EB-5 Visas Still Not Being Processed: Why This is Problematic

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By: Annika Minton The United States EB-5 visa was created in 1990 to provide a method for foreign investors (and their spouses and unmarried children under 21) to obtain a U.S. visa by investing capital with the goal of financing a business that will employ at least 10 American workers.[1] The US government allocates 10,000 of these visas per year. This particular program has not been renewed since June 2021, when a federal judge struck down the 2019 EB-5 “modernization” regulation, the goal of which was to increase the investment threshold from $500,000 to $900,000 in targeted employment areas (a rural area or an area with high unemployment). This has left many people wondering what the future looks like ...

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Vaccine Mandates Restrict P-1A Athletes in the NBA

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By: Maddie Carlson As of early December, a memo issued by the National Basketball Association (“NBA”)  revealed that any unvaccinated athlete who possesses a temporary visa status will not be allowed to reenter the United States following international travel. This statement primarily pertains to those with the P-1A Athlete visa classification, which allows athletes to compete in the United States temporarily. Concurrently, the Canadian government also announced that non-vaccinated NBA athletes are now not allowed to enter the country to participate in competitions against their Toronto team. Both announcements threaten the legal status of U.S. athletes who have planned, and are expected to, participate in any upcoming basketball competitions in Toronto. Many NBA Athletes are eligible for the P-1A visa based ...

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Visa Extensions Granted for L-2 and H-4 Holders

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By: Annika Minton Spouses of L-1 and H-1B visa holders recently  got some good news. A US court decision is granting L-2 and H-4 visa holders an extension of their work authorization, lengthening the amount of time spouses can remain in the United States on work visas. L-2 visa holders will receive a 180-day auto extension of their work authorization (or an I-94 expiration date, whichever is shorter); and all H-4 visa holders will get extensions of their H-4 employment authorization document (EAD) until the expiration of their I-94s, or 180 days from the expiration of the prior EAD, whichever comes first. L-2 visa holders will get the extension automatically without applying for it, but H-4 visa holders are still required ...

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Blanket L-1 Visas and How Companies can Benefit

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By: Hannah Rae Welbourn When a multinational company sends an employee to a subsidiary in the United States, candidates will need to be granted L-1 status through USCIS. But what if they need to send more than one employee at a time? That’s where the L-1 Blanket visa comes in. While a regular L-1 visa is granted on an individual basis, Blanket status grants multiple employees from the same company the ability to transfer to the states to work at a U.S. branch. The criteria for employees (managerial capacity for L-1A and specialized knowledge for L-1B) remains the same, but the process of obtaining this kind of L-1 status is expedited, sometimes up ...

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The O-1: Eight Ways to Identify Extraordinary Ability

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By Maddie Carlson When a beneficiary’s innovations have been recognized either nationally or internationally, an O-1 visa may be the ideal application process for highlighting their importance to their field. An O-1, or Extraordinary Ability or Achievement letter, focuses on up to eight different criteria that demonstrate an individual’s excellence in their career. The O-1A details a beneficiary’s excellence in the sciences, arts, education, business, or athletics. This visa can also be further specified as an O-1B, which focuses on individuals with extraordinary ability and achievement in the motion picture or television industry. Forming an O-1 application requires enough evidence to build a case that the beneficiary is indeed hard to come by ...

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Business Immigration Today: Chris Thorn’s Perspective

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By Kelsi Swenson It’s no surprise that the business immigration sphere, in addition to the rest of the world, experienced some arduous and unprecedented moments over the past couple of years. The coronavirus pandemic coupled with the former presidential administration created a seemingly impenetrable barrier for visa seekers. However, despite a largely dismal 2020, there were small victories against USCIS—from overturning IFRs to refining the definition of specialty occupation, it seems the path to more flexible business immigration regulations is not as inaccessible as believed. For all the changes happening over the past two years, the future of business immigration is certainly malleable, but also opaque. There are still numerous processing delays, waiting lists, and outdated regulations needing to ...

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TN Visas 101: What They Are and How Park Evaluations Can Help

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By Madison McKenzie   What is a TN visa?   The TN visa is a special classification issued under the United-States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), which replaced the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) in 2020. Under this classification, citizens of Mexico or Canada can fill certain specialty occupations—listed under the approved list of USMCA professions—in the United States for an initial period of three years.     What eligibility requirements must be met to file a TN visa?   As outlined by USCIS, an applicant is eligible for a TN visa if they meet the following criteria:   The applicant must be a citizen of Mexico or Canada. The applicant must have a pre-arranged job offer in the United States. The proffered position in the United States must qualify as ...

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4 Challenges Unique to PERM Supervised Recruitment

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By Rachel Horner A Supervised Recruitment PERM Audit is issued by the Department of Labor as a final opportunity to satisfy their requirements for PERM Recruitment. If you're receiving a request from the DOL to run a Supervised Recruitment Campaign, you've already completed a standard PERM Campaign that was ultimately rejected. During this much more rigorously scheduled recruitment timeline, a Campaign Officer (CO) will be directing you on which steps you must follow and will either approve or deny your subsequent petition. Here are a few things to remember when it comes to PERM supervised recruitment: The ad text must be approved by the CO prior to its publication

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