President Trump Orders Review of Foreign Hiring by Federal Contractors, Directs DHS and DOL to Increase Scrutiny of H-1B Program
President Trump yesterday signed an executive order that requires government agencies to conduct a sweeping review of federal contractors’ and subcontractors’ use of nonimmigrant workers and overseas labor on federal contracts, including whether U.S. workers were adversely affected by the hiring of…
USCIS Finalizes Significant Filing Fee Increases and Changes to its Current Fee Structure
A new DHS fee schedule, slated to take effect on October 2, 2020, will increase costs for most petitioners and applicants, and will impose new filing fees and fee requirements for many case types, according to a final rule to be…
USCIS Provides Guidance on Public Charge Requirements in the Wake of a Federal Court Injunction
USCIS has confirmed that it will comply with a recent federal district court order that temporarily enjoins the agency from applying the Department of Homeland Security’s 2019 public charge regulation to applicants for adjustment of status or nonimmigrant changes or extensions of status. On…
District Court Enjoins Both DHS and State Department Public Charge Rules
Today, Judge George B. Daniels of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York issued nationwide preliminary injunctions in two separate cases that suspend Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Department of State implementation of their public…
DHS Will Limit DACA Renewal Period, Decline to Accept New Applications, As It Reconsiders the Program
DHS Acting Secretary Chad Wolf announced today that his agency will not accept initial DACA filings and will limit DACA renewals to one year, reduced from two years. Likewise, the agency will not accept DACA applications for advance parole except in extraordinary…
DHS Bars Fully Online Learning for New Students in Fall 2020
During the Fall 2020 semester, new or initial students attending schools that are operating entirely online will not be permitted to enter the United States or change to student status in order to take a full online course load, the…
Delayed Production of Employment Authorization Documents (EADs) and Lawful Permanent Resident (LPR) Cards
In recent weeks, there have been reports of delays in the issuance of EADs and green cards for some employment-based, family-based, and asylum-based immigration applications. On July 9, the Washington Post reported that USCIS has shut down printing of documents evidencing legal status…
U.S.-Canada and U.S.-Mexico Land Border Restrictions Extended Through August 20
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) will continue to implement the Trump Administration’s ban on “non-essential” travel across U.S. land borders and ferry travel with Mexico and Canada through August 20, according to a set of notices to be published in the Federal Register. The restrictions were due…
August 2020 Visa Bulletin: Significant Movement in Most Employment-Based Categories
According to the State Department’s August Visa Bulletin, cutoff dates for issuance of an immigrant visa will be as follows: EB-1: All countries except for China and India will remain current in August. China will advance by almost six months to February…
ICE Further Extends Interim COVID-19 Protections for Form I-9 Compliance Through August 19
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced today that it is extending for another 30 days, or until August 19, 2020, its relaxed enforcement of the normal requirement to physically inspect the original documents presented by new hires during the I-9 process…
Update on U.S. Consular Operations
Beginning on March 20, 2020, U.S. consular posts worldwide suspended normal consular services, including routine visa services. Immigrant and nonimmigrant visa services remain restricted to emergencies and those deemed mission critical. Consular Affairs has clearly articulated that its first priority is…
ICE Rescinds Restrictive F-1 Student Visa Policy
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced today that it is rescinding a July 6 policy document that would have prohibited F-1 students from entering or remaining in the United States if their U.S. schools did not provide in-person instruction…
Coronavirus Update: Some U.S. Consulates to Begin Phased Resumption of Routine Visa Services
U.S. embassies and consulates will gradually resume routine nonimmigrant and immigrant visa services, according to a State Department tweet earlier today. Visa services have been widely suspended since mid-March in light of the COVID-19 virus. According to the agency, each consular post…
Legal Challenges Mount Against F-1 Student Visa Restrictions
Numerous universities and U.S. states have filed federal lawsuits challenging a new Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) policy that would require F-1 foreign students to depart the United States if their U.S. schools will conduct classes online only during the…
DHS to Roll Back Some COVID-19 Online Learning Accommodations for Foreign Students During Fall 2020 Semester
During the Fall 2020 semester, students attending schools that are operating entirely online will not be permitted to take a full online course load and remain in the United States, the Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) has announced. The State…
USCIS Further Extends Existing COVID-19 Accommodations on RFEs, NOIDs, Appeals and Other Responses
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 September 11, 2020. The accommodation will continue to be available to stakeholders responding to or filing the following: …
Presidential Proclamation Suspends Some Nonimmigrant Entry Through December 31, 2020
President Trump today signed a presidential proclamation to temporarily suspend the entry of certain employment-based, family-based and other nonimmigrants, with a number of exceptions. The President characterized the measure as a means to protect U.S. workers and conserve medical resources during…
Supreme Court Allows DACA to Remain in Place for Now
In a long-awaited decision, the U.S. Supreme Court today held that the Trump Administration failed to provide an adequate justification for terminating the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, thus violating the Administrative Procedure Act (APA). DACA remains in…
U.S.-Canada and U.S.-Mexico Land Border Restrictions Extended Again Through July 21
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) will continue to implement the Trump Administration’s ban on “non-essential” travel across U.S. land borders and ferry travel with Mexico and Canada through July 21, according to the Department of Homeland Security. The restrictions were due to expire on…
July 2020 Visa Bulletin: Modest Advancement for Most Employment-based Categories, Significant EB-1 India Movement, EB-5 India to Become Current
According to the State Department’s July Visa Bulletin, cutoff dates for the issuance of an immigrant visa will be as follows: EB-1: All countries except for China and India will remain current in July. China will advance by one week to August…
ICE Further Extends Interim COVID-19 Procedures for Form I-9 Compliance Through July 19
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced today that it is extending for another 30 days, or until July 19, 2020, its relaxed enforcement of the normal requirement to physically inspect the original documents presented by new hires during the I-9 process…
DOL to Continue to Issue Electronic PERM Labor Certifications Through September 30
The Department of Labor (DOL) will continue to issue PERM labor certifications electronically through September 30, 2020. In late March, DOL’s Office of Foreign Labor Certification announced that it would e-mail certified PERM labor certifications to employers through June 30, 2020…
Reminder: FY 2021 H-1B Cap Filing Period Closes June 30
The 90-day filing window for FY 2021 H-1B cap petitions will close on June 30, 2020. With just over two weeks remaining in the filing period, employers should be working with their legal team to finalize and submit H-1B cap…
State Department Selects FY 2021 Diversity Visa Lottery Winners
The U.S. State Department has chosen the winners of the Fiscal Year 2021 Diversity Visa (DV) Lottery. Foreign nationals who entered the lottery can visit the official Entrant Status Check website to learn whether they were selected to submit an application for…
Labor Department Will Not Extend COVID-19 Extension of Time to Respond to Inquiries and Recruit for PERM Filings
In Round 4 of its COVID-19 Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs), the Department of Labor’s (DOL) Office of Foreign Labor Certification (OFLC) has confirmed that it will not reinstate its policy that gave employers more time to respond to DOL inquiries and an…