Legal Updates

The Department of State’s Visa Bulletin for April 2019 notes that Final Action Date movement in many employment-based preference categories continues to be greater than might ordinarily be expected. This is anticipated to continue for at least the next few months.

DOL announced an annual update to: (1) the allowable charges that employers seeking H-2A workers in occupations other than herding or production of livestock on the range may charge their workers when the employer provides three meals per day; and (2) the maximum travel subsistence meal reimbursement that a worker with receipts may claim under the H-2A and H-2B programs.

President Trump has extended the wind-down period for Deferred Enforced Departure (DED) for certain eligible Liberians for an additional 12 months, through March 30, 2020.

USCIS Director L. Francis Cissna told senior staff that the agency’s International Operations Division, which operates in more than 20 countries, will be closed down. The duties of those offices will be transferred to U.S. embassies and consulates and to domestic U.S. offices.

Brand owners recently gained a new weapon for their arsenal in the ongoing fight against counterfeit products sold on online marketplace giant Amazon.com.

The USPTO recently issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, proposing to amend the Rules of Practice in Trademark Cases to require all applicants, registrants and parties to be represented by a U.S. attorney.

USCIS resumed premium processing on Tuesday, March 12, for all H-1B petitions.

On February 20, 2019, the Trump administration sent a proposed rule to the Office of Management and Budget for review that would halt work authorization for H-4 spouses of H-1B visa holders in the United States.

According to statistics released by USCIS, the percentage of H-1B cases with requests for evidence has greatly increased. 

86 Democratic members of the House of Representatives sent a letter to the USCIS Director expressing their “grave concerns about the alarming growth in processing delays” and requesting “prompt and detailed” responses to a series of related questions.