On May 24, 2022, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced it is implementing premium processing for certain petitioners who have a pending Form I-140 Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker under the EB-1 and EB-2 classifications. This expansion of premium processing only applies to certain previously-filed I-140 petitions under the E13 multinational executive and manager classification or E21 classification as a member of professions with an advanced degree or exceptional ability seeking a national interest waiver (NIW). Any petitioner who wishes to request a...

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We continue to monitor the U.S.-Russia tax treaty withdrawal along with economic and  trade sanctions. It’s a constantly developing situation that profoundly affects global business and cross-border tax collection. Following is an update to IWTA founder Jack Brister’s  article published in JD Supra on March 18, 2022. New Developments The Biden administration is poised to fully block Russia’s ability to pay U.S. bondholders. A temporary exemption deadline that gave Moscow leeway to pay coupons in dollars expires on May 25, 2022....

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The American Academy in Berlin is proud to announce the recipients of the 2022-23 Berlin Prize, awarded annually to US-based scholars, writers, composers, and artists who represent the highest standards of excellence in their fields, from the humanities and social sciences to journalism, public policy, fiction, and the arts. Chosen by an independent selection committee, Berlin Prize Fellows work throughout the semester on their projects and meet with peers and institutions in the Academy’s well-established network. They also engage with...

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On 12 May 2022, the European Court of Justice ("ECJ") answered questions from the Consiglio di Stato (the highest Italian administrative court) in a preliminary reference procedure concerning abuse of dominance by the Italian energy supplier Enel. The preliminary reference is part of the appeal procedure against the Italian Competition Authority ("ICA") imposed fine of EUR 93 million in 2018. After a partially successful appeal which reduced the fine to EUR 27.5 million, Enel brought the case before the Consiglio...

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Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has made decarbonization a strategic imperative for the European Union, say EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell and Werner Hoyer, President of the European Investment Bank By Josep Borrell and Werner Hoyer | BRUSSELS – Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has forced the European Union to accelerate the pace of our energy and climate policy. Since the Kremlin has increasingly used energy as a tool for political influence, we must deprive it of...

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The global NFT (non-fungible token) market now is worth dozens of billions of dollars annually. Innovators and early adopters, marketplaces, and sellers, are all eager to join this market but may have questions about how to avoid bad actors or illicit funds and how to limit regulatory risk. As we've noted previously, U.S. regulators generally have stayed silent on new NFT-specific rules so far—but that silence does not preclude liability based on existing laws, including being "willfully blind" to...

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Customer service is generally defined as the provision of service to customers before, during, and after a purchase. The “customer is always right” was born out of companies seeking to maximize the customer service aspect of their business, in hopes of maintaining a loyal base of customers, and a steady stream of business. Customer service has increased in importance as the saturation of products or services and the companies that provide them have increased across the economy so much...

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According to the European Commission, its new REPowerEU package of measures helps European citizens and businesses save energy, produce more clean energy, and make the European Union independent from Russian fossil fuels well before 2030. Once implemented, it is expected to help Europe save €100 billion annually on gas, oil and coal imports. The plan sets out a series of legislative and non-legislative measures to rapidly reduce the EU’s dependence on Russian fossil fuels and accelerate the green energy transition kick-started by...

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EU lawmakers are preparing a new Artificial Intelligence Act (AIA). Timing for adoption remains unclear, but once the AIA enters into force, it will impose strict obligations on providers and users of AI systems. In the meantime, EU regulators have started issuing fines against companies using AI systems on the basis of the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). For example, the Hungarian privacy regulator recently issued a fine of approximately $680,000 against a bank for non-compliance with GDPR...

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