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The Department of Homeland Security will extend the bans on nonessential land travel across the U.S. borders with Canada and Mexico, according to Federal Register notices set to be published on Wednesday, June 23.
Key Points:
Additional Information: The bans on nonessential travel across land borders from Canada and Mexico have been in place since March 2020 and subsequently extended for 30-day periods since then.
This alert has been provided by Berry Appleman & Leiden. 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.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will automatically reschedule anyone who had an appointment canceled because of the Juneteenth holiday, the agency said.
Key Point
Background: Juneteenth commemorates the end of slavery in the United States. It falls on June 19 and was observed on Friday since June 19 is a Saturday this year.
This alert has been provided by the BAL U.S. Practice group. For additional information, please contact berryapplemanleiden@balglobal.com.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has announced that in July it will accept employment-based applications for adjustment of status based on the State Department’s Final Action Dates chart.
The Dates for Filing chart published in the July Visa Bulletin will not apply. Employment-based immigrants must follow the Final Action Dates chart (below) to determine whether they are eligible to file their petitions for adjustment of status with USCIS.
Final Action Dates for Employment-Based Preference Cases:
Additional Information: July will mark the seventh time this fiscal year that USCIS will use Final Action Dates for employment-based adjustment-of-status applications. Family-based applicants may use the applicable Dates for Filing chart, except for F2A category applicants, who may use Final Action Dates.
Priority-date cutoffs will advance significantly in key employment-based categories next month, according to the State Department’s July Visa Bulletin.
Key movements in July:
EB-1
EB-2
EB-3
The State Department also released its Dates for Filing Chart for July. Applicants seeking to file for adjustment of status are reminded that the chart does not take effect unless U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services confirms that it does via a web posting after the Visa Bulletin is released.
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 Department of Homeland Security (DHS) published its semi-annual regulatory agenda last week, offering a glimpse of some of the Biden administration’s top immigration priorities in the coming months.
Key employment-based immigration regulations:
Additional Information: The full DHS regulatory agenda is available here.
BAL Analysis: While the regulations would have significant impact on key immigration programs, they are at different stages in the rulemaking process and policies are still being formulated. Proposed regulations are subject to a public notice-and-comment period during which members of the public may submit feedback. DHS is required to review and consider the comments before drafting and releasing a final regulation. Normally, it takes several months after a proposed regulation is published before a final rule is issued, and most final rules do not take effect immediately upon publication. BAL continues to monitor the regulatory agenda and provide clients with updates on individual regulations as they move through the rulemaking process.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) received 308,613 H-1B registrations in March and selected 87,500 to submit H-1B petitions for the 2022 fiscal year, the agency announced Thursday.
BAL Analysis: The USCIS data demonstrates the ongoing popularity of the H-1B program and continued high demand for the limited annual number of visas. Employers are encouraged to work with their BAL attorney to consider alternatives for registrations that were not selected in March’s lottery. BAL will also continue to monitor the possibility that USCIS will invite more registrants to submit H-1B petitions for FY 2022.
This alert has been provided by Berry Appleman & Leiden. For additional information, please contact berryapplemanleiden@bal.com.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced temporary filing flexibilities from June 10 until Aug. 9 for applicants and petitioners affected by lockbox processing delays.
Additional Information: The flexibilities apply only to benefit requests submitted to a USICS lockbox. Filing flexibility will not be granted for requests submitted to USCIS service centers or field offices.
BAL Analysis: BAL continues to monitor the processing delays and will provide updates to clients as additional information becomes available.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced new updates to the USCIS Policy Manual Wednesday, including changes to how the agency considers requests for expedited processing, the issuance of Requests for Evidence (RFEs) and Notices of Intent to Deny (NOIDs) and the validity period of certain Employment Authorization Documents (EADs).
Background: The changes to the USCIS policy manual are consistent with the goals of President Joe Biden’s Feb. 2 Executive Order on legal immigration. The agency has made a number of policy adjustments pursuant to the Executive Order, including its April 27 guidance on deference to prior approvals and its temporary policy to suspend certain biometrics requirements. The New York Times recently reported that the Biden administration continues to take steps to “rebuild and expand” legal immigration, citing a 46-page internal May 3 document titled “D.H.S. Plan to Restore Trust in Our Legal Immigration System.”
BAL Analysis: USCIS has taken a number of positive steps in recent months to improve immigration policies and processes, and BAL has recommended additional actions to reduce barriers to employment-based immigration. BAL will continue to track USCIS’s policies on immigration and will provide updates on important developments as they occur.
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Monday that Temporary Protected Status (TPS) recipients who entered the country unlawfully are not eligible to apply for permanent residence (green cards) through adjustment of status.
The Court agreed to hear the case in January, after the Third Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a district court ruling and held that the government’s grant of TPS did not amount to being “admitted” to the country for purposes of applying to become a lawful permanent resident (LPR). The Supreme Court upheld the Third Circuit’s ruling. The decision was unanimous.
“The TPS statute permits [the petitioner] to remain in the country; and it deems him in nonimmigrant status for purposes of applying to become an LPR,” Justice Elena Kagan wrote for the Court. “But the statute does not constructively ‘admit’ a TPS recipient … And because a grant of TPS does not come with a ticket of admission, it does not eliminate the disqualifying effect of an unlawful entry.”
Additional Information: The Court’s ruling in Sanchez v. Wolf is available here.
The Labor Department has posted updated processing times for permanent labor certification (PERM) applications and prevailing wage determination (PWD) requests.
PERM Processing: As of May 31, the department was adjudicating applications filed in December and earlier, conducting audit reviews on applications filed in July and earlier, and reviewing appeals for reconsideration filed in February and earlier.
Average PERM processing times:
PWD Processing: As of May 31, the National Prevailing Wage Center was processing PWD requests filed in January and earlier for H-1B and December and earlier for PERM cases, according to the Labor Department. Redeterminations were being considered on appeals filed in April and earlier for H-1B and PERM cases. Center director reviews were being conducted for H-1B and PERM cases filed in April and earlier.
Average times for issuance of PWDs:
BAL Analysis: BAL’s internal case tracking is consistent with the Labor Department’s published processing times. BAL is seeing approvals for PERM applications filed in December and earlier and is starting to see PWDs for requests filed in January and earlier.