USCIS Extends Green Card Validity for Naturalization Applicants
Lawful permanent residents who file Form N-400 naturalization applications with USCIS on or after December 12, 2022 will receive a 24-month automatic extension of their green card validity. USCIS will update the language on Form N-400 receipt notices to note…
DHS to Extend and Redesignate Haiti for Temporary Protected Status
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has announced an 18-month extension of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Haiti, through August 3, 2024. DHS is also redesignating Haiti for TPS, allowing Haitian nationals residing in the United States as of November…
DHS Postpones Real ID Deadline to May 2025
Individuals will have an additional 24 months – until May 7, 2025 – to obtain U.S. state driver’s licenses or identification cards that comply with the REAL ID Act security standards. The Department of Homeland Security has extended the full…
December 2022 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 December 2022 Visa Bulletin. Employment-Based Priority Date Cutoffs for December…
December 2022 Visa Bulletin – EB-2 Retrogression for Most Countries and EB-3 Advancement for India and China; EB-1 India and China Likely to Retrogress in Coming Months
An EB-2 Final Action cutoff date of November 1, 2022, and Dates for Filing cutoff date of December 1, 2022, will take effect next month for all countries except for China and India. The EB-2 India Final Action category will…
DHS Extends TPS for Several Countries
The Department of Homeland Security will extend through June 30, 2024 the status and employment authorization documentation for TPS beneficiaries of El Salvador, Haiti, Honduras, Nepal, Nicaragua, and Sudan. The current expiration date for these groups is December 31, 2022.…
Travel Guidance for the Holiday Season
Foreign nationals planning to travel internationally and return to the United States this holiday season should consider several additional factors, including evolving COVID-19 policies worldwide, updated U.S. vaccination requirements, and continued reduced operations at many U.S. consulates. If you will…
October 2022 DOL PERM and PWD Processing Times
As of October 31, 2022, the Department of Labor (DOL) was conducting analyst review for PERM applications filed in February 2022 or earlier, and processing audited cases with priority dates of December 2021 or earlier. DOL is working on standard…
Reminder – FY 2024 Diversity Visa Lottery Registration Ends November 8
Entrants have until Tuesday, November 8, 2022 at noon EST to register online at the State Department’s official lottery website. Lottery applications must conform to the State Department’s strict requirements. A closer look Registration for the Fiscal Year (FY) 2024 Diversity Visa (DV)…
USCIS Extends COVID-19 Accommodations on RFEs, NOIDs, Appeals, and Other Responses Through January 24, 2023
Due to the continuing COVID-19 emergency, USCIS is extending its deadline extension policy through January 24, 2023. Petitioners and applicants will continue to have an additional 60 days to respond to requests for evidence, notices of intent to deny or…
Parole Process for Venezuelan Citizens Opens Today
Starting today, Venezuelan citizens and their immediate family members can be sponsored for parole via a new DHS entry process. To qualify, applicants must be outside the United States, be a citizen of Venezuela or the spouse, common law partner,…
District Court Rules Against New DACA Regulation But Preserves Status Quo for Current DACA Beneficiaries
A federal district court in the Southern District of Texas has confirmed that its injunction blocking the Department of Homeland Security’s 2012 DACA memorandum also blocks the agency’s new DACA regulation, published in August 2022. The DACA regulation will not…
DHS Announces New Entry Process for Venezuelans
On October 12, 2022, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced “a safe and lawful way” for qualifying Venezuelans with supporters to travel by air to the United States, temporarily reside in the United States, and apply for work authorization. According to…
September 2022 DOL PERM and PWD Processing Times
As of September 30, 2022, the Department of Labor (DOL) was conducting analyst review for PERM applications filed in February 2022 or earlier, and processing audited cases with priority dates of November 2021 or earlier. DOL is working on standard…
DHS to Nearly Double the Number of H-2B Visas Available in FY 2023
DHS has announced that it will make available an additional 64,716 H-2B visas in Fiscal Year 2023, nearly doubling the number of H-2B visas that would otherwise be available this fiscal year. Of the additional visas, 20,000 will be reserved…
USCIS Announces Employers Can Continue Using Current Form I-9 Past 10/31/2022 Expiration
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has announced that until further notice, employers should continue using the Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification, after its expiration date of October 31, 2022. According to the agency, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) will publish a…
ICE Extends Interim COVID-19 Flexibility for Form I-9 Compliance Through July 31, 2023
Due to the ongoing COVID-19 emergency, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is extending its flexible I-9 document inspection policy through July 31, 2023. Eligible employers will continue to be permitted to review I-9 identity and employment authorization documents without conducting…
November 2022 Visa Bulletin – Most Employment-Based Categories Hold Steady; USCIS to Accept Employment-Based Adjustment Applications Based on Dates for Filing
In November, 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 EB-1, EB-2, and…
D.C. Circuit Upholds Decision to Maintain OPT Programs
On October 4, 2022, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit upheld the legality of the Department of Homeland Security’s post-graduate Optional Practical Training (OPT) programs. The opinion is in response to an appeal filed by Washington Alliance…
Fifth Circuit Affirms Lower Court’s Ruling Against DACA But Remands to Lower Court in Light of New DACA Regulation and Preserves Status Quo for Current DACA Beneficiaries
On October 5, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit upheld a lower court’s finding that the Department of Homeland Security’s 2012 memorandum establishing the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program is substantively and procedurally unlawful, but the…
FY 2024 Diversity Visa Lottery Registration Opens Today
Entrants have until Tuesday, November 8, 2022 at noon EST to register online at the State Department’s official lottery website. Lottery applications must conform to the State Department’s strict requirements. A closer look The State Department began accepting online registrations for the Fiscal…
Congress Passes Stopgap Spending Measure, Funding Government Through December 16, 2022, While FY 2023 Budget Is Finalized
A stopgap spending measure passed by Congress will fund the U.S. government – including E-Verify and the Conrad 30 program – through December 16, 2022, as Congress considers federal budget legislation to fund the government for the full FY 2023.…
USCIS Increases Green Card Validity Extension for Renewal Applicants
Effective September 26, 2022, USCIS has increased the automatic extension granted to green card renewal applicants to 24 months, up from an automatic extension of 12 months under the prior policy. Lawful permanent residents who properly file a Form I-90…
FY 2024 Diversity Visa Lottery Registration Opens October 5
Entrants have from Wednesday, October 5, 2022 at noon EDT until Tuesday, November 8, 2022 at noon EST to register online at the State Department’s official Diversity Visa lottery website. Lottery applications must conform to the State Department’s strict requirements. A closer…
USCIS Expands Eligibility for Premium Processing Upgrades of Pending EB-1 Multinational Manager and EB-2 National Interest Waiver I-140 Petitions
Beginning September 15, 2022, USCIS will accept Form I-907 Premium Processing upgrade requests for pending EB-1 Multinational Executive and Manager Form I-140 petitions that were received on or before January 1, 2022, and pending EB-2 National Interest Waiver (NIW) I-140…