High Skilled

The enforcement of immigration laws is a complex and hotly-debated topic. Learn more about the costs of immigration enforcement and the ways in which the U.S. can enforce our immigration laws humanely and in a manner that ensures due process.

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All High Skilled Content

Last modified: 
October 10, 2023
Publication Date: 
October 10, 2023
New research from the American Immigration Council shows that immigrants in Greater Salem paid over $200 million in taxes and held over $536 million in spending power in 2019. The new report, New...
Last modified: 
September 6, 2023
Publication Date: 
September 6, 2023
New research from the American Immigration Council shows that immigrants in Allen County paid over $160 million in taxes and exceeded $496.0 million in spending power in 2019. The new report, New...
A landscape of several tall buildings with a bridge in the foreground
Last modified: 
August 29, 2023
Publication Date: 
August 29, 2023
See our updated web report on the largest American companies and their immigrant roots.
Last modified: 
August 18, 2023
Publication Date: 
July 15, 2022
This fact sheet provides an overview of the H-1B visa category and petition process, addresses the myths perpetuated about the H-1B visa category, and highlights the key contributions H-1B workers...
Last modified: 
April 18, 2023
Publication Date: 
January 18, 2023
A new research series from the American Immigration Council, The Growing Demand for Healthcare Workers, highlights the crucial role immigrants are playing to help address critical workforce shortages...
Last modified: 
March 9, 2023
Publication Date: 
March 9, 2023
This research brief highlights the crucial role immigrants in Nevada are playing to help address critical physician shortages.
Last modified: 
February 16, 2023
Publication Date: 
May 16, 2022

New research from the American Immigration Council, Economic Benefits of the Empire State Licensing: Immigrants in New York State’s Workforce, highlights the crucial role of immigrants and...

Last modified: 
September 21, 2022
Publication Date: 
September 21, 2022
To address significant shortages of physicians and other healthcare workers, Texas must establish policies that recruit and retain local talent and give employment possibilities for immigrant...
Last modified: 
July 11, 2022
Publication Date: 
July 11, 2022

New research from the American Immigration Council, The Economic Contributions of Immigrants in Texas, highlights the crucial role of immigrants in the state’s workforce across the manufacturing,...

Publication Date: 
June 14, 2022
Recent federal policy changes have opened up new avenues for American businesses of all sizes to connect with talented researchers and other highly-skilled individuals in the STEM fields. The...
Faced with increasing reports from immigration lawyers of Employment Authorization Documents adjudication delays, the Council and several partners filed this lawsuit against USCIS and DHS.
This lawsuit challenges USCIS' arbitrarily rejected H-1B petitions filed after October 1 simply because the H-1B worker’s intended employment start date—naturally—also fell after October 1.
Publication Date: 
November 11, 2020
The Council filed an amicus brief supporting plaintiffs’ preliminary injunction and summary judgment motion that the government did not satisfy the stringent requirements necessary to sidestep notice and comment rulemaking.
October 6, 2020

This document provides a summary of the Department of Homeland Security's September 25, 2020, Proposed Rule, "...

This nationwide class action lawsuit challenges U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ pattern and practice of arbitrarily denying H-1B nonimmigrant employment-based petitions for market research analyst positions filed by United States businesses.
Publication Date: 
December 16, 2019
The American Immigration Council filed this brief in support of a U.S. employer’s challenge to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service’s denial of a computer programmer H-1B petition.

On behalf of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), the American Immigration Council filed a lawsuit under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) challenging U.S. Citizenship and...

Publication Date: 
February 28, 2017
The Council filed an amicus brief in a case pending before the Administrative Appeals Office (AAO), an administrative body at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) that reviews denials of most employment-based visa petitions.

On behalf of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), the Council, in cooperation with Hughes Socol Piers Resnick & Dym, Ltd., filed a lawsuit against USCIS and DHS seeking the...

Valorem, an IT consulting company, petitioned to employ a software developer for three years in H-1B status as part of a project development team at its office. Initially, USCIS denied the petition, but later – after Valorem, represented by AILA member Susan Bond, filed suit – approved it for one year.
Last modified: 
January 8, 2024
Publication Date: 
January 8, 2024
This Practice Advisory has information practitioners need to assess whether filing suit in federal court is the right option for challenging an employment-based petition denial.
Publication Date: 
October 4, 2021
This Practice Advisory discusses the primary issues involved in a suit brought under the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) to challenge an unlawful agency action.
Publication Date: 
November 20, 2020
This practice tip responds to a frequent question from attorneys new to federal court litigation who filed a lawsuit claiming the government violated the Administrative Procedure Act.
Publication Date: 
September 26, 2016
This Practice Advisory discusses whether and how a person can get review of a U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services decision in federal court if he or she did not appeal the decision to the Administrative Appeals Office (AAO). The Advisory addresses the Supreme Court case Darby v. Cisneros, holding that a plaintiff is not required to exhaust non-mandatory administrative remedies in certain situations, and how it may apply to cases involving appeals to the AAO.
Publication Date: 
July 27, 2016
This Practice Tip analyzes the pros and cons of appealing to the Administrative Appeals Office (AAO) following the denial of an employment-based visa petition.
Publication Date: 
May 25, 2016
This Practice Tip explains how practitioners can turn a Request for Evidence (RFE) into an opportunity to strengthen the administrative record through a thoughtful and thorough response.
Publication Date: 
April 1, 2016
This Practice Tip outlines how you can build a strong administrative record to set the stage for challenging the denial of a client's visa petition in federal court.
Publication Date: 
June 1, 2008

This Practice Advisory offers a short introduction to habeas corpus, addressing when and how a petitioner may file a petition for writ of habeas corpus in the immigration context.

Publication Date: 
April 5, 2006
This Practice Advisory discusses the changes that the REAL ID Act made to INA § 242(a)(2)(B) and outlines an analysis for whether §242(a)(2)(B) applies to a particular case. It also discusses federal court jurisdiction over discretionary decisions after the REAL ID Act in the removal and non-removal contexts. The government has asserted this jurisdictional bar in employment-based, family-based, and humaritarian-based immigration cases.
March 8, 2024

Since its conception in 1977, International Women’s Day has evolved into a global celebration highlighting women’s achievements and the challenges they face. The holiday’s origins can be traced...

November 17, 2023

Written by Steven Hubbard, Senior Data Scientist and Leslie Dellon, Senior Attorney (Business Immigration) The White House’s recent executive order on artificial intelligence marks an important...

November 3, 2023

The H-1B program may undergo significant changes as early as October 1, 2024. The Department of Homeland Security U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) recently published a 94-page...

August 2, 2023

The Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), a major Apple supplier, has delayed the production schedule for its Arizona chip plant to 2025. The company said it is having trouble finding...

June 28, 2022

Demand for workers in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) continues to grow in the United States. The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that the country will...

January 26, 2022

The Biden administration recently announced four actions intended to improve immigration “pathways” for noncitizens in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields. However,...

January 25, 2022

The labor shortages currently afflicting many sectors of the U.S. economy are being aggravated by the arrival of fewer and fewer workers from abroad. Although immigration has been slowing since...

November 5, 2021

Annual limits on immigrant visa numbers, combined with processing delays and wasted numbers, mean even longer waits for people to become U.S. permanent residents. In November, the “cut off” date...

October 27, 2021

A recent class action settlement is expected to result in U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) approving more market research analyst H-1B petitions. The lawsuit was filed by four U.S...

May 26, 2021

Businesses and industry organizations are among those pushing back against a rule that would change eligibility for filing an H-1B petition. The new rule would require the H-1B lottery selection...

August 29, 2023
In an annual review of the most successful companies in the United States, the American Immigration Council unveiled today (August 29, 2023) a report that sheds light on the contributions of immigrant entrepreneurs and their children to the U.S. economy.
January 21, 2022
The Biden administration announced new efforts to modernize parts of our immigration system, and remove barriers to legal immigration. DHS will add 22 new fields of study in the STEM Optional Practical Training program through the Student and Exchange Visitor Program, and will implement a series of additional changes to allow foreign students, scholars, and researchers to come to the United States and make meaningful contributions to America’s scholarly, research and development, and innovation communities.
April 16, 2020
The American Immigration Council, the American Immigration Lawyers Association, and the law firms Van Der Hout, LLP, Joseph & Hall P.C., and Kuck Baxter Immigration LLC filed a nationwide class action lawsuit today challenging U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ pattern and practice of arbitrarily denying H-1B nonimmigrant employment-based petitions for market research analysts positions filed by businesses in the United States.
May 23, 2016

shington D.C. - The American Immigration Council (Council) and the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) have teamed up on a lawsuit against the U.S.

March 17, 2015

Washington D.C. - Today, the American Immigration Council's Executive Director, Benjamin Johnson, testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee about the integral role immigration plays in

November 19, 2012

For Immediate Release

LAC Wins Release of H-1B Fraud Documents for AILA

June 9, 2011

Washington D.C. - Today, the Brookings Institution released a new report,

April 13, 2011

Washington D.C. - A recent ruling from a federal judge in

Last modified: 
January 8, 2024
Publication Date: 
January 8, 2024
This Practice Advisory has information practitioners need to assess whether filing suit in federal court is the right option for challenging an employment-based petition denial.
Last modified: 
October 10, 2023
Publication Date: 
October 10, 2023
New research from the American Immigration Council shows that immigrants in Greater Salem paid over $200 million in taxes and held over $536 million in spending power in 2019. The new report, New...
Last modified: 
September 6, 2023
Publication Date: 
September 6, 2023
New research from the American Immigration Council shows that immigrants in Allen County paid over $160 million in taxes and exceeded $496.0 million in spending power in 2019. The new report, New...
August 29, 2023
In an annual review of the most successful companies in the United States, the American Immigration Council unveiled today (August 29, 2023) a report that sheds light on the contributions of immigrant entrepreneurs and their children to the U.S. economy.
A landscape of several tall buildings with a bridge in the foreground
Last modified: 
August 29, 2023
Publication Date: 
August 29, 2023
See our updated web report on the largest American companies and their immigrant roots.
Last modified: 
August 18, 2023
Publication Date: 
July 15, 2022
This fact sheet provides an overview of the H-1B visa category and petition process, addresses the myths perpetuated about the H-1B visa category, and highlights the key contributions H-1B workers...
Last modified: 
April 18, 2023
Publication Date: 
January 18, 2023
A new research series from the American Immigration Council, The Growing Demand for Healthcare Workers, highlights the crucial role immigrants are playing to help address critical workforce shortages...
Last modified: 
March 9, 2023
Publication Date: 
March 9, 2023
This research brief highlights the crucial role immigrants in Nevada are playing to help address critical physician shortages.
Last modified: 
February 16, 2023
Publication Date: 
May 16, 2022

New research from the American Immigration Council, Economic Benefits of the Empire State Licensing: Immigrants in New York State’s Workforce, highlights the crucial role of immigrants and...

Faced with increasing reports from immigration lawyers of Employment Authorization Documents adjudication delays, the Council and several partners filed this lawsuit against USCIS and DHS.

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