Registration for H-1B Visa Lottery Opens on March 9, 2021.
USCIS has announced that the online registration period for this year’s H-1B lottery will open on March 9, 2021, and run through March 25, 2021. During this period, employers seeking to file H-1B petitions in this year’s lottery must first complete an online registration process that requires basic information about their company and each prospective foreign national worker, and pay the associated $10 H-1B registration fee. USCIS will notify employers of selected registrations by March 31, 2021, after which employers will have 90 days to file the H-1B petition.
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DHS Defers Ranking of H-1B Registrations by Salary
The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) has just announced that it will not rank H-1B registrations by salary in this year’s H-1B visa lottery. Instead, it will continue with the previous method of randomly selecting the H-1B registrations in the annual lottery.
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Temporary Protected Status for Citizens of Syria Extended Until Sep 30, 2022
The Department of Homeland Security has extended Temporary Protected Status (“TPS”) for nationals of Syria for a period of eighteen months until September 30, 2022. TPS designation for Syria was scheduled to end on March 31, 2021.
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DHS Extends Option for Remote Verification of Form I-9 to March 31, 2021
As many businesses continue to operate remotely in response to COVID-19, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (“ICE”) has once again extended the ability of employers to remotely verify a new employee’s identify and employment authorization documents for Form I-9 purposes through March 31, 2021.
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February 2021 Visa Bulletin Released
The Department of State (DOS) has issued its February 2021 Visa Bulletin. Both employment-based and family-based priority dates are detailed below.
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Entry to the United States Restricted for Travelers from the Schengen Area, United Kingdom, Ireland, Brazil, and South Africa
In an ongoing effort to curb the spread of COVID-19, President Biden has issued a Proclamation, which maintains the restriction on travelers from Brazil, Ireland, the Schengen Area, and the United Kingdom (excluding overseas territories outside of Europe). The previous administration had planned on lifting these travel restrictions on January 25.
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President Biden Acts Quickly on Many Important Immigration Issues
Within hours of his inauguration on January 20, 2021, President Biden took several important steps to reverse the previous administration’s restrictive immigration measures. As detailed below, President Biden signed several critical Executive Orders, released a summary of immigration legislation (the U.S. Citizenship Act of 2021) he will present to Congress, and put a hold on all regulations the previous administration tried to implement after his election but before he formally took office.
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DOL Once Again Attempts to Increase Prevailing Wage Requirements
The Department of Labor is once again trying to change the formulas by which it calculates the prevailing wages for H-1B, H-1B1, E-3 and PERM. The DOL has released an advance copy of its new final rule that would make changes to the computation of prevailing wage levels. The final rule is currently pending publication in the Federal Registrar and is expected to take effect 60 days after it is published. However, it is likely that this effective date will be further extended as President-Elect Biden's transition team has indicated that his administration will issue a memorandum on January 20, delaying implementation of regulations issued since the election but not yet effective.
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DHS Finalizes Rule to Prioritize Selection of H-1B Registrations with Highest Salary in Annual Lottery
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is changing the way the annual H-1B lottery is conducted so that priority is given to registrations with the highest wage level. This final rule will be published on January 8 (tomorrow), and take effect 60 days thereafter on March 9, 2021.
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President Trump Extends the Ban on Certain Immigrants and Temporary Workers
President Trump has extended the ban on admitting certain immigrants and temporary workers to the United States from December 31, 2020, until March 31, 2021. According to his most recent Proclamation, the basis for the extension is the ongoing levels of high unemployment caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
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