Overview

As of mid-March 2020, countries are responding in various ways to the outbreak of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19). Concerning immigration and movement of people around the world, these responses generally fall into a few categories, including travel warnings, travel restrictions, health screenings and quarantines, and extensions of immigration status for impacted individuals.

This article addresses the impact of the outbreak on international travel, with specific information from several countries. In a separate article, we addressed how the outbreak affects immigration workplace compliance. All of our COVID-19 articles will be updated as new information becomes available.Continue Reading COVID-19: How Does the Outbreak Affect International Travel?

Employers face many urgent issues in responding to the US outbreak of the novel coronavirus, COVID‑19.  The disease has forced employers to develop and implement workplace safety, mitigation, and business continuity plans.  These may include allowing employees to work from home or from alternate unaffected worksites, as well as outsourcing I-9 document reviews to agents in remote locations. Economic slowdowns have occurred in some sectors due to the global pandemic, requiring some companies to consider or implement temporary employee furloughs or even reductions in force.
Continue Reading COVID-19: How Does the Outbreak Affect Immigration Workplace Compliance?

In 2019, the large policy and enforcement shifts signposted in 2017 and 2018 continued to play out with stricter immigration enforcement across the board. While we don’t expect to see seismic shifts in the coming year, there are a few issues to watch for in 2020.

(1) H-1B “Specialty Occupation” Definition Change Likely to Stall in Court

USCIS has indicated it will be announcing an official change to the definition of “specialty occupation.” While we have already seen a detrimental shift in the H-1B adjudication process, this would be an official regulatory change. We expect that any attempt to re-interpret the H-1B statute as narrowly as possible will face a lengthy court battle.Continue Reading The Year Ahead: 10 Things to Watch for in US Immigration

When traveling abroad for business, there are many things to remember – meeting schedules, presentation materials, business cards, dress clothes, etc. While immigration requirements can get lost in the shuffle, immigration documents should be on any business traveler’s pre-trip checklist. Forgetting required documentation can result in experiences that range from slightly inconvenient to potentially disastrous.
Continue Reading The Business Traveler’s Checklist

While many of the most common Canadian business immigration options have close US equivalents, there are some options that are uniquely Canadian.

This is intended as informational only. If you have a question about a particular scenario, contact one of our immigration attorneys for guidance.

Francophone Mobility – Mobilité Francophone

To “promote Francophone immigration in

The government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau remains in power following last week’s Canadian federal elections. Despite losing a clear majority, Trudeau’s Liberals are still the largest party in Parliament with enough seats to form a minority government. With what is largely a continuation of the status quo, immigration priorities are likely to remain unchanged,

Most frequent business travelers and the teams that support them are familiar with the usual immigration options of visas, visa-free business travel, and work permits. These can be frustrating, time consuming, and not always a good fit for schedules or travel purposes. Thankfully for those headed to Asia, many countries have immigration options that lack the issues of more traditional routes.
Continue Reading Asian Alternatives – Special Immigration Options in Asia that Fit Many Needs

As discussed in last week’s post, obtaining US citizenship is the ultimate goal for many foreign nationals in the US who often wait years for a green card and then wait a few more years to apply for citizenship through naturalization. But naturalization is not the only way to obtain citizenship. A major source of data on citizenship laws, GlobalCit’s Global Database on Modes of Acquisition of Citizenship available from the Global Citizenship Observatory has identified 30 different modes of acquisition of citizenship, 10 of which are available under US law through more than 15 different sections of the Immigration and Nationality Act.
Continue Reading Citizenship Acquisition – US Law in a Global Context

In 2018, the US received approximately 740,000 visitors a week. While that number looks big, when compared to the US population of 372 million, it is relatively small, equal to only .2 percent of the population. In stark contrast, last week Saudi Arabia, a country of about 33 million people, hosted about 140,000 international visitors for the annual Hajj pilgrimage, temporarily increasing its population by 4 percent.
Continue Reading Special Event Visas: How Countries Adjust Immigration Processes for Global Events