U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is extending until December 31, 2021 its relaxed enforcement of the normal requirement to physically inspect the original documents presented by new hires during the I-9 process and thus allow eligible employers to continue to implement remote I-9…
Starting October 1, 2021, green card applicants will be required to establish that they have received a complete COVID-19 vaccine series in order to be deemed eligible for permanent residence, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).…
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) will continue to implement the ban on “non-essential” travel across U.S. land borders and ferry travel with Canada and Mexico through September 21, 2021, according to a set of notifications to be published in the Federal Register. The restrictions were…
According to the State Department’s September Visa Bulletin, final action cutoff dates for issuance of an immigrant visa will be as follows: EB-1: All countries, including China and India, will remain current.EB-2: China will advance by three months to July 1, 2018,…
Summary A new edition of Form I-485, dated 03/29/21, allows applicants to request a Social Security Number or a replacement Social Security card permitting unrestricted work authorization when they apply for permanent resident status.Under the new process, adjustment of status…
Summary The president has designated Hong Kong for Deferred Enforced Departure (DED).The DED order blocks the removal of certain Hong Kong residents from the United States for at least 18 months. The order instructs the Department of Homeland Security to…
Summary As a result of a recent court order, USCIS is extending some flexibilities to F-1 students seeking Optional Practical Training (OPT) who have been negatively affected by agency delays in receipting and processing Form I-765, Employment Authorization Document (EAD)…
Summary The agenda reflects the regulatory priorities of the Biden Administration for the coming months.The Department of Homeland Security is planning a proposed rule to amend aspects of the H-1B program, including a redefinition of the employer-employee relationship, rules for…
Summary Earlier today, employers began receiving USCIS notifications that additional H-1B cap registrations were selected in a second FY 2022 cap lottery draw.The additional selection is taking place because USCIS did not receive enough H-1B cap petitions during the initial…
Summary Employers may file FY 2021 H-2B visa petitions for returning workers from any country who have held H-2B status in fiscal years 2018, 2019 or 2020, after USCIS failed to receive enough petitions to exhaust the Northern Triangle carveout.USCIS…