On May 13, 2020, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced the adoption of a May 5, 2020, Administrative Appeals Office (AAO) decision, Matter of F-M- Co., making it formal policy guidance for the adjudication of similar future cases. Matter of F-M- Co. addresses the employment-based immigrant first preference multinational executive or manager classification … Continue Reading
COVID-19 stay-at-home orders have created challenges for employees seeking to renew a driver’s license, a state ID card, or other Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification, List B identity document, as there are some restrictions on online renewal services. Given these challenges, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued a temporary policy regarding expired List B … Continue Reading
On May 7, 2020, four U.S. senators wrote a letter to President Trump, requesting that he suspend “all new guest worker visas” for 60 days, and others for a year “or until unemployment has returned to normal levels.” The requested changes to the guest worker program come amid all-time high unemployment in the United States … Continue Reading
United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued an alert on May 1, 2020, that the agency will be further extending the duration of the dates covered under its announcement on March 30, 2020. As we previously reported, USCIS implemented a policy to allow employers who have received a Request for Evidence (RFE), Notice of … Continue Reading
The Department of State (DOS) May 2020 Visa Bulletin shows major advancements for some employment-based categories. Most notably, the final action date for EB-1 “all other” countries is current for the first time since July 2018. Also jumping to current from the final action of June 1, 2019, per last month’s visa bulletin, are EB-1 … Continue Reading
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) announced on April 22, 2020 that it will extend the temporary closure of the Trusted Traveler Programs (TTP) through June 1, 2020, with extended closures possible due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Due to the suspension of the TTP, CBP will close all of the following enrollment centers: Global Entry, … Continue Reading
On April 22, 2020, President Trump issued a Proclamation that will come into effect April 23, 2020, which suspends the entry of those seeking to immigrate into the United States. The reasoning behind the issuance of this Proclamation is to not burden the American economy and the healthcare system while it is recovering from Coronavirus … Continue Reading
Late on April 20, President Trump tweeted his intention to issue an Executive Order (EO) that “temporarily” suspends immigration into the United States. The proposed suspension may be issued in two EOs that address the following: 60-day travel ban EO: The first EO may consist of a 60-day ban on the issuance of immigrant visas, … Continue Reading
COVID-19 has given rise to business complications related to closing physical office spaces, furloughing employees, and terminating employees, to name a few. The Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Labor, and the Department of State have worked to address the resulting immigration complications to support the needs of U.S. businesses and foreign nationals during … Continue Reading
On April 13, 2020, USCIS issued two new updates in response to the rapidly-changing environment created by COVID-19, which are summarized below: Receipt notices for filed H-1B cap cases will be delayed – USCIS announced that data entry and receipt generation for H-1B cap cases will be delayed until at least May 1, 2020. The … Continue Reading
In almost every state, companies have instituted temporary work from home policies—or have been instructed by government authorities to institute such policies—in response to the coronavirus (COVID-19), in an effort to “flatten the curve” and stop the spread of the virus. In so doing, companies that regularly employ H-1B and E-3 visa holders may need … Continue Reading
On March 27, 2020 and March 30, 2020, USCIS announced limited help to employers facing requests for evidence (RFE) and notices of intent to deny (NOID) during the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The announcement will permit employers who receive an RFE, NOID, Notice of Intent to Revoke (NOIR), Notice of Intent to Terminate (NOIT), or appealable … Continue Reading
The United States is now under a national emergency due to the COVID-19 epidemic. While USCIS remains open and is accepting all mail at the time of writing, it has canceled all in-person appointments, including interviews, biometrics and InfoPass appointments, through May 3, 2020. All appointments will be automatically rescheduled by USCIS when possible. While … Continue Reading
Update: USCIS extends its closure to June 4. With the spread of COVID-19 and the attempt to prevent its spread, in addition to the travel bans in place by the President, U.S. government agencies are starting to shut down. Furthermore, other countries are starting to follow suit and shut its borders in an attempt to … Continue Reading
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has issued revised guidance on I-9 compliance in light of employer office closures around the country due to COVID-19. DHS announced that it will exercise its discretion to defer the physical presence requirement associated with completing Form I-9, where the employee must present physical documents to be examined by the … Continue Reading
The Department of Labor (DOL) has issued guidance regarding several immigration processes in light of employer office closures around the country due to COVID-19. Many of these issues include extending posting dates and filing deadlines. The DOL notes that it intends to remain fully operational, as its employees have teleworking capabilities, and that applications will continue to … Continue Reading
Effective March 20, 2020, USCIS will temporarily suspend premium processing for all I-129 petitions and I-140 petitions due to COVID-19. For petitions filed prior to March 20, 2020, USCIS will process the petition accordingly, but if no action has been taken within the 15-day window, USCIS will refund the premium processing fee. In addition, USCIS will … Continue Reading
Due to COVID-19, USCIS will accept benefit forms and documents without an original, wet signature for submissions dated after March 21, 2020, but with no announced end date. This means the document can be scanned, faxed, or photocopied from an original signature. USCIS notes that the documents with the original signatures must be retained if USCIS … Continue Reading
The USCIS website has links to its various field offices where biometrics and interviews take place around the country. The website has now been updated to include a link that designates USCIS Office Closings. This is helpful when there are last minute closures and a rescheduling notice has not been sent in time: See USCIS … Continue Reading
Effective Monday, March 16, 2020, 11:59 p.m. EST, the U.S. will extend the same travel restrictions to the U.K. and Ireland as are already in effect for other European countries, China and Iran. The Department of Homeland Security also issued a Fact Sheet outlining the return process for persons affected by the March 11 presidential … Continue Reading
On March 11, 2020, President Trump signed a Presidential Proclamation, effective at 11:59 p.m. EST on March 13, 2020, which prohibits the entry of most foreign nationals who traveled to European – Schengen Area countries at any point during the 14 days prior to their scheduled arrival to the U.S. These restrictions will not apply … Continue Reading
On Feb. 23, 2020, the U.S. Embassy in Rome, Italy announced that the U.S. Consulate General in Milan will temporarily suspend its routine visa services until March 2, 2020, due to the recent spread of respiratory illness COVID-19 (Coronavirus disease). See Health Alert: U.S. Embassy Rome, Italy. On the same day, the U.S. Centers for … Continue Reading
On Feb. 7, 2020, the official visa information website of the U.S. mission in China (http://cdn.ustraveldocs.com/cn/index.html?firstTime=No) announced that as of Feb. 3, 2020, regular visa services at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing and Consulates General in Chengdu, Guangzhou, Shanghai, and Shenyang are all suspended. The notice further states that the U.S. Embassy and Consulates in … Continue Reading
On Jan. 31, 2020, President Trump issued a Proclamation, effective Feb. 21, 2020, imposing even more limitations on visa issuance and travel to the United States for additional countries entitled “Proclamation on Improving Enhanced Vetting Capabilities and Processes for Detecting Attempted Entry.” This Proclamation follows his first travel ban from March 2017 where the Secretary … Continue Reading
