Insight, News, and Strategy on Immigration Matters Around the World
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:
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Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has announced the designation of Ukraine for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for 18 months.
This designation was made based on the ongoing armed conflict and extraordinary and temporary conditions in Ukraine that prevent Ukrainian nationals, and those of no nationality who last habitually resided in Ukraine, from returning to Ukraine…
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.…
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:
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The Administration has imposed new restrictions beginning November 29, 2021 at 12:01 a.m. ET on individuals travelling to the United States from Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawai, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, and Zimbabwe (the “South African restrictions”) in response to the appearance of the COVID-19 Omicron variant. These restrictions go into effect just three weeks after…
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…
As of 12:01 a.m. ET on November 8, 2021, the United States’ country-specific 14-day COVID-19 travel restrictions that have been so troublesome and disruptive for individuals and businesses will be eliminated. Instead, protecting the country from COVID-19 will focus on vaccination status.
President Joe Biden’s “A Proclamation on Advancing the Safe Resumption of Global…
The decades-old I-9 Employment Eligibility Verification process may be in for some changes. The Department of Homeland Security is requesting “public input” regarding the document examination process.
Employers interested in the permanent continuation of Form I-9 flexibility might be encouraged by the agency’s official announcement on October 26, 2021. While the request is for “information…
As long as they can show that they are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, foreign travelers will be allowed to visit the United States beginning November 8, 2021, according to the Biden Administration.
Until now, we knew only that the 14-day travel restrictions and the northern and southern border restrictions would be lifted sometime in November.…
Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Alejandro N. Mayorkas has issued a policy directive to immediately discontinue mass worksite enforcement operations.
These involve large-scale law enforcement operations resulting in the arrest of hundreds of unauthorized workers. They were a significant part of the Trump Administration’s worksite enforcement strategy.
Secretary Mayorkas criticized these large-scale…
