Due to the ongoing Shelter in Place directives in many states, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has announced that employers may temporarily accept expired documents from List B, notably state-issued driver’s licenses and ID cards, to verify identity and complete Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification.
Read MoreFollowing the chaos resulting from President Donald Trump’s tweet last week on Monday night in which he proposed the temporary suspension of all immigration to the U.S. due to the COVID-19 pandemic, he formally issued a Proclamation, which provides for a narrow and temporary suspension of certain immigrants coming to the United States for a 60-day period.
Read MoreUSCIS has extended its temporary suspension of all face-to-face services at USCIS field offices, asylum offices, and Application Support Centers (ASCs) to June 3, 2020, with a planned reopening on or after June 4.
Read MoreThe Department of State (DOS) has issued its May 2020 Visa Bulletin. Overall, most employment categories will have modest forward movement, although the employment-based category 1 for most nationals is now current. Employment-based category 3 continues to have no movement since the significant retrogression of 18 months in March. Employment-based category 1 (“EB-1) visas are now available for most nationals. The priority date for EB-1 advances by just over a month for Chinese nationals and by three months for Indian nationals in the EB-1 category. For the EB-2 category, immigrant visas are available for most nationals. However, for Chinese nationals, there is a one-month advancement while for Indian nationals the priority date moves forward by just eight days. Finally, for the EB-3 category, there continues to be no movement since the 18-month retrogression in March. However, for Chinese nationals, the priority date moves forward by one month and by five weeks for Indian nationals.
Read MoreAfter last night's devastating tweet in which President Trump proposed suspending all immigration to the US, President Trump clarified today (Tuesday, April 21) in a press briefing that he will soon sign an Executive Order (as early as tomorrow) temporarily putting on hold the processing of immigrant visa applications from abroad. Specifically, foreign nationals applying for visas for admission as permanent residents based on employment and possibly family will be delayed by an additional 60 days, at which point officials will re-examine economic conditions in the United States.
Read MorePresident Donald Trump tweeted last night (Monday, April 20) at around 7 PM PST / 10 PM EST that he will sign an executive order temporarily suspending all immigration to the U.S. in light of the coronavirus pandemic. The president has not offered any further details on the upcoming order, although the media reported this morning that the proposed executive order is for a temporary, 120-day suspension of employment-based visas into the United States.
Read MoreUSCIS’s first ever electronic H-1B visa lottery process successfully took place this year despite significant concerns about the agency’s ability to implement and execute such an online tool. USCIS received nearly 275,000 registrations between March 1 and March 20, 2020. The number of registrations increased by nearly 30% this year (USCIS received 199,000 H-1B petitions in last year’s lottery), which is not surprising given the relative ease of the online registration process compared to the practice in previous years of filing complete H-1B petitions the first week of April.
Read MoreU.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) confirmed today (Friday, March 27) that it has completed the random selection of the H-1B registrations electronically submitted between March 1 and March 20, 2020. USCIS will notify petitioners with selected registrations no later than March 31, 2020, that they are eligible to file an H-1B petition for the beneficiary named in the selected registration. Petitioners will have 90 days from the date of notification to file a complete H-1B petition on behalf of the selected beneficiary’s registration.
Read MoreUSCIS has extended its temporary suspension of all in-person services from April 1 to May 3 due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Face-to-face services have been cancelled at all field offices, asylum offices, and Application Support Centers (ASCs) until May 3.
Read MoreDue to physical distancing precautions taken by employers and employees as a response to COVID-19, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has relaxed the requirements for employers to physically inspect employee identity and employment authorization documents for Form I-9 purposes.
Read More
