As of December 12, 2022, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) has updated its policy manual to provide twenty four month automatic extensions to Green Card expirations to Lawful Permanent Residents (“LPRs”) applying for naturalization when they properly file an N-400, Application for Naturalization. The automatic extension applies to those LPRs filing N-400s on or after the 12th of December 2022.
Read moreUS Naturalizations Rose to Record Numbers in the Last Fiscal Year
United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) reported in its Fiscal Year 2022 (“FY 2022”) Progress Report that over one million immigrant adults were naturalized as US citizens in FY 2022. The Service “completed 1,122,300 naturalization cases and naturalized 1,023,200 new U.S. citizens” marking the highest number of naturalized citizens in “almost 15 years” and the “third- highest annual tally recorded in U.S. history.”
Read moreBiden Administration Takes Steps to Maintain STEM Talent in the US
In an effort “to attract global talent to strengthen our economy and technological competitiveness, and benefit working people and communities all across the country”, the Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”) has significantly revised and broadened its policy affecting F-1 students who have earned a qualifying US degree in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (“STEM”).
Read moreUSCIS Policy Manual Revisions
On June 9, 2021, in accordance with President Biden’s executive order 14012 on restoring faith in our legal immigration system, US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) released significant policy revisions in an effort to “eliminate unnecessary barriers to our nation’s legal immigration system and reduce burdens on noncitizens who may be eligible for immigration benefits,” said Acting USCIS Director Tracy Renaud.
The new policy guidance updates the USCIS Policy Manual to “clarify the criteria and circumstances for expedited processing; improve request for evidence (RFE) and notice of intent to deny (NOID) guidance; and increase the validity period for initial and renewal employment authorization documents (EADs) for certain noncitizens with pending adjustment of status applications.”
Read moreDHS Announces Continuation of International Entrepreneur Parole Program
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced on May 10, 2021 that they are withdrawing a Trump-era 2018 notice of proposed rulemaking that would have removed the International Entrepreneur (IE) Parole Program from DHS regulations. This move by the DHS is yet another pro-immigration decision resulting from President Biden’s Executive Order 14012, “Restoring Faith in Our Legal Immigration Systems and Strengthening Integration and Inclusion Efforts for New Americans,” which directs the federal government to “develop welcoming strategies that promote integration, inclusion, and citizenship.”
The International Entrepreneur Parole Program (IE), created by the Obama administration in 2017 and suspended by the Trump administration just before the first eligible entrepreneurs could begin to submit applications, is meant help International entrepreneurs stay in the US to start and grow new companies. While the Trump administration tried to terminate the program, a federal court required US Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) in 2017 to begin accepting international entrepreneur parole applications consistent with the IE final rule. Since that time, USCIS has been accepting and adjudicating applications consistent with existing DHS regulations.
Read moreAs DHS Withdraws Trump-Era Biometrics Rule, USCIS Will Temporarily Suspend Biometrics for Certain I-539 Applicants and Allow Biometrics Phone Rescheduling
Over the past few weeks, both U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) made significant announcements regarding biometrics for certain visa applications as a way of addressing the extensive backlogs for these cases.
Suspending Biometrics for Certain I-539 Applicants
First, effective May 17, USCIS announced that they “will temporarily suspend the biometrics submission requirement for certain applicants filing Form I-539, Application to Extend/Change Nonimmigrant Status, requesting an extension of stay in or change of status to H-4, L-2, and E nonimmigrant status.” USCIS noted that the agency will permit adjudications for those specific categories to proceed based on biographic information and related background checks, without needing fingerprints and a photograph. The temporary suspension will apply through May 17, 2023, and may be extended or revoked by the USCIS director.
This temporary change in policy will impact applicants seeking an extension of stay or change of status to H-4 (spouses and children of H-1B’s), L-2 (spouses and children of L-1’s), and E (dependents of E-1, E-2 and E-3 principal nonimmigrants) status, whose applications were pending on May 17, 2021 and who have not yet received a biometric services appointment notice, as well as those filing their application after May 17, 2021. Unfortunately, O-3 (spouses and children of O-1s) are not included in the temporary biometrics submission suspension.
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