By Cyrus D. Mehta I write this blog in fond memory of Mark Von Sternberg who passed away on May 16, 2023. Mark was a brilliant lawyer, scholar and writer who worked very hard on behalf of the most vulnerable immigrants. He was a Senior Attorney with Catholic Charities Community Services/Archdiocese of New York where […]
By Cyrus D. Mehta & Jessica Paszko* Just a couple of months ago we considered the options available to terminated H-1B workers who want to become entrepreneurs. Since then, layoffs have not abated and we’ve continued thinking about the options available to laid off nonimmigrant workers. This time, we consider the options available to H-1B […]
By Cyrus D. Mehta and Kaitlyn Box* Our most recent blog in this series discusses the new Application for Permanent Employment Certification, Form ETA 9089 (“ETA 9089”) and corresponding Application for Prevailing Wage Determination, Form ETA 9141 (“ETA 9141”) promulgated by the Department of Labor (DOL), and, specifically, how issues concerning dual representation and familial […]
By Cyrus D. Mehta The Department of Labor’s Office of Labor Certification (OFLC) has revised the Application for Permanent Employment Certification, ETA Form 9089, as well as the corresponding Application for Prevailing Wage Determination, Form ETA 9141. OFLC will begin accepting these revised forms on May 16, 2023, and has posted an “unofficial watermarked preview […]
By Cyrus D. Mehta and Kaitlyn Box* The Second Circuit in Garcia v. Garland upheld the BIA’s decision not to grant administrative closure under Matter of Castro-Tum, despite the fact that that the case has since been overruled. Matter of Castro -Tum, a Trump era decision, held that Immigration Judges (IJs) and the Board of […]
By Cyrus D. Mehta and Kaitlyn Box* In recent weeks, reports of PERM labor certification denials concerning the manner in which question H.10-B was completed on Form ETA 9089 have abounded from many immigration lawyers and their clients. This question asks employers to “identity the job title of the acceptable alternate occupation” if an alternate […]
By Cyrus D. Mehta & Jessica Paszko* The list of options for an H-1B beneficiary who has been laid off is often narrow. At the top of the list sits the most obvious option: find another employer who will sponsor you for an H-1B. Although, in the current job market, which is growing more competitive […]
By Cyrus D. Mehta and Kaitlyn Box* Our previous blog discussed United States v. Helaman Hansen, a case in which the Supreme Court granted certiorari on December 9, 2022. Oral argument in the case is set for March 27, 2023. Hansen questions whether INA §274(a)(1)(A)(iv), or the “encouragement provision”, which prohibits individuals from “encourag[ing] or […]
By Cyrus D. Mehta and Kaitlyn Box Because an employment-based immigrant visa petition, or Form I-140, is filed by an employer on behalf of a foreign national employee who is being sponsored for permanent residency, there is sometimes a perception that both the I-140 petition and the underlying labor certification belong to the employer. They […]
By Cyrus D. Mehta On February 14, 2023, the USCIS issued updated guidance to indicate when an immigrant visa number “becomes available” for the purpose of calculating a noncitizen’s age in certain situations under the Child Status Protection Act (CSPA). The guidance became on effective 2/14/23 and comments are due by 3/14/23. Since October 2015, […]
