Francis Cissna

Donald Trump Govt unveils new H-1B visa lottery rules effective 1 April; advanced degree holders top priority for US

It's official. The Donald Trump administration, via the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has announced new rules favoring advanced US advanced degree holders filing H1B visas that go into effect 1 April and will be published in the US federal register Thursday. The revised scenario beginning this Spring recalibrates the educational qualification requirements of who (all) can be counted towards the regular, yearly stream of 65,000 visas in a move that will filter out more bachelor’s degree holders from the H1B program, raise the probability of more US Master's degree holders filling the first wave of total available slots which analysts sat will eventually squeeze incoming batches of H1B workers.

Donald Trump, angry and nervous after midterm jolt, mulls wide-ranging White House shake-up

US President Donald Trump, said to be furious over midterm election results and nervous about the Mueller probe, is weighing an administration-wide shake-up as he looks to prepare his White House for divided government, but it is unclear who is going and who is staying.

H1B and H4 visa feature in Donald Trump admin's Fall 2018 regulatory agenda as US midterm elections loom: All you need to know

Reports today of the Donald Trump administration planning to “revise the definition of specialty occupations under H1B visas” is better understood a notice of intent to put an official stamp on what is already par for the course in the H1B ecosystem in the United States.

Donald Trump's immigrant roundups increasingly target non-criminals, up 66 percent in the first 9 months of 2018

ICE arrests of noncriminals increased 66 percent in the first nine months of the 2018 fiscal year over the same period a year earlier. Arrests of convicts, meantime, rose nearly 2 percent. More noncriminals have also been deported. Among those expelled from the U.S. interior in fiscal 2017, there was a 174 percent increase from the previous year of those with no criminal convictions. Deportations of those with convictions rose nearly 13 percent over the same period.

US jobs, pay growing at fastest pace in 9 years, unemployment at 18-year low despite Donald Trump Govt's ongoing trade conflicts

The pace of hiring in the United States quickened in August, and wages grew at their fastest pace in nine years — evidence that employers remain confident despite the Donald Trump administration's ongoing conflicts with its trading partners.

Despatches from an H1B wasteland amid India-US 2+2 talks: How a non-immigrant work permit has occupied frontlines of US politics

Behind the present day backlash on H-1B visas are cold, hard numbers that say the H-1B cost advantage has vanished, especially if you add the cost of nuisance value which comes bundled with the H-1B process

New Yorker editor David Remnick cancels Steve Bannon invite after high profile dropouts and outrage; says he's 'changed his mind, there's a better way to do this'

Facing widespread outrage, The New Yorker has dropped plans to interview Steve Bannon during its festival next month. The former Donald Trump aide and ex-chairman of Breitbart News was supposed to be a featured guest during a prestigious gathering that over the years has drawn some of the world's most prominent artists and public figures

Donald Trump government siding with Asian American students suing Harvard: 'No American should be denied admission to school because of race'

The Justice Department on Thursday sided with Asian-American students suing Harvard University over the Ivy League school's consideration of race in its admissions policy, the latest step in the Trump administration's effort to encourage race-neutral admissions practices.

Race-based school criteria roils Asian-Americans enough to push for legal fight as immigration takes centerstage in US midterms

The U.S. Department of Justice is backing a 2014 lawsuit against Harvard University by Asian-American applicants, who say the Ivy League college unlawfully suppresses the number of Asians admitted. The DOJ also said last year it would investigate a May 2015 complaint filed against Harvard by a coalition of Asian-American groups.

H4 EAD: Donald Trump Govt, in court filing, confirms plan to revoke H1B spouses' work permit is in 'final clearance review' stage

In a court filing dated 20 August, the US Department of Homeland Security has confirmed that the proposed rule to revoke H4 work permits - popularly called H4 EAD - is currently in "final clearance and review" process and senior most DHS folks are working out the fine print of the terms of approval.