Immigration

Read about a recent USCIS policy change, which will soon allow an applicant or beneficiary to elect “Male” (M), “Female” (F), or (“X”), which indicates another or an unspecified gender identity, on most forms without the need to provide supporting documentation or to match the gender listed on the individual’s existing identity documents.

On April 3, USCIS began accepting premium processing requests for F-1 students who have a previously filed and pending Form I-765 employment authorization document (EAD) application in one of several optional practical training (OPT) categories.

Read about the USCIS Lottery selection process for H-1B registrations and the statuses categories USCIS assigns to H-1B registrations.

A number of attorneys and employers have reported issues in accessing the USCIS online H-1B cap registration system at https://my.uscis.gov/.  Most recently, a number of company representatives have been unable to access their cases, as the system is not accepting the employer’s unique passcode review and verify H-1B registrations.  The American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) has received a number of reports that H-1B Registrant, Attorney and Employer accounts are not functioning past the login section.

Read about the H-1B quota selection process for the upcoming fiscal year, which is for H-1B registrations and petitions filed to USCIS in the spring of 2023 with a start date of October 1, 2023, or later.

Read about the USCIS’s new bundling of adjudications of H-4 & L-2 spousal extensions, and EAD applications with H-1B & L-1 principals.

Read about the upcoming phase of USCIS’s premium processing expansion, effective on January 30, for EB-1C multinational executive and manager I-140 petitions and EB-2 National Interest Waiver (NIW) I-140 petitions.

In August 2022, the U.S. State Department introduced a pilot program to allow eligible applicants to renew U.S. passports online. Over 25,000 applications were submitted within the first two weeks of the online system. Given its success, the State Department opened two additional rounds of online applications in September and November 2022. Although an exact date has not been announced, the State Department has stated that it intends to implement a permanent launch in the first quarter of 2023.

In anticipation of this new system, the State Department has established the eligibility criteria and process for renewing a U.S. passport online.

The U.S. State Department recently updated its visa reciprocity schedule for citizens of Mexico, and now provides two visa validity period options for TN visa applicants. Mexican citizens may request a 48-month TN visa validity period by paying a visa reciprocity fee of $382. Alternatively, they can request a 12-month TN visa validity period by paying a reciprocity fee of $104. This option also applies to TD visa applicants (the dependents of TN visa holders). The visa reciprocity fees are in addition to the $160 visa application fee (MRV fee). The visa reciprocity fee is only charged if the visa is approved. Below is a summary of the effect of the new four-year visa option. 

Under a recent USCIS rule change, lawful permanent residents who have filed a Form N-400 Naturalization Application with USCIS on or after December 12, 2022, will receive a 24-month automatic Green Card extension.

State and city pay transparency laws requiring certain employers to publish “pay scales” in job advertisements also impact employers that sponsor foreign national employees for permanent resident (“green card”) status through the Department of Labor’s PERM process.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) have announced yet another extension to flexibility relating to in-person Form I-9 compliance. The policy, which was originally announced on March 19, 2020, was previously set to expire on October 31, 2022. With this new extension, the policy will remain in effect until July 31, 2023.

Our F-1 Student Employment Guidance document provides an overview of permissible employment and investment activities for individuals with an F-1 student visa.

The Department of Homeland Security is seeking public comment on its proposed changes to I-9 document examination requirements, including one which would create a framework allowing DHS to pilot or implement permanent alternatives to in-person I-9 document examination requirements.

USCIS announced that it has begun implementing the next phase of the premium processing expansion for certain petitioners who have a pending Form I-140 under the EB-1 and EB-2 classifications.

USCIS has begun updating unselected H-1B cap registrations as “Not Selected,” which means that USCIS has received a sufficient number of H-1B cap petitions to fill the H-1B quota for Fiscal Year (FY) 2023.

USCIS recently announced the extension of COVID-19-related flexibilities, including additional time to file certain responses and documents and that it will indefinitely allow documents with electronically produced original signatures.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services will begin accepting requests for premium processing for EB-1C multinational executive and manager petitions and EB-2 National Interest Waiver I-140 petitions on August 1.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced its plan to begin implementing premium processing for certain petitioners who have a pending Form I-140 under the EB-1 and EB-2 classifications.

This alert covers USCIS’s announcement of a Temporary Final Rule (TFR), effective May 4, 2022, increasing the automatic extension period for Employment Authorization Documents (EADs) available to certain renewal applicants.