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…
Summary The Department of Homeland Security has extended and redesignated Somalia for Temporary Protected Status (TPS), from September 18, 2021, through March 17, 2023.The registration period for new TPS applicants will run from July 22, 2021 to March 17, 2023. Eligible individuals will also be able…
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 August 21, 2021, according to a set of notifications to be published in tomorrow’s Federal Register. The restrictions were…
According to the State Department’s August 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 four months to April 1, 2018,…
Summary USCIS recently clarified its policy that, if an employee presents a receipt for a lost, stolen or damaged document to complete Form I-9 verification, the employee must return in 90 days to present either the replacement document for which…
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has reversed its initial guidance on how the agency will treat EB-5 Regional Center adjustment of status filings while Congress deliberates reauthorization of the program. The agency now says it will reject regional center-affiliated adjustment of status filings,…