Massachusetts employers now have another deadline to manage when responding to an immigration-related worksite inspection. On August 5, 2026, Governor Maura Healey signed the PROTECT Act, formally titled An Act Promoting Rule of Law, Oversight, Trust and Equal Constitutional Treatment. Among its provisions, the law creates a new notification requirement for employers that receive a […]
USCIS is taking another significant step toward an electronic immigration system. On August 10, 2026, USCIS announced a new Department of Homeland Security rule establishing a framework for mandatory electronic filing. Under the rule, USCIS may eventually require a benefit request to be filed electronically after that form has been available for e-filing for at […]
The U.S. Department of State has made its Visa Bond Program permanent, allowing consular officers to require certain B-1, B-2, and combined B-1/B-2 visa applicants to post a refundable bond of up to $20,000 before a visa may be issued. The final rule took effect on August 3, 2026, replacing the temporary pilot program launched […]
The Department of State’s August 2026 Visa Bulletin provides limited forward movement in several employment-based green card categories, while significant backlogs remain for applicants chargeable to India and China. For employers and HR teams, the most important development is not simply whether a date advanced, but whether an employee is eligible to file an adjustment […]
The Department of State’s July 2026 Visa Bulletin brings significant changes for several employment-based green card categories. The most consequential developments affect employees born in India, including the unavailability of EB-2 India and EB-5 India unreserved visas for the remainder of the federal fiscal year. For employers, the Visa Bulletin is not simply an immigration […]
Immigration delays are no longer isolated events. They are becoming a consistent feature of the employment-based immigration process. From extended adjudication timelines at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to visa stamping backlogs at consulates overseen by the U.S. Department of State, employers are facing increasing unpredictability across multiple stages. For HR teams, this shift requires […]
Strategizing Early For many employers, H-1B cap season does not end with selection notices. It begins a new challenge: retaining highly skilled employees who were not selected. In today’s competitive labor market, losing international talent is not just a staffing issue. It is a business continuity risk. HR teams must act quickly and strategically to […]
Recent labor data is pointing to a meaningful shift in the U.S. workforce: the number of foreign-born workers is declining. According to recent reporting from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and analysis by the National Foundation for American Policy, the U.S. saw a drop of hundreds of thousands of foreign-born workers in early 2026, with […]
As the H-1B registration period for the upcoming cap season progresses, employers are navigating a rapidly evolving policy environment. For HR professionals responsible for workforce planning and global hiring, staying informed about recent developments is becoming increasingly important. Several recent changes and legal developments indicate that the H-1B sponsorship landscape may continue to shift in […]