In today’s news and commentary, USCIS clarified that some workers are exempt from Trump’s $100,000 H1-B visa fee, an Amazon driver alleges the EEOC violated its mandate by dropping a disparate-impact investigation of the company, and the Eighth Circuit revived a Minnesota bank employee’s First Amendment retaliation claims over a school mask-mandate.
Yesterday, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that some workers are exempt from President Trump’s new $100,000 H-1B visa fee. While most new H-1B petitions will still trigger the charge, USCIS clarified that the Proclamation “does not apply to a petition . . . requesting an amendment, change of status, or extension of stay for an alien inside the United States where USCIS grants such amendment, change, or extension.” This exemption likely covers many recent college graduates in the United States on F-1 status. However, if an applicant leaves the country before USCIS adjudicates the change-of-status request, the $100,000 fee will still apply. Following Trump’s September proclamation announcing the fee, The US Chamber of Commerce, as well as coalitions of unions, health-care providers, religious organizations, and schools filed lawsuits to block the fee. One coalition challenging the fee said that the recent guidance shows that the administration “recognizes the immediate harm to workers.” Still, it noted that the guidance is “limited” and “doesn’t fix the core problem.”
Meanwhile, an Amazon driver has...
[OSEN=Jang Woo-young Reporter] Amid repeated denials from actor Park Si-hoo’s side regarding allegations of facilitating an affair, a close associate also emphasized that the claims are “baseless”...