Rachel Browning’s Legal Blog

            The Employment and Training Administration (ETA) of the Department of Labor (DOL) its regulations to initiate new procedures for the issuance of labor certifications to employers sponsoring H-2B non-immigrants entering to perform temporary nonagricultural labor. The new procedures cover the enforcement of employer compliance and certain attestations made by those employers. Specifically, the new [...]

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The Department of Justice is publishing its final rule to amend the immigration regulations regarding “voluntary departure.”  This rule adopts a previously proposed rule under which a grant of voluntary departure is automatically withdrawn when a motion to reopen or reconsider is filed with the immigration judge or the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA), or [...]

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U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) recently announced that it is implementing changes to the H-2A regulations that will simplify the hiring process of temporary and seasonal agricultural workers and facilitate the H-2A process for employers by removing certain limitations, thereby hopefully encouraging lawful employment of available foreign workers.  These changes stem from the commitment [...]

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The immigration attorneys of Smith & Garg have begun preparing for the 2009 H-1B quota and are accepting applications for filing the 1st of April, 2009.  Unfortunately, Congress has kept the number of H-1B visas available this year to only 65,000 – who would dare touch such an explosive issue as immigration reform during an [...]

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Over the past several years, President Bush has encouraged, and Congress has unsuccessfully debated, then shelved, comprehensive reforms to our immigration system.  A central component of these proposals has been the suggestion of establishing a “guest worker program” or “essential worker” visa category. The new category would address labor shortages in the agricultural, construction, fishing, [...]

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