News

As ILBSG has reported over the last several days, the Biden Administration issued an Executive Order formally recommending that all government agencies consider postponing any rules which have been published in the Federal Register but are not yet in effect for at least 60 days. As ILBSG has emphasized, this is merely a recommendation from the White House and does not have any automatic or binding effect on the agencies. In order for there to be a 60-day postponement of any rule, the relevant government agency must take official action and publish the postponement in the Federal Register.

An influential union representing tech workers has plans to appeal a federal judge's decision to uphold the optional practical training (OPT) program. The OPT program allows student-visa holders to hold apprenticeships upon graduation from accredited schools.

The International Technological University (ITU) has agreed to settle allegations related to student visa fraud. ITU will pay the United States $1.17 Million under the qui tam (whistle blower) provisions of the False Claim Act.

ITU is a non-profit educational institution located in Santa Clara, California. The organization participates in the Student and Exchange Visitor Program which is a component within the Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). HSI certifies educational outlets that focus on enrolling nonimmigrant students to qualify for the Student and Exchange Visitor Program.

The Biden Administration issued an executive order instituting a regulatory freeze. The executive order recommended that all currently published rules which are not already in effect be delayed 60 days, to give the new administration and other interested parties a chance to review. However, the recommended delay is not automatic – it requires official agency action.
Comments on the proposed delayed effective date will be accepted for 15 days after this document is published in the Federal Register.

Today, the DOL took action to delay the H-1B Final Rule which changes the computation of wages by adjusting the percentiles of each wage level. An advance copy of the  DOL proposal was released, which is to be officially published in the Federal Register on 2/1/2021.

This is good news for H-1B petitioners, as this rule is expected to significantly increase H-1B wages. Read more to find out the details.

President Biden announced a set of proposed changes to the U.S. immigration system with a comprehensive bill that changes the immigration landscape for many. Notably, foreign nationals who hold Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), Temporary Protected Status (TPS), STEM graduates, and those facing removal and deportation proceedings are potentially affected. The comprehensive bill also provides sweeping changes to the immigration process for undocumented immigrants providing for a clear path to immigration. The bill also proposes granting immigration judges greater discretionary power.

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The White House issued a few hours after President Joe Biden was sworn into presidency, a broad “regulatory freeze” directing the heads of executive departments and agencies across the federal government to withdraw or delay action on last minute regulations. This statement issued by Chief of Staff, Ronald A. Klain is an effort to ensure that President Biden’s appointees and designees have the opportunity to review any new or pending rules at the discretion of the President.

President-Elect Joe Biden is planning to unveil a sweeping immigration bill on his first day, January 20, 2021, which will include a pathway to citizenship for an estimated 11 million people currently without immigration status. Under the proposed legislation, if you were in the U.S. as of January 1, 2021 without status, there will be an 8-year pathway to citizenship.