- Reminder to employers: as of September 18, 2017, all U.S. employers must use the most recent Form I-9 edition with a revision date of 07/17/17 N. Employers should continue following existing I-9 retention and upkeep rules for any previously completed Forms I-9, but use the newly revised form for all new hires. Most revisions to the Form I-9 are self-explanatory and do not change the substance of the I-9 compliance, but this is a good time for an I-9 training or an update on the best practices and procedures. Contact your immigration legal counsel for a training session or an informational I-9 discussion.
- United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) has resumed Premium Processing service (i.e., 15 day expedited processing) for certain cap-exempt H-1B petitions, including those filed by petitioners that are institutions of higher learning, nonprofits related to or affiliated with these institutions, and nonprofit research or government research organizations. The government anticipates gradual return of Premium Processing for other categories of H-1B petitions.
- DHS and Department of Labor (DOL) have recently released a final rule providing for a one-time increase of H-2B visa numbers available for seasonal workers. 15,000 additional H-2B visas became available for the remainder of the government fiscal year ending on September 30, 2017. H-2B visas are intended for use by nonagricultural workers and their primary users are businesses in hospitality and other service industries in need of additional workforce during seasonal business increases.