In implementing its first new COVID-19 travel restriction in months, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently issued guidance requiring all persons traveling from mainland China, Hong Kong, and Macau, to provide a negative COVID-19 test or documentation of COVID-19 recovery within two days of departing for the United States. The policy went into effect January 5, 2023, and applies to airline passengers two years of age or older. The requirement also applies to passengers traveling through Incheon International Airport, Toronto Pearson International ...
On February 14, 2023, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) made a small change in the Child Status Protection Act (CSPA) that will have a significant impact on the lives of many immigrant families.
To understand how this works, take the example of an employer sponsoring a foreign national for lawful permanent resident status - the foreign national’s spouse and children, under the age of 21, are also eligible to participate in the process to receive residency. However, the application process can take years, and in many cases, children have turned 21 during the process ...
USCIS recently announced the annual registration period for the FY2024 H-1B cap will open at noon (ET) on March 1, 2023, and remain open until noon (ET) on March 17, 2023. Registration is an annual electronic process through which USCIS receives registrations from employers seeking to sponsor a foreign national for an H-1B visa. USCIS has historically utilized the registrations to conduct a random H-1B lottery because more visas are requested each year than are available. Registrants are selected at random for an opportunity to fill one of the H-1B cap positions.
The number of H-1B ...
It is no secret that certain sectors of U.S. employers have engaged in significant layoffs over the last six months. Meta—the parent company of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp—laid off more than 11,000 employees in November alone. Meta and other tech companies regularly use the H-1B visa program to sponsor foreign national workers. In fact, Meta is listed as an H-1B dependent company, meaning at least 15% of its workforce is employed by virtue of nonimmigrant work visas. Many economic experts expect the layoff trend to continue in 2023, but demand for workers remains generally ...
Employers wishing to sponsor a candidate for an H-1B visa in Fiscal Year 2024 are approaching an important time of year. United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is expected to announce the H-1B cap registration period for FY2024 in the coming weeks. Last year, the registration period opened on March 1, 2022, and closed on March 18, 2022. USCIS will likely announce a similar registration period this March.
H-1B Registration is an annual electronic process through which USCIS receives registrations from employers for the H-1B lottery. USCIS has historically ...
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) recently issued a new “public charge” final rule that will go into effect December 23, 2022. The new rule will apply to all permanent residency (Green Card) applications filed on or after the effective date. The new rule is a marked change from the strict President Trump-era public charge rule that spent several years in litigation and was ultimately withdrawn by the Biden administration.
Pursuant to the Immigration and Nationality Act, any noncitizen who, in the opinion of DHS, is likely at any time to become a “public charge” is ...
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) recently announced an extension to its waiver of the civil surgeon signature validity requirement for Form I-693. Form I-693 is the Report of Medical Examination and Vaccination Record which must be submitted with an Application for Adjustment of Status to Lawful Permanent Residency. The report is completed by a civil surgeon to confirm a foreign national is not inadmissible (and therefore ineligible to receive a Green Card) based on health and/or vaccination grounds.
The immigration regulations generally require Form I-693 to ...
Since its introduction in 2001, the Premium Processing service offered by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) has seen notable changes. Premium Processing was originally introduced as an option for certain immigration benefit applicants and petitioners to request expedited 15-day processing for an additional fee. The fee to request Premium Processing was originally set at $1,000 but has increased several times since the program’s inception, and was most recently elevated to $2,500.
On March 30, 2022, USCIS published a final rule outlining numerous ...
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) announced a Temporary Final Rule that will increase the 180-day automatic extension period for some Employment Authorization Documents (“EADs”) to 540 days beyond the EAD’s expiration date. The rule, which was published as a response to massive USCIS delays in processing EAD renewal applications, became effective immediately on May 4, 2022, and will remain in effect until October 27, 2023.
In order to benefit from the new rule, an applicant must have timely filed an EAD renewal application and fall within an eligible ...
On January 22, 2022, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) began requiring all non-U.S. individuals entering the United States by land or ferry across the U.S./Mexico or U.S./Canada borders to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19. The new guidance applies to those non-U.S. individuals who are traveling for both essential and non-essential reasons but will not apply to U.S. citizens, Lawful Permanent Residents, or U.S. nationals.
Any non-U.S. individual entering the United States through land point of entries or ferry must provide proof of a CDC-approved COVID-19 ...