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Clark Lau LLC is pleased to announce the promotion of Eric F. Lockwood as Partner. Eric has been practicing law since 2006 and joined Clark Lau LLC in 2014. Eric serves individuals, professionals, and employers in both employment-based and family-based immigration matters. He currently serves as one of the members of the AILA New England chapter US Customs and Border Protection Committee members. Find out more about Eric: https://www.clarklau.com/our-team/eric-f-lockwood.

As of Tuesday, May 4, 12:01AM ET, India joins the list of countries with travel restrictions to the U.S.

Currently, anyone who has been in any of the restricted countries within the last 14 days cannot enter the U.S. These countries include the U.K., Ireland, the People’s Republic of China (excluding Hong Kong and Macau), Iran, Brazil, South Africa, and countries from the Schengen region (Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland).

Some of the exceptions to the travel restrictions include...

At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the former administration issued a number of Presidential Proclamations that impacted both visa issuance and international travel.

Of note, there was one Presidential Proclamation that prohibited the issuance of immigrant (green card) visas and another on the issuance of the H-1B, H-2B, L-1, and certain J-1 visas. Earlier this year the Biden Administration lifted the immigrant visa issuance ban. The visa issuance ban on H-1B, H-2B, L-1, and certain J-1 visas will also be sunsetting as of tonight, March 31, 2021. It is our understanding that the Biden Administration will not seek to renew...

USCIS just announced today that they completed its H-1B lottery selection process for FY2022. Attorneys across the country are reporting a yield of about 28%, a much lower rate than before.

One can only surmise that this means that the number of registrations were higher this year, which leads to the conclusion that more employers have the need for H-1B professional workers. The H-1B visa program offers employment authorization where an employer has a position that requires a degree in a specific field and where the individual has such a degree. An employer must also promise to pay a specific...

USCIS just announced that the initial registration period for the upcoming H-1B lottery will run from March 9, 2021 (noon) until March 25, 2021 (noon). Employers and attorneys will be able to register individuals needing an H-1B visa at any time during this period. Preference will not be given to those who register earlier. If by noon March 25, 2021 there are more registrants than available H-1B numbers, USCIS will conduct a random lottery afterwards. Please note that should a lottery be conducted, 20,000 numbers will be allocated to registrants with US Master’s degrees or higher first, and then another...

The White House just outlined its plans for immigration reform under the Biden Harris Administration this week: https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/02/02/fact-sheet-president-biden-outlines-steps-to-reform-our-immigration-system-by-keeping-families-together-addressing-the-root-causes-of-irregular-migration-and-streamlining-the-legal-immigration-syst/

While definitely a welcome, those involved with employment-based immigration are still waiting to see how this administration will be handling some of the “midnight” rules and proposals the former administration issued impacting the H-1B process.

One that has drawn a lot of attention is the proposal to allocate new H-1B visa numbers based on wage levels. When an employer files an H-1B petition, an employer promises to pay the foreign national the higher of either the actual wage rate paid to similarly occupied...