DHS Extends and Redesignates Afghanistan for Temporary Protected Status; Extends Relaxed Employment Options for Afghan F-1 Students
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has extended and redesignated Afghanistan for Temporary Protected Status (TPS), from November 21, 2023 to May 20, 2025. The registration period for new TPS applicants will run from September 25, 2023 to May 20,…
Proposed Regulation Amending Aspects of the H-1B Program Under Federal Review
A U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services proposed rule that would amend several aspects of the H-1B program has been submitted to the Office of Management and Budget for review. The rule is expected to amend the definition of the employer-employee…
August 2023 DOL PERM and PWD Processing Times
As of August 31, 2023, the Department of Labor (DOL) was conducting analyst review for PERM applications filed in October 2022 or earlier, and processing audited cases with priority dates of June 2022 or earlier. DOL is working on standard…
October Visa Bulletin – As New Fiscal Year Begins, India Final Action Dates Will Advance Significantly for Most Employment-Based Categories While China Advances More Modestly; USCIS to Honor Dates for Filing in October
In October, the EB-1 Final Action Date will advance by five years for India, to January 1, 2017, and by just two weeks for China, to February 15, 2022, while the EB-1 category for all other countries will become current…
Federal District Court Invalidates DACA Regulation But Maintains Benefits for Current Grantees
A federal district judge has ruled that the Biden Administration’s 2022 DACA regulation is unlawful on the grounds that it violates the Administrative Procedure Act — the same basis for an earlier ruling striking down the Obama Administration memorandum that…
Budget Impasse Could Lead to Federal Shutdown, Though Some Immigration Processing Would Continue
If appropriations legislation or a stopgap spending bill is not passed by Congress by September 30, 2023, the federal government will enter a partial shutdown on October 1. A shutdown would mean that fee-based immigration processing – including USCIS benefit…
DHS Extends TPS Re-registration Periods for El Salvador, Haiti, Honduras, Nepal, Nicaragua and Sudan
The Department of Homeland Security has announced an extension of the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) re-registration periods for El Salvador, Haiti, Honduras, Nepal, Nicaragua, and Sudan to 18 months. The re-registration periods were initially 60 days. Details on the TPS…
Department of State Announces All Available Diversity Visas Issued for 2023
The U.S. Department of State has announced that, as of September 7, 2023, it has issued all available diversity visas (DVs) for 2023. The Department of State acknowledges that the early conclusion of the 2023 program may be disappointing to selectees who…
Immigration Obligations During Strikes and Other Labor Actions – What Employers Need to Know
With labor actions on the rise – including a possible autoworkers strike in the coming days – all employers of foreign workers need to be aware of their obligations and the impact to their nonimmigrant workforce during a labor strike…
DHS Extends and Redesignates South Sudan for Temporary Protected Status; Extends Relaxed Employment Options for South Sudanese F-1 Students
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has extended and redesignated South Sudan for Temporary Protected Status (TPS), from November 4, 2023 through May 3, 2025. The initial registration period for new TPS applicants will run from September 6, 2023 through…
USCIS Gives Beneficiaries of Revised Age-Out Policy Extra Time to File for Adjustment of Status
USCIS has issued additional Child Status Protection Act guidance to allow the agency to exercise its discretion to accept an adjustment application and accord CSPA protections to a foreign national even if more than one year has elapsed since their…
DHS Extends and Redesignates Ukraine and Sudan for Temporary Protected Status; Expands Employment Options for Ukrainian and Sudanese F-1 Students
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has extended and redesignated Ukraine and Sudan for Temporary Protected Status (TPS), from October 20, 2023 to April 19, 2025. The registration period for new TPS applicants will run from August 21, 2023 to…
Global Entry Opens to Eligible Citizens of the Dominican Republic
Qualified Dominican Republic citizens are now eligible to apply for the Global Entry Trusted Traveler Program, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has announced. Successful applicants will benefit from expedited immigration and customs clearance when they enter the United States through…
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 is or will be the beneficiary of a petition to change status to H-1B in this year’s H-1B cap filing…
July 2023 DOL PERM and PWD Processing Times
As of July 31, 2023, the Department of Labor (DOL) was conducting analyst review for PERM applications filed in September 2022 or earlier, and processing audited cases with priority dates of June 2022 or earlier. DOL is working on standard…
September Visa Bulletin – EB-2 Worldwide and EB-3 China Professional/Skilled Workers Advance, Other Employment-Based Categories Hold Steady; USCIS to Honor Final Action Dates for Employment-Based Categories
In September, the EB-2 Final Action Date for all countries except India and China will advance by three months, to July 1, 2022. The EB-3 China Professional/Skilled Worker Final Action Date will also advance by three months, to September 1,…
DHS Seeks Public Comment on Proposed Pilot Program to Allow Remote I-9 Document Examination by Certain Non-E-Verify Employers
DHS is soliciting comments from the public on a proposed pilot program that will allow certain employers not enrolled in E-Verify to use remote I-9 document inspection procedures similar to those recently authorized for qualifying E-Verify employers. DHS proposes to…
DHS Issues New Edition of Form I-9 As New Remote Verification Option Takes Effect for E-Verify Employers
The new edition of Form I-9, dated August 1, 2023, will become mandatory for all employers on November 1, 2023. Through October 31, 2023, employers may continue to use the previous edition, dated October 21, 2019. The new form does…
DHS Reduces ESTA Validity Period for Hungary to One Year and Single Use
Effective August 1, 2023, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is reducing the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) travel authorization validity period for travel to the United States by citizens or nationals of Hungary under the Visa Waiver Program (VWP) to…
USCIS Selects Over 77,000 Additional H-1B Cap Registrations in Second Lottery
USCIS selected an additional 77,609 registrations in its recently completed second lottery drawing, bringing the total number of selections to date for FY 2024 to 188,400. As a result of the additional selections, the overall selection rate for eligible registrations…
USCIS Completes Second FY 2024 H-1B Cap Selection Process
USCIS has completed the second FY 2024 H-1B cap registration lottery selection, and has notified employers of selection results. Employers will need to log into their H-1B cap registration accounts to learn which beneficiaries were selected. The petition filing period…
USCIS Will Run Second Lottery to Select More FY 2024 H-1B Cap Registrations
Today, USCIS announced that it plans to run a second lottery of properly submitted FY 2024 H-1B cap registrations. The additional lottery is taking place because USCIS did not receive enough H-1B cap petitions during the initial 90-day filing period…
DHS Will Allow Qualified E-Verify Employers to Use Remote I-9 Document Inspection Procedures, and Will Issue New Version of I-9 Form
The Department of Homeland Security has finalized a regulation that permits it to create exceptions to in-person physical inspection of documents used in the Form I-9 employment eligibility verification process. In conjunction with the final rule, DHS is creating a…
August Visa Bulletin: Significant Retrogression in EB-1 India and EB-3 Worldwide; USCIS to Honor Final Action Dates for Employment-Based Categories
In August, the EB-1 India Final Action date will retrogress by more than ten years to January 1, 2012. However, the Department of State says, depending on usage in the category and on the FY 2024 annual limit, it is…
CBP Fully Implements ESTA Ineligibility Due to Cuba Travel
The CBP Visa Waiver Program’s ESTA application has been updated to include ineligibility questions regarding travel to Cuba on or after January 12, 2021, as a result of the designation of Cuba as a state sponsor of terrorism on that…