USCIS Terminates COVID-19 Accommodation on RFEs, NOIDs, Appeals, and Other Responses
The USCIS deadline extension policy that has been in place in some form since March 2020 ends today. For USCIS notices dated after March 23, petitioners and applicants will no longer have an additional 60 days to respond and will…
April 2023 Visa Bulletin – EB-2 Retrogresses for All Countries Except China; EB-3 China Advances; USCIS to Accept Employment-Based Adjustment Applications Based on Final Action Dates
In April, USCIS will return to accepting adjustment of status applications based on the Visa Bulletin Final Action Dates chart, rather than the more generous Dates for Filing chart that it had been using the past several months. Next month,…
Travel Tips for F-1 Students on OPT or Planning a Change of Status to H-1B
If you are an F-1 student who has applied for or is working on optional practical training (OPT) or who will be the beneficiary of a petition to change status to H-1B in this year’s H-1B cap filing season, make…
FY 2024 H-1B Registration Period Closes; USCIS Expected to Conduct Selection Lotteries and Notify Employers By March 31
The H-1B cap registration period for FY 2024 closed today at 5pm EDT. No further registrations are being accepted. In the coming days, USCIS is expected to conduct lotteries to select enough registrations to meet the FY 2024 quota of…
USCIS Extends FY 2024 Cap Registration Deadline to Monday, March 20, at 5:00 pm ET
The registration deadline is being extended because of technical problems that affected the USCIS H-1B cap registration site late Thursday. Employers and their immigration counsel will have more time to submit registrations for the FY 2024 H-1B cap selection lotteries. …
FY 2024 H-1B Cap Registration Period Closes March 17
Employers and their immigration counsel have until Friday, March 17 at noon ET to submit registrations for the FY 2024 H-1B cap lottery. Employers should work with their immigration counsel to complete their review and approval of draft registrations as…
DHS Extends and Redesignates Somalia for Temporary Protected Status; Expands Employment Options for Somali F-1 Students
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has extended and redesignated Somalia for Temporary Protected Status (TPS), from March 18, 2023 to September 17, 2024. The registration period for new TPS applicants will run from March 13, 2023 to September 17,…
CDC Lifts COVID Test Requirement for Travel from China
As of March 10, 2023 at 3pm ET, there is no longer a COVID test requirement for air travelers coming from mainland China, Hong Kong, or Macau, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Nonimmigrants traveling…
February/March 2023 DOL PERM and PWD Processing Times
As of March 9, 2023, the Department of Labor (DOL) was conducting analyst review for PERM applications filed in June 2022 or earlier, and processing audited cases with priority dates of March 2022 or earlier. DOL is working on standard…
USCIS Expands Premium Processing Eligibility to Certain F-1 OPT and STEM OPT Applications
Starting today, USCIS will accept Form I-907 premium processing requests for F-1 students with a pending Form I-765 employment authorization document (EAD) application if the student is filing for pre- or post-completion OPT, or for a STEM OPT extension. Starting…
FY 2024 H-1B Cap Registration Begins
Employers and their immigration counsel may register foreign nationals for the FY 2024 H-1B cap lottery beginning today at noon ET through Friday, March 17 at noon ET. USCIS is expected to receive a very large number of online registrations…
USCIS Revises Child Age-Out Calculation Policy to Benefit Some Adjustment of Status Applicants
USCIS has revised its Child Status Protection Act (CSPA) policy so that fewer child adjustment of status applicants risk “aging out” of the ability to obtain a green card due to reaching age 21 and no longer qualifying as a…
March 2023 Visa Bulletin – Main Employment-Based Categories Hold Steady; USCIS to Accept Employment-Based Adjustment Applications Based on Dates for Filing
In March, USCIS will continue to accept adjustment of status applications based on the monthly Visa Bulletin’s Dates for Filing Chart, rather than the Final Action Dates Chart. The Dates for Filing and Final Action Dates for the EB-1, EB-2,…
Ninth Circuit Vacates Order on TPS Termination for Several Countries, Agrees to Full Panel Rehearing
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has vacated an earlier decision that would have permitted DHS to terminate Temporary Protected Status (TPS) designations for El Salvador, Haiti, Honduras, Nepal, Nicaragua and Sudan, and has agreed to an en banc rehearing…
U.S. Visa Revalidation Pilot Coming This Year, State Department Official Says
In an interview with Bloomberg Law, a State Department official said the agency would begin a pilot program this year to allow certain foreign nationals to revalidate expired and expiring visas in the United States, without the need to travel…
Extension of Working Holiday/Work and Travel Program Between Ireland and the United States
The United States and Ireland have agreed to extend their Working Holiday/Intern Work and Travel Program for an additional five years. Established in 2008, the program allows Irish citizens or permanent residents who are students or recent graduates to spend up to 12…
DHS Announces Automatic Extension of Hong Kong DED-Related EADs
The Department of Homeland Security has announced an automatic two-year extension of Employment Authorization Documents (EADs) for individuals benefiting from Deferred Enforced Departure (DED) for Hong Kong. Hong Kong DED-related EADs expiring on February 5, 2023 have been automatically extended…
USCIS Announces Registration Schedule for FY 2024 H-1B Cap Season
The FY 2024 cap registration period will open at noon ET on March 1, 2023 and will close at noon ET on March 17, 2023. All cap registrations must be drafted and submitted online during this period. Prospective H-1B cap…
President Biden Extends and Expands Deferred Enforced Departure for Hong Kong
President Biden has approved a two-year extension for Deferred Enforced Departure (DED) for eligible Hong Kong residents. The President has also authorized an expansion of DED to cover eligible Hong Kong residents who arrived in the United States after the…
DHS Extends and Redesignates Haiti for Temporary Protected Status, Extends Relaxed Employment Options for Haitian F-1 Students
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has extended and redesignated Haiti for Temporary Protected Status (TPS), from February 4, 2023 through August 3, 2024. The initial registration period for new TPS applicants will run from January 26, 2023 through August…
USCIS Extends COVID-19 Accommodations on RFEs, NOIDs, Appeals, and Other Responses Through March 23, 2023; Likely the Final Policy Extension
Due to the continuing impact of COVID-19, USCIS is extending its deadline extension policy through March 23, 2023. Petitioners and applicants will continue to have an additional 60 days to respond to requests for evidence, notices of intent to deny…
USCIS Extends Green Card Validity for Conditional Permanent Residents with a Pending Form I-751 or Form I-829
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has announced that it is extending the validity of Permanent Resident Cards (green cards) for petitioners who properly file Form I-751, Petition to Remove Conditions on Residence, or Form I-829, Petition by Investor to Remove Conditions on Permanent…
USCIS Agrees to Resume Processing H-4 and L-2 Dependent Applications with a Principal’s Form I-129, Per Litigation Settlement
Under a settlement agreement struck in federal court late last week, USCIS will adjudicate H-4 and L-2 applications for extensions or changes of status and work authorization with a principal’s Form I-129 nonimmigrant petition when those forms are concurrently filed.…
February 2023 Visa Bulletin Update – USCIS to Honor Dates for Filing for Employment-Based Categories
Next month, USCIS will accept employment-based adjustment of status applications from foreign nationals with a priority date that is earlier than the Dates for Filing listed in the State Department’s February 2023 Visa Bulletin. Employment-Based Priority Date Cutoffs for February…
February 2023 Visa Bulletin – Main Employment-Based Categories Hold Steady
Next month, EB-1 India and EB-1 China will maintain their Final Action cutoff date of February 1, 2022, and their Dates for Filing cutoff date of June 1, 2022. The EB-2 India Final Action date will remain at October 8,…