On March 9, 2021, DHS announced that it would no longer defend the 2019 Public Charge Rule (2019 Rule) implemented by the Trump Administration which led to the creation of the Form I-944. Lawsuits were filed challenging the 2019 Rule. It has been confusing at times when the Rule was put on hold, then back on, then only applicable to some jurisdictions. Given that the last court decision was to...
Update: March 17, 2021 USICS issued the following clarifications in light of inconsistencies that were discovered on Form I-821 instructions and the Federal Register Notice Mailing Zip Code Correction The zip code listed in the Federal Register was incorrect. The correct USPS filing addresses are located in the “Where to File” dropdown box on the TPS-Venezuela page on USCIS.gov. Biometrics...
In order to pursue adjustment of status and become a lawful permanent resident (LPR), an applicant must in addition to meeting other requirements have been properly "inspected and admitted or paroled" into the United Sates. Otherwise, the applicant cannot apply for Green Card inside the U.S. A TPS recipient have lawful status in the U.S. given the TPS designation but oftentimes they obtained TPS...
As we have been posting recently, USCIS is experiencing record delays in issuing receipt notices of various applications. We just finally received all receipt notices in connection with I-485 employment based applications in October 2020 (a 4 month wait!). It does not seems like the situation is improving as we are continuing to receive various receipt notices that are 2 to 3 months late. The...
The Biden Administration has revoked or rescinded two Trump era policies: "Buy American and Hire American" (BAHA) Executive Order, andthe 2017 Computer Programmer Memorandum. Revocation of BAHA Executive Order The BAHA executive order was signed on April 18, 2017 by President Trump which aimed to protect and increase wages for US workers by restricting alien worker visas such as H-1B and L-1....
Update 07/29/2021 Pursuant to a court order, these flexibilities have been extended to include applications received from Oct. 1, 2020, through Oct. 31, 2021. For applicants who timely filed Form I-765 for OPT and STEM OPT and whose applications were later rejected, USCIS will accept a refiled Form I-765 as filed on the original filing date if: The original, timely filed application was received...
On February 24, 2021, President Biden rescinded Trump's Immigrant Visa ban (Proclamation 10014) which suspended the entry of certain immigrant visa applicants. However, given the backlog caused by the Covid pandemic and the bans under Trump, the resumption of visa services will not be swift or back to pre-pandemic levels. The Department of State has provided an update on its website regarding...
E-3 status is similar to H-1B but reserved for citizens of Australia. And just like H-1B, there is a limit to the number of E-3 visas available to Australian nationals, but most of these numbers go unused each year. General requirements for E-3 are: Are a national of Australia;Have a legitimate offer of employment in the United States;Possess the necessary academic or other qualifying...
Foreign students can breathe a sigh of relief as a US District Court Judge concluded that DHS did not exceed its statutory authority under the INA in issuing the 2016 STEM Optional Practical Training (OPT) rule, and thus found that both the 12-month OPT and the STEM OPT extension programs are lawful. OPT grants foreign student upon graduation the opportunity to work lawfully for one year and...
In response to Ron Klain's Memo to delay all “midnight regulations”, the proposed rule “Removing H-4 dependent spouses from the class of aliens eligible for employment authorization” will not only be delayed but completely withdrawn by the Department of Homeland Security. Although many may now breath a sigh of relief, the current processing time for H-4 EAD is still a huge impediment....
