Sari Long, Author at Laborsphere

Humanitarian Parole for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans (CHNV): What’s the State of Play?

The Trump administration terminated a humanitarian parole program for beneficiaries from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela (CHNV). The Department of Homeland Security is now proceeding with terminating all parole granted under the CHNV program and revoking related employment authorization documents (EADs) regardless of the existing parole and EAD expiration date. A new “Status Change Report” was launched for E-Verify-enrolled employers that allows them to identify CHNV EADs that have been revoked. However, there is no clear guidance for employers who may have employees who presented and continue to have unexpired EADs issued under this program.

To view the full alert, visit the Faegre Drinker website.

Temporary Protected Status (TPS): What’s the State of Play?

Out of 17 countries under active TPS designations at the beginning of 2025, seven, including most recently Honduras and Nicaragua, have now seen protected status terminated. The termination of a country’s TPS designation ends the protection from removal and ability to extend work authorization of beneficiaries from that country. While the fate of the other countries that are still under active TPS designation remains uncertain, employers should be prepared for similar terminations based on the Trump administration’s actions thus far. Employers need to know their workforce, screen their employees for other benefits, and consider moving them to a true nonimmigrant status, where possible.

To view the full alert, visit the Faegre Drinker website.

Reminder for California Employers: Immigration Status Protection

The California Labor Commissioner’s Office has recently reminded California employers of protections available to workers regardless of their immigration status. California workers are protected from unfair immigration-related practices, and it is unlawful for any employer to retaliate against a worker for exercising these protections. It is also unlawful for an employer to fail to comply with notice requirements about immigration enforcement actions at worksites. We summarize California laws that prohibit discrimination and retaliation based on immigration status.

To view the full alert, visit the Faegre Drinker website.

What if Our Business is Visited by ICE?

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is one of several government agencies that may appear unannounced at your workplace. ICE can carry out three different actions at a place of business: inspecting employers’ Form I-9 records via a Notice of Inspection, conducting a search (commonly known as a “raid”) via a judicial warrant, or arresting and detaining an individual via an arrest warrant. ICE audits and raids cannot be prevented, but preparing now can mitigate the consequences of such government actions.

View the full article on the Faegre Drinker website.

USCIS Announces H-1B Cap Has Been Reached for Fiscal Year 2025

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that it has received enough petitions to meet the annual numerical allocation of 85,000 H-1B visas for fiscal year 2025, which includes 65,000 regular and 20,000 U.S. advanced-degree cap petitions. The FY 2025 registration process was the first under USCIS’s new beneficiary-centric process, in which registrations were selected by unique beneficiary rather than by number of submitted registrations.

To view the full alert, visit the Faegre Drinker website.

USCIS Announces H-1B Cap Has Been Reached for Fiscal Year 2024

On December 13, 2023, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that it had received enough petitions to meet the annual numerical allocation of 85,000 H-1B visas for fiscal year 2024 (FY2024), which includes 65,000 regular and 20,000 U.S. advanced degree (U.S. master’s degree) cap petitions. The next period during which registrants will be allowed to submit H-1B cap registrations is expected to be in the first couple of weeks of March 2024 for an October 1, 2024, (FY2025) employment start date for successful registrants.

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