In a significant move to attract wealthy investors, President Donald Trump has floated a new immigration initiative known as the “Gold Card.” The initial announcement indicates that the Gold Card will make the EB-5 investment thresholds higher, require more vetting of eligible investors, and offer a pathway to citizenship.
What
Continue Reading All That Glitters May Not Be Gold: Trump’s Gold Card vs EB-5By: Lilah Wylde, Dawn Lurie, and Rachel See
This blog first appeared in our Presidential Pulse Legal Update published on February 26. Join our Presidential Pulse mailing list for the latest information on emerging issues related to the second Trump Administration. Subscribe to our Presidential Pulse updates here.
Continue Reading New Visa Restrictions Target Transgender Athletes, Raising Title IX and Compliance Concerns for CollegesEffective February 18, 2025, the U.S. Department of State (DOS) made changes to the visa interview waiver program, leaving applicants and employers scrambling to navigate the new requirements. These restrictions—implemented with no transition period—carry implications for anyone seeking employment-based visa stamps abroad. In the long run, wait times for
Continue Reading Breaking Down the State Department’s New Visa Interview Waiver LimitsBy: Andrea Davis
The U.S. Department of State announced a significant update to the Exchange Visitor Skills List, effective as of December 9, 2024. This action is in response to an Executive Order issued last year, in which the Biden Administration gave instructions to “consider initiating a rulemaking
Continue Reading Understanding the New Exchange Visitor Skills List Update
In an era of increasing global competition for highly skilled professionals, U.S. employers often face challenges in recruiting and retaining top talent. The National Interest Waiver (NIW) is a special provision under the EB-2 visa category, offering a unique solution by allowing foreign nationals with advanced degrees or exceptional abilities
Continue Reading National Interest Waiver (NIW) as a Viable Alternative to a Traditional Employment-based Green CardThe Diversity Visa (DV) Lottery program, administered by the U.S. Department of State, allocates up to 55,000 immigrant visas annually through a random selection process from countries with low rates of immigration to the United States. Although it is a highly competitive process, the DV lottery can still be a
Continue Reading Diversity Visa Lottery: A Guide for U.S. Employers
Recent processing time trends at the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) are raising concerns for both Employers and F-1 visa holders relying on automatic extensions of work authorization while awaiting the processing of their F-1 STEM Employment Authorization Document (EAD) extension applications.
While USCIS published processing time data reflects
Continue Reading Navigating Delays: The F-1 STEM EAD Waiting Game Considerations for Employees and Employers
For many highly skilled international workers, securing an H-1B visa in the United States can be elusive. With this year’s lottery results announced, employers find themselves exploring alternative strategies to retain invaluable talent. Among these strategies is the consideration of relocating talent to Canada, where a range of enticing options
Continue Reading Not Selected in the H-1B CAP? Discover Opportunities in Canada: Exploring Alternatives for Talent RetentionBy: 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.Continue Reading October 2023 U.S. Immigration Alert
By: Nelli Shevchenko
The U.K. Home Office has updated the Employer’s Guidance on Right to Work Checks on 28 February 2023. The guidance contains important information about obligations and compliance processes for UK right to work applications made by UK-based employers. Changes include clarifications on eVisa and BRPs checks, use
Continue Reading UK Right to Work Checks Guidance Changes: Clarifications and Legal Updates