On Friday, November 19, we learned that USCIS selected (for a third time!) additional H-1B lottery registrations from the registrations that were not selected in March 2021. We also received selection notifications over the weekend. The newly selected registrations have notices that say “FY2022 Selection of Reserve Registration” and indicate a filing period of November 22, 2021, to February 23, 2022. If we filed a registration on your behalf and it was selected in this third lottery, we have already reached out to your employer. Your employer also should have received a notification from USCIS about the selection.

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The Department of State (DOS) has issued its December 2021 Visa Bulletin. The most significant development for the December 2021 Visa Bulletin is that priority dates for EB-2 India move past the EB-3 category. Family-based priority dates mostly remain the same as last month except for advancements for Mexican nationals in all categories..

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The Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”) has agreed to change its employment authorization (“EAD”) policies for spouses of H-1B workers in H-4 status and spouses of L-1 workers in L-2 status as part of a settlement agreement to end litigation over the long delays in processing EAD renewals. I have explained the terms of the settlement in greater detail below. Please note that this does not affect the processing delays for first-time employment authorization applications.

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USCIS held a webinar yesterday to provide more information on President Biden’s recent directive that allows certain residents of Hong Kong to remain in the U.S. until February 5, 2023. Specifically, residents of Hong Kong who have been continuously present in the United States since August 5, 2021, will be eligible for work and travel permission under the agency’s Deferred Enforced Departure (DED) program until February 5, 2023.

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Effective November 8, 2021, all foreign nationals traveling to the United States by air will be required to show proof of full vaccination prior to boarding the airplane. Very limited exceptions will apply. Any vaccine that is FDA approved or authorized, as well as vaccines with an emergency use listing from the World Health Organization, will be accepted. More information on the different types of acceptable vaccines is available here.

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The White House has announced that the COVID-19-related travel restrictions on travelers from Brazil, China, India, Iran, Ireland, the Schengen Area, South Africa, and the UK will lift on November 8, 2021, for fully vaccinated travelers.

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The Department of State (DOS) has issued its November 2021 Visa Bulletin. Unfortunately, the big news for the November 2021 Visa Bulletin is that priority dates for EB-3 India and China have retrogressed significantly. EB-2 categories continue to have modest forward movement, while family-based priority dates remain the same as last month.

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The online registration period for the annual green card lottery will open tomorrow, Wednesday, October 6, at 12 noon, Eastern Daylight Time (EDT), and end on Tuesday, November 9 at 12 noon, Eastern Standard Time (EST). We recommend registering as soon as possible because the DOS website slows down or freezes due to very heavy traffic towards the end of the registration period.

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Effective December 1, 2021, citizens and nationals of Croatia will be able to travel to the U.S. for tourism or business for up to 90 days without a U.S. visa.

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As part of a greater public outreach effort, the State Department has been hosting discussions about the Visa Bulletin with the Chief of the Visa Control section, Charlie Oppenheim, on the State Department’s YouTube Channel.

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