Employment Based

All Employment Based Content

Publication Date: 
December 14, 2017
This wage calculation is at the heart of the employment-based immigration system Congress devised to protect U.S. workers from unfair competition, while refraining from micromanaging the hiring...
Publication Date: 
August 11, 2017
The Reforming American Immigration for Strong Employment Act (RAISE Act) or S. 354 would mark a sweeping overhaul of the U.S. immigration system. It would significantly reduce levels of legal...
Publication Date: 
April 1, 2006
As we have seen in the last month, segments of the United States media, policy leaders, and populace continue to be obsessed with the issue of undocumented immigration to the United States. Turn...
Publication Date: 
May 1, 2005
Although immigration is crucial to the growth of the U.S. labor force and yields a net fiscal benefit to the U.S. economy, current immigration policies fail to respond to actual labor demand.

On behalf of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), the Council, in cooperation with Hughes Socol Piers Resnick & Dym, Ltd., filed a lawsuit against USCIS and DHS seeking the...

Publication Date: 
December 15, 2014
The Council, with AILA, filed an amicus brief arguing that a district court has jurisdiction to review procedures followed by USCIS to revoke an employment-based visa petition. Amici argue that INA § 242(a)(2)(B), which limits judicial review over certain discretionary decisions, does not preclude review over the question of whether USCIS was required to provide notice of the visa petition revocation proceedings to the beneficiary. This is particularly true where, as in this case, the beneficiary had utilized the “porting” provision of INA § 204(j) to change employers more than 2 ½ years earlier, but USCIS issued its notice of intent to revoke only to the former employer and revoked the petition when the former employer did not respond.
Valorem, an IT consulting company, petitioned to employ a software developer for three years in H-1B status as part of a project development team at its office. Initially, USCIS denied the petition, but later – after Valorem, represented by AILA member Susan Bond, filed suit – approved it for one year.
Publication Date: 
August 29, 2014
The Board of Alien Labor Certification Appeals (BALCA), the administrative body at the Department of Labor that reviews denials of PERM labor certifications, concluded that the Certifying Officer (CO) had the discretion, but not the obligation, to request missing documentation. BALCA failed to address arguments made by the Council and AILA in their amicus brief: that due process and fundamental fairness, as well as the PERM regulatory structure, require the CO to request supplemental documentation when the employer’s compliance with documentation requirements is evident from the record.
Publication Date: 
November 7, 2013
The Council and AILA filed an amicus brief in an en banc case pending before BALCA, an administrative body at the Department of Labor that reviews denials of PERM labor certifications. The case turned on the proper interpretation of a regulation which requires employers to notify certain laid-off U.S. employees about new job opportunities before the employers are permitted to hire foreign workers. The brief focused on the agency’s failure to provide fair warning before applying a new, more restrictive interpretation of the notification requirement.
On behalf of AILA, the American Immigration Council, in cooperation with counsel at Steptoe & Johnson LLP, filed a FOIA lawsuit against DHS and USCIS in July 2010 seeking the public release of records concerning agency policies and procedures related to fraud investigations in the H-1B program.
On July 17, 2007, the American Immigration Council was poised to file a lawsuit alleging that the federal government’s refusal to accept tens of thousands of applications for green cards (and discouragement of thousands of other workers from even applying) violated federal statutes, regulations and policies, as well as the U.S. Constitution. Many of these applicants had waited in line for years and were following the government’s rules to obtain a green card. The suit would have argued that the government must comply with its own regulations and policies and accept these adjustment of status (“green card”) applications.

In May 2012, the American Immigration Council filed a FOIA request seeking records issued by USCIS and/or DHS, or used by USCIS and/or DHS, from January 2008 to the...

On behalf of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), the Council, in cooperation with counsel at Steptoe & Johnson LLP, filed a FOIA lawsuit in July...

Publication Date: 
April 1, 2016
This Practice Tip outlines how you can build a strong administrative record to set the stage for challenging the denial of a client's visa petition in federal court.
March 8, 2024

Since its conception in 1977, International Women’s Day has evolved into a global celebration highlighting women’s achievements and the challenges they face. The holiday’s origins can be traced...

February 16, 2024

Department of Homeland Security’s U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) recently issued a final rule that changes H-1B registration selection and makes other changes related to the...

November 20, 2023

When asylum seekers come to the United States, they want to work—but an outdated immigration statute is making that more difficult than it needs to be. After filing an asylum application, asylum...

November 17, 2023

Written by Steven Hubbard, Senior Data Scientist and Leslie Dellon, Senior Attorney (Business Immigration) The White House’s recent executive order on artificial intelligence marks an important...

November 3, 2023

The H-1B program may undergo significant changes as early as October 1, 2024. The Department of Homeland Security U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) recently published a 94-page...

November 2, 2023

As the national workforce shortage persists and is further exacerbated by the nation’s large aging population moving into retirement, businesses across the country are seeking solutions to address...

August 29, 2023

When Fortune released this year’s Fortune 500 list—the magazine’s iconic ranking of the year’s top-grossing American companies—one fact remained unchanged from previous years: the profound role...

August 2, 2023

The Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), a major Apple supplier, has delayed the production schedule for its Arizona chip plant to 2025. The company said it is having trouble finding...

July 31, 2023

Despite concerns expressed by stakeholders, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has returned to a one-page format for Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification. What may seem...

January 26, 2023

The United States will need to fill nearly three-quarters of a million open jobs for home health and personal care aides every year through 2031. Currently, immigrant workers fill these jobs in...

September 17, 2014

Washington, D.C.

November 8, 2013

Yesterday, the American Immigration Council, in collaboration with AILA, filed an amicus brief

July 9, 2024

By Robin Lundh, Research Manager and Karen Aho, Consultant A new National Bureau of Economic Research working paper confirms that immigration continues to benefit American workers. The study finds...

July 2, 2024

Almost one in every seven people in the United States is an immigrant, according to the American Immigration Council’s new analysis of the 2022 American Community Survey. The updated state-level...

July 2, 2024
New data analysis by the American Immigration Council found that migrant farm workers are playing a key role in feeding Americans, even as they are increasingly vulnerable to extreme heat.
May 9, 2024

On April 29, the Department of Labor (DOL) published a new rule aimed at protecting workers on temporary H-2A visas and strengthening the agency’s oversight of their employers. The rule is set to...

Faced with increasing reports from immigration lawyers of Employment Authorization Documents adjudication delays, the Council and several partners filed this lawsuit against USCIS and DHS.
April 4, 2024
Immigrants play a crucial role in the labor force in southern Maine, according to data in a new report.
March 8, 2024

Since its conception in 1977, International Women’s Day has evolved into a global celebration highlighting women’s achievements and the challenges they face. The holiday’s origins can be traced...

February 16, 2024

Department of Homeland Security’s U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) recently issued a final rule that changes H-1B registration selection and makes other changes related to the...

Publication Date: 
January 8, 2024
This Practice Advisory has information practitioners need to assess whether filing suit in federal court is the right option for challenging an employment-based petition denial.
November 20, 2023

When asylum seekers come to the United States, they want to work—but an outdated immigration statute is making that more difficult than it needs to be. After filing an asylum application, asylum...

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