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U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced that qualifying Forms I-693, Report of Immigration Medical Examination and Vaccination Record, issued on or after Nov. 1, 2023, can be used indefinitely as proof of health.
Key Points:
Additional Information: The new guidance is a result of collaboration between USCIS and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to improve the reporting of public health information collected on Form I-693.
This alert has been provided by the BAL U.S. Practice Group.
Copyright © 2024 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.
USCIS released a new fact sheet with data spanning fiscal years 2016-2024 that shows the progress made in reducing processing times.
Additional Information: The agency said the opening of the new Humanitarian, Adjustment, Removing Conditions and Travel Documents (HART) Service Center will help in further reducing processing times for Form I-601, Form I-730 and Form I-918. It added that progress has been made in reducing processing times for EB-5 immigrant investor forms with the hiring of new staff. Individuals can refer to the Check Case Processing Times page to help determine how long processing will take.
The U.S. Embassy in India recently announced new measures to consolidate B1/B2 interview waiver appointments.
Additional Information: Applicants with appointments booked prior to Nov. 15, 2023, may proceed with their appointment to the VAC or Document Dropoff Center with the updated DS-160 confirmation page. For appointments booked on or after Nov. 15, 2023, applicants must bring the original DS-160 confirmation page used to schedule the appointment and resubmit with a new updated DS-160 confirmation page to the VAC or Document Dropoff location on the day of the appointment.
BAL Analysis: The consolidation is part of the U.S. Mission’s continuing efforts to streamline visa processing. India set a record last year, processing a record-breaking 1.4 million U.S. visas in 2023, and reduced B1/B2 visitor visa wait times from 1,000 to 250 days. Visa applicants are encouraged to check the U.S. Embassy & Consulates visas website for additional updates.
The cost of running an immigration program at a U.S. company just went up — a lot.
On Jan. 31, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services published a final regulation to raise immigration filing fees — and high-skilled categories saw some of the biggest increases. On April 1, the fee for an H-1B petition increased from $460 to $780 (70%), and the fee for an L-1 intracompany transfer petition increased from $460 to $1,385 (201%). All of that is before a new $600 Asylum Program Fee ($300 for small employers) is added on for each employment-based nonimmigrant or immigrant filing. Analysis from the BAL Government Strategies team shows that a typical small- or medium-sized company may see the amount they spend on filing fees more than double.
None of this is good news.
At the same time, the fee increases present an opportunity for companies to take stock of their immigration programs and reassess whether they are doing everything they can to take advantage of policy improvements that the Biden administration has made.
The fee increases are the first since 2016, and USCIS has said it will put the additional revenue to good use — not only by helping them meet the challenge of expanded humanitarian programs but also by improving processing times and reducing backlogs for employment-based filings. While the business community was clear that it would have liked to see USCIS implement additional efficiencies before raising fees, the administration has shown good faith by working to streamline programs with its current funding level. Consider:
Understandably, we have heard plenty at BAL from employers frustrated with how dramatically fees increased. What we have not heard, however, is that employers plan on dramatically cutting back their immigration programs. This is good news — and not only because it means companies will continue to recruit top workers to help keep them competitive.
Despite higher fees, there is ample evidence that it is a good idea to invest in foreign workers now, at a time of generally favorable policies. Take the H-1B program as one example. The H-1B registration fee has increased from $10 to $215 for next year’s cap registration, which gave employers an incentive to put eligible employees in the lottery this year if they were able to do so. On top of that, for beneficiaries that were not selected, employers have more favorable options for H-1B alternatives now than they previously did. The administration has added new qualifying fields of study to its STEM Designated Degree Program List, making more recent graduates eligible for extended Optional Practical Training. Officials also provided clarifying guidance on O-1 “extraordinary ability” visa criteria, making this category an increasingly common option.
None of the administration’s immigration programs are ensured to continue under future administrations. In the current political environment, there is no telling how long they will last.
Donald Trump has emerged as the Republican Party’s presumptive nominee for president. Whatever you think of Trump’s politics, it is plainly true that when he was in office, it was harder to recruit and retain high-skilled foreign workers. H-1B denial rates skyrocketed and processing backlogs ballooned at understaffed agencies. COVID-19 only made the problems worse.
Nobody knows what Trump may do if he wins this year’s election, but it certainly seems unlikely he would decrease immigration fees. Employers could be stuck with higher rates for reduced services.
The adage “never let a crisis go to waste” is instructive as employers face higher costs and uncertainty about the future of favorable immigration policies. While no one enjoys paying higher fees, employers should review their immigration strategies to take advantage of easier processes now before it’s too late.
John is a partner and head of BAL’s New York office focused on corporate clients with a range of immigration-specific issues and challenges. This article originally appeared in the most recent edition of Mobility Magazine.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services is now accepting H-1B petitions for cap-subject visas.
The U.S. Embassy in India moves to streamline appointments.
And why now is a good time for U.S. employers to rethink immigration strategies.
Get this news and more in the new episode of BAL’s podcast, the BAL Immigration Report, available on Apple, Spotify and Google Podcasts or on the BAL news site.
Copyright © 2024 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]copyright@bal.com.
U.S. Immigration and Citizenship Services announced a temporary final rule Thursday increasing the automatic extension period for certain employment authorization documents to up to 540 days.
Additional Information: Generally, automatic EAD extensions remain valid for a maximum of 180 days after expiration, but the Department of Homeland Security acknowledged that the longer extension is necessary because of application volume and processing times. The agency said that without the longer extensions nearly 800,000 EAD renewal applicants “would be in danger of experiencing a lapse in their employment authorization, and approximately 60,000 to 80,000 employers would be negatively impacted as a result of such a lapse.” Eligibility requirements for automatic extensions can be found on the USCIS Automatic EAD Extension page.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services revised Form N-400 to provide a third gender option, “X.”
Additional Information: Form N-400, the naturalization certificate, is the only USCIS form offering the X gender option at this time. Individuals must wait until USCIS revises all other forms to include the X gender option. Once additional forms are updated with the X gender option, benefit requestors can follow these instructions to select the X gender option. The U.S. began accepting applications for gender-neutral passports in April 2022.
It’s that time of year again for employers planning to secure nonimmigrant talent.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services conducted the H-1B lottery last week to determine which registrations will be eligible to file petitions. Although the data on this year’s lottery selection rates is not yet available, the good news is that the current trend in low H-1B denial rates means a high probability of approval for those who have been selected. This hasn’t always been the case.
Despite significant improvements in recent years, H-1B denial rates have fluctuated wildly under the different administrations. From 2013 to 2015, during the Obama administration, the H-1B denial rates for initial employment were 7%, 8% and 6%, according to analysis of USCIS data by the National Foundation for American Policy. They rose substantially to 10% in 2016, the first year of the Trump administration.
With that administration’s more restrictive policies — including the “Buy American and Hire America Executive Order” of 2017 and the “Recission of the December 22, 2000 Guidance memo on H-1B computer-related positions,” which instructed adjudicators to deny petitions for many occupations interpreted as not requiring a bachelor’s degree — denial rates surged from prior years, peaking at 24% in 2018.
Source: National Foundation for American Policy
During the last year of the Trump administration, denial rates dropped to 13% in 2020 due in part to adverse judicial rulings. Denial rates continued to drop under the Biden administration, hitting their lowest point in 2022.
There was a slight bump in denial rates from fiscal year 2022 (2.2%) to fiscal year 2023 (3.5%), the NFAP analysis showed. The NFAP reported that about 200 medium-sized businesses accounted for two-thirds of these denials, possibly because smaller and medium-sized companies may not have expert counsel or structured immigration programs that can help ensure the right legal requirements are met. For larger companies — which typically utilize dedicated immigration counsel — denial rates are nearer to zero percent. This low denial rate trend is not likely to reverse itself for the remainder of 2024.
Whether the trend will continue beyond that is up in the air. After all, this is an election year. Under a Biden administration, denial rates could hover near the current status quo. However, a Trump administration could be less predictable and return to more restrictive policies.
The decline in H-1B denials has brought predictability that didn’t exist for employers just a few years ago. For larger employers who utilize immigration counsel, the H-1B denial rate is near zero, compared to nearly 25% in 2018.
This year’s changes to the H-1B selection process do add a bit of unpredictability because beneficiaries selected in the lottery will get to choose among employers if more than one employer submitted a registration on their behalf.
And in the broader picture, the overwhelming demand for a limited supply of H-1B cap-subject visas (just 85,000 per year) still makes planning a challenge. The new selection process may eventually lead to an improved lottery selection rate; however, legislative action is needed to address the perpetual H-1B visa shortfall.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has opened the 90-day filing period for petitioners whose registrations were selected in this year’s H-1B lottery.
Additional Information: Under an H-1B rule published in February, USCIS switched to a beneficiary-centric lottery this year, meaning each beneficiary could be selected only once, regardless of how many registrations were submitted on their behalf. While this change may lead to a higher selection rate, USCIS has not yet provided information on how many registrations were submitted or selected this year. Employers are encouraged to work with their BAL attorney to explore H-1B alternatives for job candidates whose registrations were not selected in the lottery.
Copyright © 2024 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
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has begun sending H-1B cap selection notices to myUSCIS accounts and will continue doing so over the next few days, the agency said Thursday.
Background: Under a recently published regulation, the agency switched to a beneficiary-centric lottery this year, meaning each beneficiary can be selected only once, regardless of how many registrations were submitted on their behalf. While this change may lead to a higher selection rate, USCIS has not yet provided information on how many registrations were submitted or selected this year. BAL will provide updates as information becomes available.