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ICE announced that I-9 flexibility will be extended again – this time through the whole summer until August 31, 2021.

Since March 2020, companies that have been operating remotely have been able to inspect Section 2 Form I-9 documents virtually, over video link, by fax or via email. In April 2021, the Department of…

The Department of Homeland Security has announced that it will be extending Haitian Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for 18 months, until November 2022. It also has officially set out the application procedures for Burmese TPS, which the Secretary of DHS announced in March 2021, but had not yet issued implementing instructions.

Based on pending litigation,…

The Biden administration is breathing life into the International Entrepreneur Rule (IER). It has announced that the IER will be launched anew, because it will “strengthen and grow our nation’s economy through increased capital spending, innovation, and job creation.”

Although there were stops and starts, the IER was never actually eliminated by the Trump administration.…

USCIS expects to suspend biometrics requirements for H-4, L-2 and E-1, E-2, and E-3 Form I-539 applications beginning May 17, 2021, for at least 24 months. It will retain the discretion to require biometrics on a case-by-case basis.

The suspension is intended to eliminate the adjudication backlog that has prevented H-4 and L-2 spouses from…

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced DHS to delay full enforcement of the REAL ID law from October 1, 2021, to May 3, 2023, the agency has announced.

The REAL ID law requires every air traveler 18 years or older to show genuine REAL ID-compliant identification documents at airport security checkpoints for domestic travel. Those under…

Deference is back! USCIS announced that, effective immediately, it will reinstate its 2004 policy of deferring to prior determinations of eligibility.

Rescinded by the Trump administration, this policy directed officers to “generally defer to prior determinations of eligibility when adjudicating petition extensions involving the same parties and facts as the initial petition.” This means that…

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has announced that it plans to release 22,000 more H-2B visas in addition to the 66,000 H-2B visas available annually, reserving 6,000 for the Northern Triangle countries of Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras.

U.S. employers may bring foreign nationals to this country to fill temporary, non-agricultural jobs in H-2B…

USCIS has issued a new policy guidance clarifying eligibility requirements for internationally recognized athletes (P-1A nonimmigrants). Effective immediately, the policy applies to P-1A petitions filed on or after March 26, 2021.

The policy explains some of the statutory definitions. For instance, a “major United States sports league” means one that has a distinguished…

Syrian Temporary Protected Status (TPS) has been extended until September 30, 2022. DHS announced that the 60-day registration and re-registration period for Syrian TPS and Employment Authorization Documents (EADs) was to begin on March 19, 2021 and run until May 18, 2021. Only those who have been residing in the United States since March 19,…