Dear campus colleagues,

We are delighted to share that on December 1, 2020, the U.S. District Court, Northern District of California, set aside both the DOL wage rule that went into effect on October 8 and the DHS rule to revise the specialty occupation definitions and employer-employee definitions, set to take effect on December 8. Cornell University was a plaintiff in this lawsuit, with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and many other institutions and associations.

This judgment allows International Services to utilize DOL wage data in place before October 8 for our H-1B, E-3, and PERM (aka EB-2) petitions. In rejecting the narrowing of the "specialty occupation" definition, the decision also reduces the probability of increasing USCIS requests for evidence to show that positions meet the specialty occupation standard.

The decision is wonderful news for everyone who would have been negatively impacted by these rulings— for our international faculty and staff, for the university, and for graduating students who may later seek H-1B employment in the U.S. workforce.

Read more about the decision.

Laura Taylor, Senior Associate Director, Office of Global Learning
Brandon Lanners, Executive Director, Office of Global Learning
Wendy Wolford, Vice Provost for International Affairs