High Skilled Labor

An Expanded and More Permanent Ban on Immigration Threatens Our Values and Compromises Our Future

The Trump administration announced a more permanent order that suspends many categories of immigration to the United States and an expanded ban that halts many legal employment-based immigration categories for those outside of the United States. Read More

Immigrant IT Workers Play Critical Role in the Coronavirus Pandemic's Virtual Economy 

Immigrant IT Workers Play Critical Role in the Coronavirus Pandemic’s Virtual Economy 

The coronavirus pandemic has radically altered the U.S. workforce. Many people have lost their jobs, while others have had to continue to go to work despite the serious health risks. Some sectors within the U.S. economy, however, have been able to shift toward working remotely. And immigrants working in the information technology sector have once again proven essential throughout this transition. Data compiled by New American Economy highlights… Read More

The Impact of COVID-19 on Noncitizens and Across the U.S. Immigration System

The Impact of COVID-19 on Noncitizens and Across the U.S. Immigration System

This report identifies disruptions throughout the immigration system because of the COVID-19 pandemic and makes recommendations for improvements to the federal government’s response. Read More

Government Takes Surprising Position to Preserve H-4 Work Permits – For Now

Government Takes Surprising Position to Preserve H-4 Work Permits – For Now

A long-running lawsuit over a rule allowing certain spouses of highly educated H-1B workers to work in the United States took an interesting twist. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which has threatened to take away work authorization for this group of people since the start of the… Read More

USCIS Consistently Denies H-1B Petitions. This Lawsuit Argues It’s Misinterpreting the Law.

USCIS Consistently Denies H-1B Petitions. This Lawsuit Argues It’s Misinterpreting the Law.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has been denying many H-1B petitions by misinterpreting the law. On April 16, 2020, the American Immigration Council and partners filed a nationwide class action lawsuit challenging the agency’s pattern of unlawfully denying H-1B petitions for market research analysts. The plaintiffs—who are suing… Read More

Class Action Lawsuit Seeks to Challenge USCIS’ Unlawful Denial of H-1B Petitions Filed by American Businesses

The American Immigration Council, the American Immigration Lawyers Association, and the law firms Van Der Hout, LLP, Joseph & Hall P.C., and Kuck Baxter Immigration LLC filed a nationwide class action lawsuit today challenging U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ pattern and practice of arbitrarily denying H-1B nonimmigrant employment-based petitions for market research analysts positions filed by businesses in the United States. Read More

USCIS’ Unlawful Denial of H-1B Petitions Spurs Class Action Lawsuit

USCIS’ Unlawful Denial of H-1B Petitions Spurs Class Action Lawsuit

This nationwide class action lawsuit challenges U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ pattern and practice of arbitrarily denying H-1B nonimmigrant employment-based petitions for market research analyst positions filed by United States businesses. Read More

Regulatory Comment on Establishing a System for Secretarial Review Over Cases Before the Department of Labor Board of Alien Labor Certification Appeals

These comments were submitted on the regulatory changes in the Department of Labor’s Notice of Proposed Rulemaking and Direct Final Rule, published in the Federal Register on March 6, 2020 by the American Immigration Council and the American Immigration Lawyers Association. Read More

The Rules for Immigrants Wanting to Work in the United States on a Permanent Basis

This fact sheet defines the various components of the permanent, employment-based immigration system—and then describes how those components relate to each other in the application processes for each of the five preference categories. Read More

The H-1B Registration Period Has Ended. How Did the New System Handle It?

The H-1B Registration Period Has Ended. How Did the New System Handle It?

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) completed its first registration period on March 20 for H-1B petitions. The H-1B visa category allows highly educated foreign workers to temporarily work for employers in the United States. This was the first year USCIS used a new registration process… Read More

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