Securities:
USCIS to conduct second random selection for FY 2024 H-1B cap – U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services will soon select, through a random process, additional registrations from previously submitted electronic registrations for the FY 2024 H-1B cap.
National Security Advisor discusses ‘legal channels initiative’ with Mexico – U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan announced additional steps the United States is taking “to expand access to safe, orderly, and legal migration pathways” following meetings in Mexico between the president from Mexico and an American delegation.
State Department proposes rule requiring third parties to attend certain appointments – The State Department proposed a rule allowing private attorneys, interpreters and other third parties to attend certain appointments at passport agencies and centers as well as U.S. embassies and consulates abroad to assist the individual requesting services.
Department of Labor and Interagency Task Force Announce Actions Against Child Labor – The Department of Labor and the Interagency Task Force to Combat Child Labor Exploitation announced recent measures to hold companies accountable for violating federal child labor laws.
Details:
USCIS to conduct second random selection for FY 2024 H-1B cap
The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced on July 27, 2023 that it will soon select, using a random process, additional registrations from previously submitted electronic registrations for the H cap -1B for fiscal year (FY) 2024.
In March 2023, USCIS led a first random selection. The initial filing period for individuals with selected FY 2024 registrations was April 1, 2023 through June 30, 2023. USCIS noted that only petitioners with selected FY 2024 registrations are eligible to file applications. queries on the subject of the H-1B cap.
USCIS said it will announce when the second screening process has been completed and all potential petitioners with selected registrations have been notified that they are eligible to file a petition subject to the H-1B beneficiary cap.
USCIS will update the myUSCIS accounts of individuals with selected registrations to include a notice of selection, which includes details about when and where to file.
Details:
National Security Advisor discusses ‘legal channels initiative’ with Mexico
U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan issued a statement on July 28, 2023, announcing additional steps the United States is taking “to expand access to safe, orderly, and legal migration pathways” following of meetings in Mexico between Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador and an American representative. delegation led by White House Homeland Security Advisor Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall.
Mr. Sullivan announced the United States’ “full support” for “a multipurpose international space that the Mexican government plans to create in southern Mexico to provide new refugee and work options for the most vulnerable people who find themselves currently in Mexico. We are also committed to accepting refugee resettlement referrals from qualified individuals from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela who are already in Mexico.
President Biden “has significantly expanded legal pathways to the United States, consistent with the goals of the Los Angeles Declaration on Migration and Protection,” Mr. Sullivan said. “We encourage migrants to use these legal channels instead of putting their lives in the hands of dangerous smugglers and traffickers. Under our laws, those who seek to enter the United States illegally will continue to face severe consequences, including deportation, possible criminal prosecution, and a ban on re-entry.
Details:
- Statement from National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan on the Legal Channels Initiative with Mexico (July 28, 2023). https://tinyurl.com/yeckx8py
State Department proposes rule requiring third parties to attend certain appointments
On July 26, 2023, the Department of State (DOS) proposed a rule allowing private attorneys, interpreters, and other third parties to attend certain appointments at passport agencies and centers as well as embassies and consulates Americans abroad to assist the person requesting services (the applicant/applicant).
The DOS said the regulations would only apply to nominations in support of a U.S. passport application, whether domestic or foreign; at appointments related to a request for a Consular Report of Birth Abroad or a Certificate of Loss of Nationality of the United States (CLN); and other appointments for certain other services offered by American Citizens Services (ACS) units at U.S. embassies and consulates abroad (posts).
The DOS will accept comments on the proposed rule until September 25, 2023.
Details:
Department of Labor and Interagency Task Force Announce Actions Against Child Labor
The Department of Labor (DOL) and the Interagency Task Force to Combat Child Labor Exploitation announced recent measures to hold companies accountable for violating federal child labor laws.
For example, the DOL said its Wage and Hour Division has significantly improved efforts to combat child labor. Between October 1, 2022 and July 20, 2023, through enhanced enforcement, the agency concluded 765 child labor cases, finding that 4,474 children were employed in violation of federal child labor laws. The agency assessed employers more than $6.6 million in penalties. The DOL said these cases “reflect a 44 percent increase in the number of children found employed in violation of federal law and an 87 percent increase in penalties imposed compared to the same period last fiscal year.” Additionally, the agency currently handles more than 700 open child labor cases.
The DOL also recently announced its findings that three companies operating 62 McDonald’s locations in Kentucky, Indiana, Maryland and Ohio employed 305 children to work more than legally permitted hours and perform tasks prohibited by law to young workers. In total, the DOL said, the investigations led to civil penalties of $212,544 against the employers. The DOL also announced child labor violations affecting 83 minors at 16 McDonald’s franchises in Louisiana and Texas. For example, the division determined that one franchisee allowed three children to operate manual fryers, a task prohibited for employees under 16 years of age. DOL has assessed more than $77,500 in civil penalties against two McDonald’s franchisees for violations.
Details: