The Biden administration may eliminate a US Department of Labor rule that would have modified how the US government sets prevailing wages for H-1B professionals and employment-based green card applicants, according to this Forbes article. The Trump administration originally sought to use the wage rule to make it more challenging for foreign-born scientists and engineers to seek employment.
A federal judge recently ruled in favor of a Department of Homeland Security regulation that permits the spouses of H-1B visa holders to work. According to this Forbes article, McDermott Partner Paul Hughes drafted the amicus brief for more than 40 companies and organizations.
“This decision confirms that tens of thousands of H-4 employees—highly skilled and critical members of their teams—are lawfully employed,” said Hughes. “The court’s correct analysis follows decades of consistent practice and recognition that the Executive may determine categories of visa holders eligible for employment.”
The Biden administration is no longer defending a Trump administration H-1B visa regulation that would have made it more challenging for international students to work in the United States. As noted in this Forbes article, McDermott Partner Paul Hughes recently successfully argued on behalf of plaintiffs that the H-1B rule violated current law.
International students will have an easier time obtaining H-1B status after a federal judge ended a Trump administration regulation that made the process more difficult.
According to this Forbes article, Trump administration officials increased H-1B denial rates via memos and policies that were later ruled unlawful. McDermott Partner Paul Hughes—who represented plaintiffs in an complaint for declaratory and injunctive relief—said a Trump administration move to end H-1B via lottery violated the law.