Compliance Stuff

  Employers intending to sponsor foreign workers for H-1B visas can begin submitting registrations for the fiscal 2026 H-1B cap on March 7. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)  announced  that the registration period will open at noon ET on March 7 and run through noon ET on March 24. Late registrations will not be accepted. Prospective H-1B cap-subject petitioners or their representatives are required to use a USCIS online account to register each worker for the selection process and pay the associated $215 H-1B registration fee for each registration. The increased fee is new this year, up from $10 in prior years. The fee increase  was announced in 2024 , as part of a broader USCIS fee rule. For the second consecutive year, USCIS will use a  beneficiary-centric registration selection system , rather than selecting from among the submitted registrations as a whole, in order to mitigate fraud. In other words, each worker will only be entered into ...

  It’s hard to keep up with all the recent changes to labor and employment law, especially since the law always seems to evolve at a rapid pace. In order to ensure you stay on top of the latest changes and have an action plan for compliance, here is a quick review of some critical developments we tracked in December and a checklist of the essential items you should consider addressing in January and beyond. _____ Get ready for the new administration to take the reins.  You may already be following our post-election coverage on  workplace law developments to expect from the Trump administration , as well as President-elect Trump’s picks to lead  the Labor Department  and  the Federal Trade Commission  and for roles like  the Border Czar  and  the nation’s first AI Czar . We also offered  answers to your frequently asked questions  about the White House’s New DOGE Efficiency Initiative so you can separate myth from reality. You’l...