In Today’s News and Commentary, DHS ends automatic extension of immigrants’ work permits, Starbucks Workers United launches a strike authorization vote, and a captive audience ban case is appealed to the Seventh Circuit.
On Wednesday, the Trump Administration published an interim final rule ending the practice of automatically extending the validity of work permits during the renewal process for certain classes of immigrants, including refugees, asylum seekers, and H1-B dependent visa holders. In other words, if USCIS takes too long to adjudicate a renewal application before the work permit expires, an individual will lose the ability to work legally through no fault of their own. USCIS only permits individuals to apply for a renewal 180 days in advance, but processing times often stretch on for much longer. In 2016, the government took steps to mitigate this issue, granting a 180-day auto-extension as part of the renewal application, provided it was filed before the expiration date. In 2022, the government increased the extension to 540 days due to COVID-delays. The backlog continues to grow even though USCIS is funded by applicant fees and government shutdowns have little to no impact on its operations. The interim final rule applies to all renewal applications filed as of today, so it is unlikely any effects will be felt immediately. Even so, this is cold comfort to all those who will be impacted. While Congress has made it unlawful to hire someone who is not legally...
LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Louis J. Cohen, P.C. announces a landmark whistleblower award agreement with the United States and the State of California, securing more than $4.5 million for our cli...