California’s protections for Employee rights at the workplace have been expanded to include more workplace protections, new criminal liabilities for wage theft, and requirements in response to COVID-19. 1) SB 331: The “Silenced No More Act,” which prohibits confidentiality clauses relating to sex-based discrimination and harassment, is amended to impose further restrictions for Employers concerning…
Continue reading ›Consular officers may waive, for certain replacement immigrant visa applicants, their personal appearance and interview requirements under a new Temporary Final Rule. This is effective immediately and expires on December 13, 2023. This Temporary Final Rule (TFR) provides consular officers the flexibility to waive the personal appearance of certain immigrant visa applicants who were approved…
Continue reading ›The Court of Appeal in Gamboa v. Northeast Community Clinic, 2021 S.O.S. 6372, held today that a defendant employer must prove that a plaintiff employee has not only agreed to the signing of the arbitration agreement, but also remembers signing it. The Court explained that a former employee’s declaration that she did not recall signing…
Continue reading ›From June 14 to September 29, 2021, USCIS erroneously rejected Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization, from petitioners for U nonimmigrant status that were filed without a fee or request for fee waiver. USCIS also erroneously accepted fees for certain U nonimmigrant petitions that unnecessarily submitted a fee with their Form I-765. USCIS is trying…
Continue reading ›The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced that for Afghan nationals who were paroled into the United States for humanitarian reasons on or after July 30,2021, will streamline application processing and be exempt from filing fees. Streamlining the processes for work authorization, green cards, and associated services will better help in their resettlement in the…
Continue reading ›H-1B visas are dual intent visas, meaning an H-1B holder, who entered as a nonimmigrant, can have legal immigration intent to permanently reside in the U.S. The H-1B visa category is for highly educated foreign professionals to work in “specialty occupations” that require a minimum of a bachelor’s degree or its equivalent. Due to the…
Continue reading ›On November 4, 2021, the West Hollywood City Council approved the highest minimum wage in the nation. In a unanimous vote early Thursday morning, the city council unanimously approved a $17.64 minimum wage. The measure will take effect on January 1, 2022 for all hotel workers and on July 1, 2022 for all other workers.…
Continue reading ›On October 19, 2021, the U.S. District Court, Northern District of California, San Jose Division, granted final approval of the settlement agreement in the case MadKudu Inc., et al v. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, et al., No. 20-CV-2653 (N.D. Cal.). This agreement introduces new guidance for adjudicating pending or future H-1b petitions for market…
Continue reading ›In June, the State Department announced they would update its procedures to allow applicants to self-select their sex marker for passports and medical certification is no longer required if it doesn’t match the sex listed on other official identity documents. State spokesperson, Ned Price, stated “…the Department is moving towards adding an X gender marker…
Continue reading ›According to The National Foundation for American Policy, the denial rates for new H-1B petitions for the first two quarters of 2021 is 7.1% whereas the first two quarters of 2020 was 28.6%. This is a total of 21.5% increase in acceptance rates. However, this does not mean getting visa approval is any easier because…
Continue reading ›
