As of May 4, 2022, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is increasing the automatic extension of work authorization from 180 days to 540 days for certain individuals.
Currently, certain individuals with expiring employment authorization documents (EADs) can continue working for an additional 180 days as long as they have timely submitted for a
A new Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification is in the works. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is seeking comments on its proposed changes to the form.
Used by all employers, Form I-9 has always had many traps for the unwary. DHS, with its proposed changes, is trying to simplify and clarify things.
The proposed
The Department of Homeland Security set out the specifics about the upcoming new premium processing benefits in the Federal Register on March 30, 2022. The details, however, did not include any specific implementation dates, which it said depends on when the revenues exist to cover potential costs.
Just as the Biden Administration is proposing increased funding for USCIS to help reduce the agency’s backlog, USCIS is announcing future new actions to improve processing times.
USCIS:
As of May 1, 2022, employers can no longer accept expired List B documents for Form I-9 Employment Eligibility Verification purposes, and any expired List B documents that were previously accepted must be updated by July 31, 2022.
Allowing employees to present these expired documents was a temporary policy instituted by the Department of
As of January 31, 2022, spouses entering the United States in L-2 or E status may be able to obtain work authorization at the border by asking Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to give them a “spousal” designation in their I-94 record. Because USCIS has not issued “official” guidance on this yet, requesting the designation
USCIS has announced that H-1B Cap registration will start on March 1, 2022, at noon (Eastern) and will continue through noon (Eastern) on March 18, 2022.
If enough registrations to fill the cap are received by March 18 (which is likely), USCIS will randomly select registrations and send selection notifications through users’ myUSCIS online accounts.
The Social Security Administration (SSA) has reached an agreement with three of its unions on its COVID-19 re-entry plan.
SSA offices have been essentially closed to the public since March 2020. That affected SSA’s ability to resolve E-Verify Tentative Nonconfirmations (TNCs) due to a no-match between a person’s name and Social Security Number. The result
ICE has announced it will extend I-9 flexibility until April 30, 2022, due to continuing precautions related to COVID-19.
The guidance remains the same:
Nonimmigrant spouses of H-1B and L-1 visa holders with long-pending EAD applications have finally received some relief. Based upon a settlement in Shergill v. Mayokas, USCIS is making major policy changes. Going forward, certain H-4 spouses with pending EAD applications will be entitled to 180-day automatic extensions of their EAD cards and L-2