July 2021 Visa Bulletin
According to the State Department’s July 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 seven months, to December 1, 2017,…
USCIS’s FY 2022 H-1B Cap Statistics Show Significant Drop in Lottery Selection Rate
During the FY 2022 H-1B cap registration period, employers submitted 308,613 registrations for selection in the cap lottery, 12% more than in the FY 2021 filing season. However, despite the increase in registrations, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) selected…
USCIS Revises Policies to Reduce Administrative Barriers
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has issued a set of policy revisions aimed at reducing burdens on those eligible for U.S. immigration benefits. The changes follow a February 2, 2021 executive order in which President Biden instructed federal agencies to conduct a review of immigration…
ICE Extends Interim COVID-19 Protections for Form I-9 Compliance Through August 31
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is extending until August 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…
DHS Announces New Temporary Protected Status Designation for Haiti
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas has announced that he will designate Haiti for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) and related benefits because of ongoing political, security, and economic conditions that have been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Eligible Haitian nationals and those who…
DHS Designates Burma (Myanmar) for TPS; Expands Employment Options for Burmese F-1 students
Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro N. Mayorkas has designated Burma (Myanmar) for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for 18 months, from May 25, 2021 through November 25, 2022. According to a Federal Register notice that will be published tomorrow, the designation will permit eligible Burmese nationals and…
U.S.-Canada and U.S.-Mexico Land Border Restrictions Extended Through June 21
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 June 21, 2021, according to a set of notifications to be published in Monday’s Federal Register. The restrictions were…
June 2021 Visa Bulletin
According to the State Department’s June 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 in June.EB-2: China will advance by five months, to May…
DHS Formally Rescinds a Regulation that Sought to Tighten H-1B Program Criteria
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has removed from the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) an October 8, 2020 interim final rule (IFR) that would have tightened the criteria for the H-1B program. Though the Trump-era regulation never took effect due to…
USCIS Suspends Biometrics Collection for Some H-4, L-2 and E Derivative Applicants
Starting May 17, 2021, USCIS will temporarily suspend the in-person biometrics requirement for H-4, L-2, and E derivative nonimmigrants seeking extensions of stay and changes of status in the United States. The policy will remain in place through May 17, 2023, unless…
DOL Extends Delay of Regulation Increasing PERM and H-1B Wage Minimums
The Department of Labor (DOL) has confirmed that it will extend the delay of a regulation that would raise prevailing wage rates for the H-1B, H-1B1, E-3 and the PERM programs. The rule – which was set to take effect on May 14, 2021 – will…
USCIS Relaunches International Entrepreneur Parole Program
International entrepreneurs who have established a business in the United States, can demonstrate significant U.S. funding, and show that their business has substantial potential for rapid growth and job creation may be eligible to apply for up to five years…
USCIS Is Expected to Suspend Biometrics Collection for Some H-4, L-2 and E Spousal Employment Authorization Applicants
USCIS is soon expected to suspend the in-person biometrics requirement for H-4, L-2, and E spousal nonimmigrants seeking employment authorization documents (EADs). USCIS revealed its plans in a filing with a federal court hearing a lawsuit challenging lengthy processing delays…
President Biden Adds India to the List of COVID-19 Public Health Travel Ban Countries
Today, President Joseph Biden issued a presidential proclamation imposing a COVID-19 public health travel ban which prohibits the entry of foreign nationals who have been physically present in India within 14 days of their travel to the United States. India joins a…
State Department Expands Exceptions to Regional COVID Travel Bans, But Consular Challenges Remain
The State Department has updated its policy on categories of travelers eligible for national interest exceptions (NIEs) from the regional COVID-19 travel bans in effect for Brazil, China, Iran, and South Africa. The NIE categories for these bans now align with those…
USCIS Reinstates Deference to Prior Nonimmigrant Petition Adjudications
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has reinstated its guidance to immigration officers to defer to prior nonimmigrant petition approvals when adjudicating petition extension requests, if the facts and parties remain the same. The agency announced today that it has rescinded its…
DHS Postpones REAL ID Deadline to May 2023
The Department of Homeland Security is giving individuals an additional 19 months to obtain state driver’s licenses and non-driver identification cards that comply with the requirements of the REAL ID Act, due to continued state government disruptions resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. The deadline…
U.S.-Canada and U.S.-Mexico Land Border Restrictions Extended Through May 21
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 May 21, 2021, according to a set of notifications to be published tomorrow in the Federal Register. The restrictions…
May 2021 Visa Bulletin
According to the State Department’s May 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 in May.EB-2: China and India will both advance by three…
State Department Expands Exceptions to Regional COVID Travel Bans to Include Immigrant and Fiancé(e) Travelers and Certain Exchange Visitors
On April 8, the State Department updated its policy on categories of visa applicants eligible for national interest exceptions (NIE) from the regional COVID-19 travel bans in effect for Brazil, China, Iran, Ireland, the Schengen Area, South Africa, and the United Kingdom…
ICE Extends Interim COVID-19 Protections for Form I-9 Compliance Through May 31, Expands Accommodations for New Hires On or After April 1
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has announced that it is extending until May 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…
H/L/J Nonimmigrant Proclamation Set to Expire, But Travel Challenges Will Remain
A Trump-era presidential proclamation suspending the entry of certain foreign nationals in the H-1B, H-2B, L-1, and J-1 categories, and their dependents, is set to expire today. The nonimmigrant proclamation had been in effect since June 24, 2020, and was initially scheduled…
USCIS Completes FY 2022 H-1B Cap Selection Process
USCIS has announced that the annual limit for Fiscal Year (FY) 2022 H-1B cap employment has been met and the lottery selection process has been completed. Sponsoring employers and their attorneys have been notified of the selection results and are now able…
FY 2022 H-1B Registration Period Closes; USCIS Expected to Conduct Selection Lotteries and Notify Employers By March 31
The H-1B cap registration period has now closed. USCIS will accept no further cap registrations against the FY 2022 quota. What’s next: the cap lotteries In the coming days, the agency will conduct two selection lotteries to choose the beneficiaries…
USCIS Extends Existing COVID-19 Accommodations on RFEs, NOIDs, Appeals and Other Responses Through June 30, 2021
In its ongoing response to the COVID-19 pandemic, USCIS is further extending its 60-day deadline extension policy for responses to various agency actions to June 30, 2021. The accommodation will continue to be available to stakeholders responding to or filing the following: Requests for…