FILTERS
- Age Discrimination
- Disability Discrimination
- Diversity in Employment
- Diversity in the General Counsel’s Office
- Enforcement of Non-Discrimination Laws
- Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)
- Gender Identity & Sexual Orientation Discrimination
- Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA)
- Race and National Origin Discrimination
- Religious Discrimination & Accommodation
- Retaliation
- Sex Discrimination
- Veterans Discrimination
- Academic Freedom & Employee Speech
- Background Checks & Employee Verification
- Collective Bargaining
- Diversity in Employment
- Employee Benefits
- Employee Discipline & Due Process
- Employee Sexual Misconduct
- Employment of Foreign Nationals
- Employment Separation, RIFs, ERIPs & Retrenchment
- Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) & Categorization of Employees
- Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)
- Intellectual Property
- Reproductive Health Issues
- Research
- Retaliation
- Tenure
- Veterans & Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA)
- Diversity in the General Counsel’s Office
- Ethical Obligations of Higher Education Lawyers
- Evaluation of Operations & Staff in the General Counsel’s Office
- External Counsel
- Law Office Management
- Law Office Technology
- Law Office Training
- Roles & Responsibilities of the General Counsel
- Wellness & Stress Management
- Academic Performance and Misconduct
- Admissions
- Distressed & Suicidal Students
- Financial Aid, Scholarships, & Student Loans
- Hazing
- Internships, Externships, & Clinical Work
- Student Athlete Issues
- Student Conduct
- Student Housing
- Student Organizations
- Student Speech & Campus Unrest
- Title IX & Student Sexual Misconduct
- Uncategorized
Latest Cases & Developments
Date:
ACE Letter to the State Department on Addressing Visa Processing Delays (July 5, 2024)
Letter from the American Council on Education (ACE) and 19 other organizations to the State Department on Addressing Visa Processing Delays. Noting that students from India have recently made up over a quarter of all international students in this country, the letter expresses concerns over delays in processing F-1 and J-1 visa applications at U.S. consulates in India. It notes, in particular, “reports of students receiving dates for interviews 100-200 days into the future, which will cause them to miss the start of their academic programs in the fall.”
Topics:
Immigration | International StudentsDate:
ACE Comment Letter to DHS on Proposed Rule to Modernize the H-1B and Other Visa Processes (Dec. 22, 2023)
Comment Letter from the American Council on Education (ACE) and 19 other higher education associations to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on its NPRM “Modernizing H-1B Requirements, Providing Flexibility in the F-1 Program, and Program Improvements Affecting Other Nonimmigrant Workers.” The letter expresses support for multiple provisions of the NPRM, including those that would shift to a beneficiary-centric lottery system in the H-1B registration process, codify the current deference policy that requires consideration of prior determinations when there have been no material changes that would adversely impact an application, provide greater flexibility for graduating students seeking to move from Optional Practical Training into an H-1B position, and eliminating the requirement that applicants provide an itinerary if their work or training will occur in more than one location. The letter expresses concern about a proposed change to the definition and process for determining when a position involves a “specialty occupation,” noting that it would limit the potential pool of applicants for many faculty positions (such as in engineering programs) for which required specialization need not be in a specifically identified subspecialty.
Topics:
Employment of Foreign Nationals | Faculty & Staff | Immigration | International StudentsDate:
ACE Letter to the State Dep.’t on Interview Requirements for Non-Immigrant Visa Applicants (Dec. 8, 2023)
Letter from the American Council on Education (ACE) and 25 other higher education associations to the U.S. Secretary of State on the in-person interview requirement for some non-immigrant visa applicants. In the letter, ACE urged the Secretary of State to extend and make permanent the waiver of the in-person interview requirement established during the COVID-19 pandemic for international students and scholars applying for F-1 and J-1 visas. The current waiver is set to expire at the end of the year.
Topics:
Immigration | International StudentsDate:
DHS NPRM on H-1B Requirements and F-1 Flexibility (Oct. 23, 2023)
U.S. Department of Homeland Security Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) Modernizing H-1B Requirements, Providing Flexibility in the F-1 Program, and Program Improvements Affecting Other Nonimmigrant Workers. The proposed regulations would “streamline requirements for the H-1B program by: (1) revising the regulatory definition and criteria for a ‘specialty occupation’; (2) clarifying that ‘normally’ does not mean ‘always’ within the criteria for a specialty occupation; and (3) clarifying that a position may allow a range of degrees, although there must be a direct relationship between the required degree field(s) and the duties of the position.” The regulations would also “change the definition of ‘nonprofit research organization’ and ‘governmental research organization’ by replacing ‘primarily engaged’ and ‘primary mission’ to ‘fundamental activity’ to permit a nonprofit entity or governmental research organization that conducts research as a fundamental activity … to meet the definition of a nonprofit research entity.” They would also provide greater flexibility with automatic extension for F-1 visa holders who seek to change their status to H-1B.
Topics:
Faculty & Staff | Immigration | International Students
NACUA Annual Conference
Join us in the Music City June 29 – July 2 to connect, learn, and lead alongside higher education attorneys shaping policy, practice, and impact nationwide together.