On February 22, 2023, the New York State Department of Labor finalized the new farm worker overtime regulations to decrease the overtime threshold limit for farm workers. Currently, farm workers receive overtime pay after 60 hours of work. The new regulation will decrease that number to 56 hours starting on January 1, 2024, and Read More »
On February 14, 2023, the IRS released Notice 2023-17, Initial Guidance Establishing Program to Allocate Environmental Justice Solar and Wind Capacity Limitation Under Section 48(e). The Notice provides guidance on the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (IRA), which allocated solar and wind facilities an additional 10% of energy tax credits if located in low-income communities Read More »
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has released updated policy guidance and revisions to Form N-648, Medical Certification for Disability Exceptions. Form N-648 is used by U.S. citizenship applicants requesting an exception to the English and civics testing requirements for naturalization due to a physical or developmental disability or mental impairment. The form is Read More »
On October 31, 2022, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) implemented a final rule aimed to preserve and strengthen the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. The implementation of the final rule means that DACA is now based on a formal regulation, rather than just a policy memorandum. The DACA program has allowed over Read More »
The IRS released Notice 2022-61, Prevailing Wage and Apprenticeship Initial Guidance Under Section 45(b)(6)(B)(ii) and Other Substantially Similar Provisions last week. Under the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (the "Act"), one of the ways that certain tax credits for clean energy can be increased, including increasing the Energy Credit from 6% to 30%, is if Read More »
USCIS has extended the temporary waiver of the requirement that civil surgeons must sign Form I-693, Report of Medical Examination and Vaccination Record, no more than 60 days prior to submission. The waiver took effect on December 9, 2021 and has been extended to March 31, 2023, to further ease processing delays and difficulties completing Read More »
Effective September 26, 2022, USCIS is automatically extending the validity of Permanent Resident Cards (Green Cards) to 24 months for lawful permanent residents (LPR) who file Form I-90, Application to Replace Permanent Resident Card. Previously, the extension was for a period of 12 months. LPRs who properly file Form I-90 to renew an expiring or Read More »
The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (the "Act") was signed into law by President Biden last month. Below is summary of certain tax benefits for clean energy production. Extension of the PTC Extends the production tax credit (PTC), which allows energy producers to claim a credit based on electricity produced from renewable energy resources through Read More »
As schools and colleges break for summer and vacation season gets into full swing, short-term rentals – offered on popular platforms like Airbnb and VRBO – are often a prime topic of discussion. Short-term rentals are not new. But they are consistently the subject of debate of local municipalities – some residents preferring the extra Read More »
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services ("USCIS") recently updated the USCIS Policy Manual to explain how officers should determine whether a potential O-1B beneficiary should be evaluated as someone with extraordinary ability in the arts ("O-1B Arts") or extraordinary achievement in the motion picture or television industry ("O-1B MPTV"). While the visa category is the same, Read More »