Welcome to the Garfinkel Immigration news roundup, where every month we will summarize and provide links to the latest stories impacting U.S. immigration.
Below is the October 2024 edition of the Garfinkel Immigration news roundup:
New guidance published about Canadian ICT work permits: What to know about adjudication, location of employment, physical premises requirement and more
The Canadian government issued new rules in early October related to Intra-Company Transferee (ICT) permits, the most common work permit category used to relocate employees to the country.
The rules took effect immediately on Oct. 3 and will likely mean that ICT permits will face greater scrutiny moving forward, with remote work generally not permitted. These new rules also appear to apply to those seeking extensions of ICT permits.
Election 2024 and immigration policy: Here’s how employers can prepare for a change in administration
The results of the 2024 election could have long lasting impacts on the United States immigration system.
With the impending change in administration, it is prudent for employers to proactively prepare their businesses, immigration programs, and employees, and begin taking action. For example, employers should consider:
— Initiating green card filings as soon as possible for as many applicable employees as practicable by the end of the year, especially those who may be eligible for the National Interest Waiver (NIW), or another similar immigrant or nonimmigrant visa type. The Biden administration introduced new guidance related to NIWs in 2023, which opened the door for green card options for many STEM graduates.
— Updating the company’s protocols for site visits from the Fraud Detection and National Security Directorate (FDNS) and preparing employees and leadership teams about the best way to handle these visits if they happen.
Find out more ways in which employers can prepare for a change in administration via Garfinkel Immigration Partner Meredith W. Barnette.
Green card retrogressions: How to move forward when the Visa Bulletin is moving backward
In her latest white paper, Garfinkel Immigration Partner Colleen F. Molner provides a list of actions employers could consider taking to help mitigate some of the negative impacts caused by recent Visa Bulletin retrogression, which could include lapses in work authorization, additional costs and planning, and other disruptions to their workforce.
“It is important to time the green card process as proactively as possible, so that employees do not experience — or to minimize — a gap in work authorization,” Colleen writes. She adds: “(Employers should consider) initiating the green card process for employees as soon as feasible. Garfinkel Immigration Law Firm usually recommends evaluating green-card sponsorship after an employee has had at least one year of nonimmigrant employment in the U.S., unless there are factors that justify an exception and based on business needs.”
Read the full list of actions from Colleen here.
Fifth Circuit weighs fate of DACA in case likely headed to Supreme Court
The Justice Department presented arguments to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals earlier this month in favor of the DACA program, as detailed by The Hill in this story.
“For an hour, the three (Fifth Circuit) judges — appointees of former Presidents Reagan, George W. Bush and Obama — heard arguments, including the Justice Department’s contention that the states have no standing to sue because DACA has caused them no harm,” The Hill story reads.
The Biden administration has not been able to process initial applications for DACA since July 2021 because of various court rulings.
“Though advocates are supporting the Biden administration’s defense of DACA in the courts, most say legislation is the only realistic way forward for the program’s beneficiaries — and for those who would have enrolled if DACA hadn’t been kneecapped in the courts,” The Hill story read.
DACA has offered temporary protection to almost 800,000 young people since it took effect on June 15, 2012. DACA recipients can receive work authorization in the United States, enroll at colleges and universities, and obtain a driver’s license. However, the program does not provide recipients a legal pathway to citizenship.
The Hill story added that “regardless of the 5th Circuit’s decision, which could be months away, the case is likely to go to the Supreme Court.”
Read the full story from The Hill here.
North Carolina’s foreign-born population is booming
This story from Axios details the rising foreign-born population in North Carolina, which has increased by about 32 percent across the last 10 years, according to census data. That includes 443,000 citizens who have naturalized, according to Axios.
“Foreign-born residents in North Carolina are a growing and important part of the state’s economy — supporting sectors from healthcare to tech to agriculture — while shaping what the state looks like politically and culturally,” the story reads.
The Axios story adds: “The growth of North Carolina’s foreign-born population has outpaced what’s happening nationally. In 2023, 14.3% of the U.S. population was foreign-born, up from 13.1% a decade prior.”
Immigrants will be America’s only source of labor force growth
Forbes senior contributor Stuart Anderson details the “key role” immigrants play in the U.S. work force in this article published in mid-October.
“Over the last five years, only 479,000 U.S.-born workers were added to the U.S. labor force, compared to 3.6 million foreign-born workers, according to new research from the NFAP,” Anderson writes. “That means immigrant workers are responsible for 88% of the labor force growth in America since 2019.”
The story adds: “Without immigrants and their children, the U.S. labor force would have declined by more than one million, with negative implications for inflation, growth and Social Security. Instead, the U.S. labor force grew by over four million workers.”