USCIS Plans To Revise Definition Of Specialty Occupation, Employment, Employer-Employee Relationship, Among Other Actions (Video)
On April 4, 2018, L. Francis Cissna, Director of U.S.
Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), sent a letter to Sen.
Charles Grassley (R-Iowa), Chairman of the Senate Committee on the
Judiciary discussing the agency’s review of existing
regulations, policies, and programs and its development of “a
combination of rulemaking, policy memoranda, and operational
changes to implement the ‘Buy American and Hire American’
Executive Order.” Mr. Cissna said that, among other things,
USCIS plans to propose regulations to revise the definition of
specialty occupation “to increase focus on obtaining the best
and the brightest foreign nationals via the H-1B program,” and
to revise the definitions of employment and employer-employee
relationship “to better protect U.S. workers and wages.”
In addition, he said DHS will propose “additional requirements
designed to ensure employers pay appropriate wages to H-1B visa
holders.” The letter does not specify how these definitions
will be revised or when the proposed regulations will be
issued.
The letter also confirms USCIS’ plans to propose regulatory
changes to remove H-4 dependent spouses from the class of aliens
eligible for employment authorization.
Mr. Cissna confirmed that USCIS is also drafting a proposed rule
to remove the International Entrepreneur Rule, noting that the rule
is currently in effect. He said USCIS has not approved “any
parole requests under the International Entrepreneur Rule at this
time.”
The USCIS letter is at https://www.judiciary.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/2018-04-04%20USCIS%20to%20CEG%20-%20Buy%20America,%20Hire%20America%20update.pdf.
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