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On March 3, 2017, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) unexpectedly announced that it would temporarily suspend its premium processing service for all H-1B petitions received on or after April 3, 2017.

On March 3, 2017, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) unexpectedly announced that it will temporarily suspend its premium processing service for all H-1B petitions received on or after April 3, 2017. The premium processing program allows a petitioner to receive a decision on its case within 15 calendar days in exchange for payment of an additional government filing fee to USCIS.

On December 29, 2016, the Board of Alien Labor Certification Appeals (BALCA) issued its decision in the Matter of Unisoft International, Inc., d/b/a SMA (“the Employer”), sending a signal to employers concerning their burden of responsibility during a recruitment process and the good-faith efforts that would be expected in order for them to demonstrate compliance with those requirements. In its decision affirming denial of certification, BALCA clearly placed “the burden of follow-up” on the employer, rather than the applicant in situations where “subsidiary requirements” for a job are not present in a resume, and further stated that the employer should have conducted a closer analysis as to whether on-the-job training options could have allowed U.S. applicants to meet the required qualifications for certain skills.