Bundled Processing of H-4 and L-2 Dependent Applications with a Principal’s Form I-129 Set to Expire January 18

After January 18, 2025, USCIS could resume its practice of adjudicating H-4 and L-2 applications for changes or extensions of status (Form I-539) and for employment authorization (Form I-765) several months after H-1B and L-1 principals’ nonimmigrant petitions (Form I-129), even when those forms are concurrently filed. The January 2023 settlement agreement that has required USCIS to bundle adjudication of these forms for almost two years will expire on January 18, removing USCIS’s obligation to streamline processing of H-4 and L-2 applications with their principal’s visa petitions in this way. The settlement agreement resolved federal district court case Edakunni v. Mayorkas, filed in the state of Washington.

It is not clear whether applications that are filed during the effective period of the settlement agreement, but remain pending after its January 18 expiration, will receive bundled treatment under the terms of the settlement.

In addition to the likely unbundling of concurrently filed Forms I-129 and H-4/L-2 applications after January 18, USCIS policy and practice relating to all Form I-539 applicants could revert to policies implemented during the first Trump Administration, including a requirement that H-4, L-2, and other Form I-539 applicants appear in person to provide new biometrics for each new I-539 application, rather than have USCIS reuse previously collected biometrics already on file as a matter of routine processing, which is the current policy under the Biden Administration. If this practice were to resume, there could be an even larger gap between the adjudication of a principal’s Form I-129 and a dependent’s Form I-539 and I-765.

Further, the Biden Administration stated that it planned to extend the premium processing option to Form I-539 applications for H and L dependents. It is not known whether the incoming Trump Administration will continue the effort to expand premium processing to Form I-539 applications for H-4 and L-2 dependents.

In light of the upcoming Edakunni settlement expiration on January 18, employers and foreign nationals may wish to consider prioritizing the filing of Forms I-129 that will be accompanied by concurrent H-4 and L-2 Forms I-539 and I-765 for eligible dependents, and premium processing those Forms I-129 before January 18. Because USCIS has not clarified whether applications that are pending on or after January 18 will continue to be adjudicated according to the settlement, early premium processing filings provide the greatest chance of obtaining bundled adjudications. In general, employers and foreign nationals should be prepared for the possibility of increasingly lengthy processing times for H-4 and L-2 Form I-539 and I-765 applications after January 18.