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The Department of Homeland Security announced this week that it would extend and re-designate Yemen for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for 18 months, from Sept. 4, 2021, through March 3, 2023.
Key Points:
Additional Information: The decision to extend TPS for Yemeni citizens was made due to the ongoing conflict, lack of food, water and healthcare, COVID-19 pandemic, ongoing cholera outbreak and destruction of Yemen’s infrastructure, DHS said. The extension and re-designation permits additional eligible Yemenis to apply or re-apply for TPS and EADs. BAL will provide additional information as it becomes available.
This alert has been provided by the BAL U.S. Practice group. For additional information, please contact berryapplemanleiden@bal.com.
Copyright © 2021 Berry Appleman & Leiden LLP. All rights reserved. Reprinting or digital redistribution to the public is permitted only with the express written permission of Berry Appleman & Leiden LLP. For inquiries please contact copyright@bal.com.
The U.S. State Department has extended the validity period of national interest exceptions (NIEs) for travelers who are subject to U.S. COVID-19 entry bans.
BAL Analysis: The change will ease travel procedures for those who qualify for an NIE to the U.S.’s COVID-19 entry restrictions. It is important to note that to be valid for 12 months for multiple entries, the NIE must be used for the same purpose under which it was granted. Employers and employees are reminded that a number of travel restrictions remain in place, and the government issues frequent updates to its guidance. Many consulates continue to operate at a limited capacity, and applicants should expect significant delays in obtaining visa appointments. Foreign nationals should continue to consult their BAL professional before planning international travel.
This alert has been provided by the BAL U.S. Practice group. For additional information, please contact berryapplemanleiden@balglobal.com.
Copyright © 2021 Berry Appleman & Leiden LLP. All rights reserved. Reprinting or digital redistribution to the public is permitted only with the express written permission of Berry Appleman & Leiden LLP. For inquiries please contact copyright@balglobal.com.
The Department of Homeland Security will formally withdraw its “duration of status” rule that would have set maximum periods of stay for foreign students, exchange visitors and media personnel.
BAL Analysis: The duration of status rule never took effect, and the move to withdraw it confirms that current rules on duration of status for F, J, and I nonimmigrants will remain in place.
This alert has been provided by Berry Appleman & Leiden. For additional information, please contact berryapplemanleiden@bal.com.
As countries around the world ease COVID-19 entry restrictions this summer, employees may be planning trips to visit family abroad or vacation overseas and renew their visas simultaneously. A number of U.S. travel restrictions remain in place, however, and employers and employees are urged to continue to take additional precautions, consult their BAL professional and weigh considerations when planning international travel.
Key travel considerations:
BAL Analysis: Recent changes make travel from the U.S. to many countries easier. A number of U.S. travel restrictions remain in place, however, which may make re-entry to the United States difficult or impossible. Travelers should also anticipate delays or limited availability of consular services abroad. Employers and employees should continue to consult their BAL professional before planning any international travel.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) recently announced that it would accept resubmitted H-1B cap-subject petitions that were rejected last year because the requested start date was after Oct. 1, 2020.
Background: USCIS conducted a second H-1B lottery in August last year after the number of H-1B petitions received during the initial filing period was below the number needed to reach numerical allocations. Some of the petitions that were filed following the second lottery included a start date after Oct. 1, 2020. These petitions were rejected or administratively closed. USCIS now says they will be reconsidered.
BAL Analysis: The change will likely affect only a very limited number of petitioners and beneficiaries. Those who believe a petition was rejected solely because of the start date are encouraged to work with BAL to determine whether the petition should be resubmitted.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) recently updated its guidance regarding eligibility requirements for adjustment of status under Liberian Refugee Immigration Fairness (LRIF).
Additional Information: As part of the National Defense Authorization Act for 2020, the LRIF allows Liberian nationals and eligible spouses and dependents to apply for permanent residence until Dec. 20, 2021, if they have been continually physically present in the U.S. since Nov. 20, 2014. Applications must be received by Dec. 20 to be considered for permanent residence.
Companies filing H-1B cap petitions for fiscal year 2022 are reminded that the 90-day filing period closes at the end of June.
Additional Information: USCIS saw a surge H-1B in registrations this year, receiving 308,613 from more than 37,000 employers. The number of registrations marked a 12.5% increase over last year’s total. Overall, 87,500 (or about 28%) of the FY 2022 registrations were selected to submit H-1B petitions. USCIS said it continues to monitor filing rates this year to determine whether it will select additional registrations to meet the FY 2022 numerical limitations.
BAL Analysis: Companies should work with their BAL professional to ensure that their H-1B cap petitions are filed before the end of the month. The USCIS data demonstrates the popularity of the H-1B program and continued high demand for the limited annual number of visas. Employers may wish to work with their BAL attorney to consider alternatives for registrations that were not selected in March’s lottery. BAL will continue to monitor the possibility that USCIS will invite more registrants to submit H-1B petitions for FY 2022.
The Senate Judiciary Committee voted 11-10 Thursday to advance President Joe Biden’s nomination of Ur Jaddou for director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).
Additional Information: Biden announced Jaddou’s nomination in April, and the Judiciary Committee held a confirmation hearing May 26. As director of USCIS, Jaddou would lead the agency’s efforts to improve immigration policies and processes, including the implementation of President Joe Biden’s Feb. 2 Executive Order on legal immigration. BAL will continue to track the confirmation process and USCIS’s policies on immigration, and will provide updates on important developments as they occur.
A federal judge has vacated a Department of Labor (DOL) rule that would have amended wage obligations for certain temporary visa classifications and permanent labor certifications (PERM).
Background: In December, Judge White set aside the Trump administration’s DOL rule and a DHS rule that amended H-1B eligibility criteria. DOL issued a final version of the wage regulation on Jan. 14, and after the change in administrations, the agency delayed the rule’s effective date until 2022. The plaintiffs in the case subsequently amended their complaint to challenge the updated version of the DOL rule and the H-1B lottery prioritization rule.
BAL Analysis: Now that the DOL wage rule has been vacated, the matter will go back to the agency for further review and consideration. BAL will continue to follow the litigation as it relates to the H-1B lottery prioritization rule and will update clients as information becomes available.
Sixty 60 U.S. companies and trade organizations have signed a friend-of-the-court brief urging the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit to protect Optional Practical Training (OPT) for F-1 Students.
OPT allows F-1 students who graduate from a U.S. university to work for 12 months in their field of study and for an additional 24 months if they have a degree in science, technology, engineering or math (STEM). Litigation challenging the OPT program has been ongoing since 2014, and the plaintiffs in the lawsuit, the Washington Alliance of Technology Workers (“WashTech”), are now appealing a district court’s ruling that OPT is lawful.
In their brief, the companies said that employers “consistently struggle to fill STEM jobs and often face significant and persistent vacancies” in STEM positions.
“The OPT and STEM OPT programs are critical to addressing that deficit,” the brief says. “As (we) have seen firsthand, these essential programs mitigate the immediate shortfall of STEM-skilled individuals, while ameliorating that problem in the long term by educating and training the next generation of STEM workers.”
BAL Analysis: Supporters of the OPT programs won a significant legal victory in November, when a judge concluded that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has legal authority to allow foreign students to work in the U.S. after graduation under the programs. WashTech is appealing the ruling, and some of the U.S.’s largest and most powerful companies are now urging the circuit court to uphold the program’s legality. BAL will continue to follow the litigation and will provide updates on important developments relating to OPT.