In June, the Trump administration announced a temporary suspension of H1-B and other US work visas. This decision has already had repercussions for corporate legal departments—larger workloads and new logistical hurdles, for starters. Liz Stern, who leads Mayer Brown's Global Mobility & Migration practice in Washington DC, shares her insights in a July 2 article in Corporate Counsel/Law.com (subscription required).
She describes how corporate lawyers could face even more complications as COVID-19 travel restrictions let up. Global companies, for example, may begin moving overseas employees to the United States to assist in US operations and relieve time zone challenges. However, according to Liz, departments won't be able to transfer people on an L-1 visa as easily as before.
"Beyond the visa freeze, lawyers, including corporate legal departments, will be hit with new standards they haven't even had a chance to opine on once the administration issues rulemaking on H-1B and L-1 visas, since the administration is reported to be planning Interim Final Rules without the benefit of notice and comment," she says.
The situation caused by the visa suspension keeps changing, making it difficult for companies to figure out next steps.
"It creates a total uncertainty for businesses at a time when the economy is suffering and businesses really need to be able to plan for their future," Liz adds.
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