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In March, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced a new temporary flexibility in complying with requirements related to Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification, due to COVID-19.   This temporary policy was originally scheduled to last for 60 days, however, due to ongoing pandemic conditions, USCIS extended the policy…

The production of certain Employment Authorization Documents (EAD) have been delayed due to to COVID-19.  Today, USCIS announced that due to these production delays, employees may use Form I-797, Notice of Action, with a Notice date on or after December 1, 2019 through and including August 20, 2020 for Form I-9 employment eligibility verification purposes. …

Petitioners with registrations selected in the FY 2021 H-1B cap lottery may begin filing as of April 1, 2020. The period for filing H-1B cap-subject petitions will be at least 90 days and the submission must include a printed copy of the registration selection notice. USCIS released the following statistics in relation to FY 2021…

By Catherine V. Wadhwani and Robert S. Whitehill

Without fanfare, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) recently updated its website with an Alert https://www.uscis.gov/greencard/public-charge relating to its Public Charge requirements in the context of the Novel Corona Virus Disease (COVID-19) pandemic.  As concerns about the spread of COVID-19 in the U.S. increase, USCIS recognized that …

USCIS’s new online portal for H-1B cap registration officially opened today.  Employers and their Representatives may submit H-1B cap registrations starting today, March 1, 2020, through noon Eastern on March 20, 2020.  All FY 2021 cap registrations must be submitted during this time.  USCIS will run the H-1B cap lotteries between the close of the…

To update my September 5, 2019 post, USCIS has announced a final rule that requires a $10 non-refundable registration fee for each cap-subject H-1B submitted by petitioning employers.  USCIS announced that this registration fee will modernize operations and allow the agency to more efficiently process H-1B applications.  The rule goes into effect on December 9,…

In our continuing series of reports, Charles (“Charlie”) Oppenheim, Chief of the Visa Control and Reporting Division, U.S. Department of State, shares his most recent analysis of current trends and future projections for the various immigrant preference categories with AILA (the American Immigration Lawyers’ Association).

Below are highlights from the most recent “check-in with Charlie”…

Yesterday, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced the launch of a new and expanded E-Verify website, E-Verify.gov.  The website, which is in both the English and Spanish languages, includes sections for Employers, Employees, About E-Verify and myE-Verify.   E-Verify is a web-based system that allows enrolled employers to confirm the eligibility of their employees…

Last evening, President Trump delivered his State of the Union Address, which touched on many aspects of immigration.  The President’s plan consists of four pillars, summarized below:

1.)  Path to Citizenship for 1.8 million “illegal” immigrants (often referred to as Dreamers) who were brought here by their parents at a young age.  President Trump…