22 March

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Terminated Nonimmigrant Workers May Receive 180 Day Grace Period to find New Employment

Terminated Nonimmigrant Workers May Receive 180 Day Grace Period to find New Employment Brandon D. Neuman, Attorney As the tech industry continues to see massive layoffs, foreign workers that are impacted by the layoffs currently have a 60-day grace period to find a new employer who will transfer their visa. If they go beyond 60 days, they are considered out of status and could face issues with future applications. In order to retain these valuable resources, the Biden Administration proposed extending the period to 180 days, which will provide a welcome relief, if implemented. However, this recommendation faces at least two administrative challenges...

17 March

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USCIS Extends H-1B Cap Registration Window to 5 PM ET on Monday, March 20, 2023

Posted by Katie Wu

in H-1B, USCIS-General

Due to a technical issue users were experiencing with the MyUSCIS H-1B cap registration website yesterday, USCIS has extended the registration window until 5 PM ET on Monday, March 20, 2023. They confirmed that any paid and completed registrations were not impacted by this technical issue....

14 March

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USCIS Announces Premium Processing and Online-Filing for Certain F-1 Students

Posted by Katie Wu

in F-1, STEM OPT, USCIS-General

USCIS announced last week that it will expand premium processing to certain F-1 students requesting employment authorization based on their being approved for optional practical training (OPT) or STEM OPT. This expansion will occur in phased approaches. Beginning March 6, USCIS started accepting Form I-907 requests, filed via mail or online, for certain F-1 students who have a pending Form I-765 under the following categories: (c)(3)(A) – Pre-Completion OPT; (c)(3)(B) – Post-Completion OPT; and (c)(3)(C) – 24-Month Extension of OPT for STEM students. Beginning April 3, it will accept Form I-907 requests, filed via mail or online, for F-1 students in the...

16 February

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State Department Plans Launch of Domestic Visa Renewal Pilot

Posted by Katie Wu

in State Department

In a recent interview with Bloomberg Law, a State Department official stated that the agency plans on starting a pilot program this year to permit temporary visa holders to renew their visas within the U.S. without the need to travel and apply at an embassy/consulate abroad. This stateside visa renewal option is intended to be initially available to H and L visa holders and may eventually be expanded to other visa types. This stateside visa renewal program, which was previously available up until it was discontinued in Summer 2004, should hopefully provide more flexibility for foreign workers to travel abroad and...

16 February

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USCIS Updates Age Calculation Under Child Status Protection Act

Posted by Katie Wu

in AOS, Green Cards, State Department

Effective immediately, USCIS issued guidance in its Policy Manual to update when an immigrant visa “becomes available” for the purpose of calculating a noncitizen child’s age under the Child Status Protection Act (CSPA). Under this new guidance, USCIS will now use the “Dates for Filing” chart to calculate a child’s age for CSPA purposes. Under the previous CSPA guidance, USCIS considered a visa available based only on the “Final Action Date” chart, even if an individual could apply for adjustment of status using the earlier date in the “Dates for Filing” chart. This update in USCIS’ policy guidance applies to pending...

26 January

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USCIS Extends COVID-19-related Flexibilities for Responses

Posted by Katie Wu

in USCIS-General

USCIS announced the extension of certain COVID-19-related flexibilities through March 23, 2023. Barring any changes presented by the pandemic, USCIS anticipates this will be the final extension of these accommodations. For certain requests and notices issued between March 1, 2020, and March 23, 2023, inclusive, USCIS will consider a response that is received within 60 calendar days after the due date set forth in the notice before taking any action. This includes: Requests for Evidence; Continuations to Request Evidence (N-14); Notices of Intent to Deny; Notices of Intent to Revoke; Notices of Intent to Rescind; Notices of Intent to Terminate regional...

18 January

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USCIS Announces Final Phase of Premium Processing Expansion for Initially Filed EB-1 and EB-2 NIW Form I-140 Petitions and Future Expansion for Students and Exchange Visitors

Posted by Katie Wu

in EAD, F-1, Green Cards, STEM OPT, Uncategorized, USCIS-General

USCIS announced last week it will begin implementing its final phase of premium processing by permitting new (initial) Form I-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Workers, filed under the E13 multinational executive and manager classification (EB1C) or the E21 classification as a member of professions with advanced degrees or exceptional ability seeking a national interest waiver (NIW) to be filed with premium processing. Beginning January 30, 2023, USCIS will accept premium processing requests for: All initial EB1C multinational executive and manager and E21 NIW petitions; and All pending EB1C multinational executive and manager and E21 NIW petitions. Moreover, USCIS announced that beginning in March...

14 December

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DOL Processing Delays Causing Concern for H-1B Max Out Cases

Posted by Katie Wu

in Green Cards, H-1B, Uncategorized, US DOL

Summary It is critical to start the Green Card process early. Employers should be mindful of the approaching H-1B max out dates to ensure there is sufficient time to obtain an I-140 approval and maintain the status and work authorization for their valuable talent. The days of completing the PERM process within 1 year are gone.  Since the pandemic began, we have seen Department of Labor (“DOL”) processing times slowly increase and have become a major source of stress for our employers as H-1B max out dates approach. As a general rule, H-1B visa holders are entitled to 6 years total in...

01 November

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Impact of ACICS’ Loss of Accreditation on F-1, H-1B, and I-140 Applicants

Posted by Katie Wu

in Green Cards, H-1B, STEM OPT, Uncategorized, USCIS-General

In an alert released today, USCIS announced that on August 19, 2022, the U.S. Department of Education (ED) no longer recognizes the Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools (ACICS) as an accrediting agency. This determination immediately impacts two immigration-related F-1 student programs: 1. English language study programs 2. F-1 visa holders applying for a 24-month science, engineering, technology, or mathematics (STEM) optional practical training (OPT) extension. For the English language study program applicants, USCIS will issue Requests for Evidence (RFEs) to any individuals who have filed an I-539, Application to Extend/Change Nonimmigrant Status, on or after August 19, 2022, requesting a...

25 August

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USCIS Reaches Fiscal Year 2023 H-1B Cap

Posted by Katie Wu

in H-1B

USCIS announced this week that it has received a sufficient number of petitions needed to reach the congressionally mandated 85,000 total cap for fiscal year (FY) 2023. USCIS has also indicated it has completed sending non-selection notifications to registrants’ online accounts. The status for registrations properly submitted for the FY 2023 H-1B numerical allocations, but that were not selected, should now show: Not selected – not eligible to file an H-1B cap petition based on this registration. Any employer wishing to sponsor an employee who was not selected in this year’s single selection will need to register that employee again when USCIS...

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