United States (US) Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) provided welcome updated guidance to its Policy Manual regarding when an immigrant visa “becomes available” for the purpose of calculating the Child Status Protection Act (CSPA) age for certain foreign national derivatives. The updated guidance was effective immediately on February 14, 2023. Under previous CSPA guidance, published …
DHS PUBLISHES NEW FINAL RULE ENDING TRUMP-ERA PUBLIC CHARGE RESTRICTIONS
On September 9, 2022, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) published a lengthy Final Rule concerning the implementation of the public charge ground of inadmissibility[1] after several years of federal court litigation. This Final Rule will be effective on December 23, 2022, and apply to applications postmarked (or electronically submitted) on or after that …
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USCIS Makes COVID-19 Signature Policy Permanent
At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, USCIS announced several “flexibilities” to facilitate immigration filings in the face of significant logistical challenges. One of those flexibilities was a much-needed suspension of the “wet ink” signature requirement for certain immigration forms. After sustained success and positive feedback on what was supposed to be a temporary rule, …
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Top Three Employment-Based USCIS Adjustment of Status FAQs at the End of Fiscal Year 2022
There is no denying that the COVID-19 pandemic continues to impact employment-based adjustment of status (AOS) applicants for legal permanent residence. For example, consular closures and limited immigrant visa processing operations during the pandemic have contributed to almost doubling the available number of employment-based immigrant visas for allocation in FY 2022. These increased immigrant visa …
Attracting and Retaining Foreign Talent in STEM Fields – Overview of STEM Initiatives
On July 28, 2022, USCIS published online resources to provide an overview of some temporary and permanent pathways for foreign nationals to remain in the United States (U.S.) and work in the sciences, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). These online resources break down various non-immigrant and immigrant channels through which STEM professionals can seek temporary …
USCIS EXTENDS LIMITED AUTOMATIC EXTENSION OF WORK AUTHORIZATION FROM 180 TO 540 DAYS
On May 3, 2022, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced a Temporary Final Rule (TFR) that would increase the automatic extension period for Employment Authorization Documents (EADs) for certain designated categories of EAD renewal applicants who timely filed Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization before their EAD’s current expiration. This rule was issued in …
USCIS Expands Credit Card Payment Pilot Program
After years of testing its pilot program, USCIS recently announced an expansion of credit card payments to most USCIS forms. Because the vast majority of forms and other filings require payment of fees that are often substantial, this expansion will give employers, foreign nationals, and attorneys alike much more flexibility. Which Applications and Petitions Qualify …
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Dreamers Can Rest Easy: USCIS Announces New Online Filing Option for DACA Renewals
To transition further away from paper-based operations, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration and Services (USCIS) announced Tuesday, April 12, that those who previously received deferred action (i.e., protection from deportation) under Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) may now file their DACA renewal forms online (see USCIS News Release here). This announcement is welcome news for …
Form I-9 Alert – USCIS Designates I-94s with New Admission Codes For E and L Spouses as List C Documents… What?
After the United States (U.S.) Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) recognized that E and L nonimmigrant spouses are entitled to work in the U.S. “incident to status” on November 12, 2021, a new Category of Admission (COA) codes were created for use in issuing Forms I-94. And on March 18, 2022, USCIS updated its Policy …
USCIS Decouples EAD Card and Advance Parole Travel Documents to Speed EAD Card Processing for Adjustment Applicants
Without a formal news release, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) started prioritizing pending requests for employment authorization (Form I-765) by adjustment of status (“AOS”) applicants (often referred to as “green card applicants”). Later, the USCIS posted an alert that to “improve efficiency and reduce Form I-765 processing times” for pending AOS applicants, effective February …