Here is another edition of "Dear Sophie", the advice column that answers questions related to labor immigration in technology companies.
"Your questions are vital to the dissemination of knowledge that enables people around the world to push boundaries and pursue their dreams," said Sophie Alcorn, a Silicon Valley immigration attorney. "Whether you are in people ops, a founder or looking for a job in Silicon Valley, I would love to answer your questions in my next article."
The "Dear Sophie" columns are accessible for Extra Crunch subscribers; use the promotional code ALCORN to purchase a one or two year subscription with a 50% discount.
Dear Sophie: I work in people ops in tech. The restrictions and conditions imposed on visas and green cards appear to be constantly changing. What are the latest in technology, such as H-1B and other non-immigrant visas? - Strong in San FranciscoDear strong:
And what a summer it was! Thankfully there is a lot of great immigration news this week. I would love to dive into the new State Department exceptions requiring new H-1B visas at embassies and consulates around the world. This will help many tech companies whose H-1B employees were stranded outside the United States during "visa stamping" trips (consular interviews) earlier this year.
Before we get into this though, I wanted to share some additional and recent immigration highlights: First, US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is restarting interviews (our team just handled several remote naturalization interviews for customers across the country) and it looks like green cards will be back soon. Second, USCIS announced that it is canceling layoff plans for more than 13,000 employees next week, thus averting a massive slowdown in visa and green card processing. Third, for those Dreamers out there and the tech companies that love them, USCIS is starting to accept some DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) renewals and work permit applications.
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