Immigration Executive Order: What Employers Should Know Now

Ogletree Deakins immigration attorneys Jacky Maroney and Sarah Hawk will discuss the impact of the President’s immigration executive action on employers. Among the plans presented during the President’s November 20 speech are his intent to defer deportation and grant work permits to several million undocumented immigrants who are parents of children who are U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents. The President also presented a toolbox of actions intended to benefit legal employment-based immigration programs. These actions include an intent to expand work authorization for new college graduates and those holding the H-4 visa classification, provide employers with better guidance on the L-1B specialized knowledge visa category, modernize the PERM labor certification process, reform the current system utilized to determine when applicants can submit requests for the final stage of the green card process, and create a pre-registration system that would benefit employees who are subject to a backlog in the green card process. Our speakers will cover the latest guidance on immigration as well as the changes these and other aspects of the executive action may bring.