President Joe Biden has lifted a freeze on green cards issued by his predecessor during the pandemic that lawyers said was blocking most legal immigration to the United States. From a report: Former President Donald Trump last spring halted the issuance of green cards until the end of 2020 in the name of protecting the coronavirus-wracked job market — a reason…
Tag: Visas
Trump Administration Claims Facebook Improperly Reserved Jobs for H-1B Workers
The Trump administration has sued Facebook, accusing the social-media company of illegally reserving high-paying jobs for immigrant workers it was sponsoring for permanent residence, rather than searching adequately for available U.S. workers who could fill the positions. From a report: In a 17-page complaint filed Thursday, the Justice Department’s civil-rights division said Facebook inadequately advertised at least 2,600 positions between 2018…
Facebook Claims Its Proposed Payments Network is 7 Times Faster Than Visa’s
As work continues on Novi, Facebook’s digital wallet the company hopes will one day be used to access currencies in the blockchain-based payment system Libra, semblances of a framework have emerged from new research published in AFT ’20: Proceedings of the 2nd ACM Conference on Advances in Financial Technologies. From a report: A paper coauthored by scientists at Facebook’s Novi division…
Tech Startups Say New Pay Rules for H-1B Visas Are Unaffordable
New rules from the Trump administration restricting skilled foreign workers are unnerving U.S. startup hubs, as founders and investors say the limitations will hamstring their ability to recruit top-tier talent to grow their businesses [Editor’s note: the link may be paywalled; free syndicated source]. From a report: The changes to the H-1B visa program announced in October will make qualifying for…
Trump Cracks Down on Visas. Indian Firms May Benefit.
As the president clashes with the courts, some companies and investors say tougher limits on temporary work visas will help push jobs overseas. From a report: When President Trump suspended a raft of visa programs in June, including temporary permits for highly technical foreign workers known as H-1B visas, he portrayed the order as a victory for the American work force….
CBP Does Not Make it Clear Americans Can Opt-out of Airport Face Scanning, Watchdog Says
A government watchdog has criticized U.S. border authorities for failing to properly disclose the agency’s use of facial recognition at airports, which included instructions on how Americans can opt out. From a report: U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), tasked with protecting the border and screening immigrants, has deployed its face-scanning technology in 27 U.S. airports as part of its Biometric…
White House Announces Creation of AI and Quantum Research Institutes
The White House today detailed the establishment of 12 new research institutes focused on AI and quantum information science. Agencies including the National Science Foundation (NSF), U.S. Department of Homeland Security, and U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) have committed to investing tens of millions of dollars in centers intended to serve as nodes for AI and quantum computing study. From a…
Trump Administration Rescinds Rule on Foreign Students
Facing eight federal lawsuits and opposition from hundreds of universities, the Trump administration on Tuesday rescinded a rule that would have required international students to transfer or leave the country if their schools held classes entirely online because of the pandemic. From a report: The decision was announced at the start of a hearing in a federal lawsuit in Boston brought…
Foreign Students Must Leave the US If Their Universities Transition To Online-Only Learning
ugen shares a report from Reuters: Foreign students must leave the United States if their school’s classes this fall will be taught completely online or transfer to another school with in-person instruction, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency announced on Monday. It was not immediately clear how many student visa holders would be affected by the move, but foreign…
Trump To Expand Coronavirus-Related Immigration Restrictions
The Trump administration will ban entry into the U.S. for foreigners on certain temporary work visas — including high-skilled H-1B visas — through the end of the year, senior administration officials told reporters Monday afternoon. From a report: The highly-anticipated immigration restrictions expand on President Trump’s earlier coronavirus-related immigration ban introduced in late April — which was also extended through the…