On the morning of February 14, 2024, several clients reached out after encountering issues with the photo matching tool in E-Verify. They reported discrepancies where the photos transmitted by E-Verify did not align with the photos on the employees’ documents. It became increasingly clear that E-Verify was not rendering the correct photos from the government’s databases. Instead, random photos were appearing on the photo-match screen. We quickly investigated, reaching out to several electronic I-9 vendors, and clients, to assess the scope of the issue. After confirming that the issue was wide ..read more

By: Jason E. Burritt, Victoria Ma, Gabriel Mozes, Mia Batista, and Brooke K. Gary Seyfarth Synopsis: U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued a final rule on the upcoming H-1B cap registration, creating a beneficiary-centric selection process, starting this FY 2025 H-1B cap registration period, which will run from March 6, 2024 to March 22, 2024. 1. FY 2025 H-1B Cap Registration Period USCIS announced that this year’s cap registration will open on March 6, 2024, at noon EST and close on March 22, 2024, at noon EST.  Employers should be prepared to submit critical dat ..read more

By: Jason Burritt, Steven Brouillard, Valerie Salcido, and Victoria Ma Seyfarth Synopsis:  Effective April 1, USCIS will implement significant filing fee increases, in particular for petition and applications related to employment-based benefits. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) published a final rule, which will take effect on April 1, 2024, to adjust certain immigration and naturalization benefit request fees. Through this rule, USCIS will implement substantial fee increases especially for employment-based petitions, reshaping the cost landscape for immigration be ..read more

By: Weija (Victoria) Ma Seyfarth Synopsis: Department of Homeland Security (DHS) published a final rule to increase premium processing fees. The new fees will start on February 26, 2024. On December 27, 2023, USCIS announced an inflation adjustment to premium processing fees effective February 26, 2024. Pursuant to the USCIS Stabilization Act, codified through the USCIS Stabilization Rule by the inflationary adjustment calculation provided by INA 286(u)(3)(C), 8 U.S.C. 1356(u)(3)(C), DHS possesses the authority to adjust the premium processing fees charged by USCIS on a biennial basis. DHS wi ..read more

Seyfarth Synopsis: On October 30, 2023, President Biden issued an Executive Order that sets a new course for the safe, secure, and trustworthy development and use of Artificial Intelligence (AI). Interestingly, this order is not just about technology- it brings with it a host of implications, including a significant move marking a new direction in immigration policy, especially for U.S. employers. To accomplish the Executive Order’s stated goal of ensuring that America “leads the way in seizing the promise and managing the risks” of AI, the order seeks to pave the way to attrac ..read more

By: Rachel V. See, Annette Tyman, and Joseph R. Vele Seyfarth synopsis: President Biden’s Executive Order on artificial intelligence sets forth his vision for America to continue leading in AI innovation while also addressing risks associated with the use of AI. While much of the document delves into cutting-edge safety issues with national security implications, there are many provisions in the EO that have broad ramifications for companies generally, and employers specifically. The Order mandates greater coordination by civil-rights agencies on AI issues, emphasizes work ..read more

By: Jake Campbell, Weija (Victoria) Ma, and Jason Burritt Seyfarth Synopsis: The below summarizes recent legal updates that impact U.S. immigration: 1. Government Shutdown Avoided – For Now On September 30, 2023, Congress passed a stopgap bill to keep the government running for another 45 days. For more information on potential impacts if the government were to shutdown, please see our legal alert–Potential Government Shutdown: Immigration Consequences for Employers and their Foreign Employees—here. 2. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Exempts the Form I-539, Application to Ex ..read more

By: Weijia (Victoria) Ma, Jake Campbell, Michelle Gergerian Seyfarth Synopsis: The below summarizes recent legal updates that impact U.S. immigration: 1. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Launched Online Appointment Request Form On August 21, USCIS launched a new online form for individuals to request in-person appointments at their local field offices. Instead of calling the USCIS Contact Center, individuals can use the online appointment request form to request an in-person appointment at a field office for ADIT stamps, Emergency Advance Parole, and more. However, it is ..read more

By: Dawn Lurie, Matthew Parker* and Amber Stokes* On May 4, 2023, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced the official sunset date for COVID-19 related Form I-9 physical inspection flexibilities: July 31, 2023. Additionally, ICE advised that employers would have 30 days, or until August 30, 2023, to complete an in-person verification of all employees that were virtually verified since March 2020. Yesterday’s announcement put an end to the speculation of whether the remote policy would run past July, and whether employers woul ..read more

By: Mary Honeychurch, Steven Brouillard, Weijia (Victoria) Ma, and Jake Campbell Seyfarth Synopsis: The below summarizes recent legal updates that impact U.S. immigration: 1.  USCIS Releases FY2024 H-1B Initial Registration Period Updates On April 28, USCIS announced that it received 780,884 registrations for the FY2024 H-1B initial registration, resulting in an approximate 14% chance of selection, a significantly lower selection rate than in previous years. Cap Fiscal Year Total Registrations Eligible Registrations* Eligible Registrations for Beneficiaries with No Other Eligible Regi ..read more