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Link: https://www.uscis.gov/news/alerts/uscis-announces-flexibility-requests-evidence-notices-intent-deny
Pasricha & Patel
In response to the ongoing COVID-19 crisis, the USCIS has announced that it is adopting a more flexible approach to those applicants and petitioners who have to respond to Requests for Further Evidence (RFEs), and Notices of Intent to Deny (NOID) that are issued between March 1, 2020 through May 1, 2020.
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Link: https://www.uscis.gov/news/alerts/uscis-temporary-office-closure-extended-until-least-april-7
Pasricha & Patel
USCIS has announced that it is extending the temporary suspension of all in-person services at its field offices, asylum offices, and application support centers (ASCs), and it will re-open its offices on April 7, 2020, unless the public closures are further extended. Previously, the suspension of services was through April 1, 2020.
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Link: https://www.ice.gov/news/releases/dhs-announces-flexibility-requirements-related-form-i-9-compliance
Pasricha & Patel
The Department of Homeland Security has announced that effective Friday, March 20, 2020, it will exercise discretion and defer the physical presence requirements related to Form I-9 Employment Eligibility Verification of the INA. This means that employers with employees that take physical proximity/social distancing precautions due to the COVID-19 emergency will not be required to review the employee’s identity and employment authorization documents in the employee’s physical presence.
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Pasricha & Patel
USCIS has announced that it will start accepting all forms that request immigration benefits with the USCIS with reproduced (copy) of original signatures. This includes the form I-129 petition, which is used to file for various non-immigrant employment-based petitions (such as E/H/L/O/P status categories), for submissions dated Saturday, March 21, 2020 and beyond.
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Pasricha & Patel
USCIS has announced that effective immediately (Friday, March 20, 2020), it will suspend premium processing services for all Form I-129 and I-140 petitions due to the ongoing COVID-19 crisis. This suspension means that USCIS will not accept premium/expedited requests for all the employment-based immigrant and non-immigrant petitions. This suspension will last until further notice and for the immediate future.
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Link: https://www.uscis.gov/news/alerts/uscis-temporarily-closing-offices-public-march-18-april-1
Pasricha & Patel
Starting on Wednesday, March 18, 2020, the USCIS is temporarily suspending all in-person services at its field offices, asylum offices and application support centers (ASCs). This is an effort by the USCIS to stop the spread of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19).
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Pasricha & Patel
There are some changes between the March 2020 visa bulletin and the April 2020 visa bulletin.
Based on the April 2020 Visa Bulletin published by the U.S. Department of State, the USCIS has determined that for family-sponsored filings, filers should continue to follow the Dates for Filing Chart for the April 2020 Visa Bulletin.
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Pasricha & Patel
USCIS has announced that H-1B petitioners will not be able to request for premium processing service for the FY2021 H-1B quota petitions, at least not initially.
Just like last year (2019), the USCIS will be allowing premium processing service for H-1B quota petitions this year in stages:
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We would like you to know that Pasricha & Patel is taking the COVID-19 Virus very seriously. We are also concerned about the health and wellbeing of our clients and team members.
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Link: https://www.uscis.gov/visabulletininfo
Pasricha & Patel
In the March 2020 Visa Bulletin published by the U.S. Department of State, the USCIS has determined that for family-sponsored filings, filers should continue to follow the Dates for Filing Chart for the March 2020 Visa Bulletin.
But note once again that in the F2A category, there is a cutoff date on the Dates for Filing Chart. However, because the same F2A category is “Current” on the Final Action Dates chart, this does mean that applicants in the F2A category may use the Final Action Dates chart for February 2020).
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Link: https://www.uscis.gov/news/news-releases/uscis-updates-process-accepting-petitions-relatives-abroad
Pasricha & Patel
USCIS has announced that as of February 1, 2020, the Form I-130, Petition for Alien Relative will be processed exclusively by the USCIS in the United States, and by the U.S. Department of State (U.S. embassies and consulates abroad) only in special circumstances.
This means that for U.S. expatriates who reside outside the U.S. and who were previously able to submit Form I-130 petitions with their nearest USCIS international offices are now required to either file their I-130 petitions online, or via mail through the USCIS Dallas lockbox for U.S. domestic processing.
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Pasricha & Patel
USCIS has announced that the expanded Final Public Charge rules will take effect as of Monday, February 24, 2020, with the exception of the State of Illinois, where the rule remains enjoined by federal court. The new Public Charge rules expand the USCIS’s authority to review factors regarding whether certain foreign nationals will become a public charge by taking into consideration the foreign national’s age, health, income, education and skills, and other factors. And the new rule will define a public charge as a person who is likely to receive any number of public benefits for more than an aggregate of 12 months over any 36-month period of time.
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Link: https://www.uscis.gov/news/news-releases/uscis-adjusts-process-managing-eb-5-visa-petition-inventory
Pasricha & Patel
USCIS has announced that starting on March 31, 2020, it will change the way it processes the Form I-526, Immigrant Petition by Alien Investor, from a first-in, first-out basis, to a visa availability approach. USCIS explains that this new approach is to prioritize petitions filed by individuals from countries where immigrant visas are currently available (or soon become available), which would increase fairness, and allow those qualified EB-5 petitioners from traditionally underrepresented countries to have their petitions approved more quickly in order to receive consideration for an immigrant visa. This process change does not create any legally binding rights, nor does it change any substantive requirements for the EB-5 petition.
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Pasricha & Patel
The U.S. Supreme Court has lifted a temporary injunction that had previously prevented the Department of Homeland Security from enforcing a previously-announced Public Charge Rule that greatly expands the definition of public benefits. The expanded rule gives DHS officials greater authority to deny visas and immigrant petitions filed by future immigrants whom the U.S. government would determine to rely, or may rely on, certain public benefits, such as Supplemental Security Income (SSI); Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF); and any federal, state, or local cash benefits programs for income maintenance purposes; as well as government housing programs, such as Section 8 Housing Assistance.
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Link: https://www.uscis.gov/visabulletininfo
Pasricha & Patel
In the February 2020 Visa Bulletin published by the U.S. Department of State, the USCIS has determined that for family-sponsored filings, filers should continue to follow the Dates for Filing Chart for February 2020 Visa Bulletin.
But note that in the F2A category, there is a cutoff date on the Dates for Filing Chart. However, because the same F2A category is “Current” on the Final Action Dates chart, this does mean that applicants in the F2A the category may use the Final Action Dates chart for February 2020).
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Link: https://travel.state.gov/content/dam/visas/Bulletins/visabulletin_february2020.pdf
Pasricha & Patel
The U.S. Department of State has published the February 2020 visa bulletin, and once again, there is not much movement, if only slightly, in the employment-based immigrant visa categories across the countries. Of interest is the Department of State has indicated that due to the high level of employment-based visa demands since October 2019, with primary demand for adjustment of status cases that are being filed with the USCIS, that the most affected categories – which are the EB-2, and EB-3 Other Workers preference categories – that the Department of State expects to set ‘Rest of the World” final action date starting in the month of March. This action will be needed in order to hold the visa numbers usage within the Fiscal Year 2020 annual limits.
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Pasricha & Patel
Issues to Consider when Contemplating Changing Nonimmigrant Visa Status to F-1 (Academic Student) or M-1 (Vocational Student) Status
With the start of the New Year, some nonimmigrant visa holders (i.e. H-1B specialized workers, L-1 intracompany transferees, E treaty traders and investors, or B-1/B-2 temporary visitors) may be considering applying for F-1 (academic student) or M-1 (vocational student) visa to pursue academic or vocational courses in 2020 and beyond.
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wishes you and your family a happy and safe holiday season and all the best for the New Year 2022!
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Link: https://www.uscis.gov/visabulletininfo
Pasricha & Patel
With the publication of the January 2020 Visa Bulletin by the U.S. Department of State, the USCIS has continued its policy and instructed filers for Family-Sponsored Filings to follow the Dates for Filing Chart for January 2020 visa bulletin (note: the F2A Spouse and Children of Permanent Resident will continue to follow the Final Action Dates chart for Family-Sponsored Visa Applications, which remains ‘Current’ for F2A preference category).
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Pasricha & Patel
The H-1B Electronic Registration Process will be effective for Fiscal Year 2021. This is a significant change to how the H-1B lottery has been conducted by USCIS. As part of this process, the prospective employer/petitioner will need to register electronically with the USCIS and pay a $10.00 registration fee for each H-1B petition that the U.S. employer seeks to submit in the upcoming FY 2021 H-1B cap lottery system. The registration system will require the U.S. employer to complete a registration form which contains general information about the company and the intended H-1B candidate. To date, it is unknown whether the registration information will include submission of the proposed job offer, salary or other terms relating to the proposed employer/employee relationship. The registration period will run from March 1, 2020 to March 20, 2020. Upon conclusion, the USCIS will conduct a random lottery and selection process for the registered applications. The selected registrants will then proceed with the H-1B filing for their prospective employer.
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