avoid delays in processing the Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization.
On May 16, 2023, the Departments of Homeland Security and Justice published a final rule released on May 10, 2023, “Circumvention of Lawful Pathways,” which was effective May 11, 2023.
On May 18, 2023, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced an updated process for granting advance travel authorization for up to 30,000 noncitizen Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans each month to come to the United States to seek parole on a case-by-case basis.
The Department of Labor’s Office of Foreign Labor Certification has released public disclosure data and selected program statistics, and it has updated its H-2B labor recruiter list.
FL 1718, effective July 1, 2023, was signed into law by Gov. Ron DeSantis.
On May 26, 2023, the Department of Labor’s Office of Foreign Labor Certification announced Form ETA 9089 case submission for PERM in the Foreign Labor Application Gateway and related technical guidance.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement issued a broadcast message to all Student and Exchange Visitor Information System users to remind them about updated visa issuance guidance and a fee increase.
On May 25, 2023, the Supreme Court of the United States issued a decision in Sackett v. Environmental Protection Agency, significantly contracting the jurisdictional reach of the federal Clean Water Act (CWA) over wetlands. The majority decision is the most consequential CWA decision in decades, one likely to exclude millions of acres of formerly jurisdictional wetlands from federal regulation.
The Bank Term Funding Program has been initiated by the Federal Reserve and the FDIC to provide liquidity to financial institutions. Under the program, banks can borrow from the applicable Federal Reserve Bank with any collateral eligible for purchase by the Federal Reserve Bank so long as the collateral was owned by the bank on March 12, 2023.
With conversion schedules for core processing vendors booking out increasingly further, two-step bank mergers are becoming increasingly common. Under this scheme, the “legal merge” takes place on the closing date, but the “operational merge” doesn’t take place until sometime post-closing. While this might seem like a great solution, banks considering a two-step merger must take into account and carefully plan for a lengthy list of legal, operational, and regulatory issues.
Current Minnesota law does not provide lenders, owners, and junior creditors with much guidance regarding surpluses that result from a bid at a mortgage foreclosure sale of more than the amount due on the mortgage. Historically, Minnesota case law has provided some guidance on these issues, but a bill recently introduced in the Minnesota House would provide more guidance on issues surrounding surpluses.
As Iowa landlords know, there remains a good deal of inconsistency among small claims magistrates across Iowa’s 99 counties regarding various legal questions pertinent to residential evictions, resulting in the need to appeal certain small claims eviction decisions to an Iowa district judge or district magistrate judge.
Governor Walz is expected to sign into law the highly anticipated bill that bans virtually all non-competition agreements in Minnesota, apart from those relating to the sale or dissolution of a business.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has received enough electronic registrations during the initial registration period to reach the fiscal year 2024 H-1B numerical allocations (H-1B cap), including the advanced degree exemption (master’s cap).
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services is removing the requirement that civil surgeons sign Form I-693, Report of Immigration Medical Examination and Vaccination Record, no more than 60 days before an individual applies for an underlying immigration benefit.
Effective May 30, 2023, a Department of State final rule raises most consular service fees, although the fee increases are smaller than those proposed in the notice of proposed rulemaking due to revised projections.
The Department of State is extending Special Student Relief to eligible Ukrainian students in the United States on J-1 visas “to help mitigate the adverse impact on them resulting from the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine that began on February 24, 2022.”
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has begun accepting petitions for workers for the late second half of fiscal year 2023—those requesting employment start dates from May 15, 2023, to September 30, 2023—under the H-2B supplemental cap temporary final rule.
The Department of Labor’s Office of Foreign Labor Certification has stopped issuing denials for this issue for pending applications and “will not deny for this reason for any application submitted on or before May 30, 2023.”
The Department of State’s Visa Bulletin for May 2023 includes a variety of updates.