In an effort to alleviate travel related difficulties and the lengthy appointment backlogs created by the global COVID-19 pandemic at US Embassies and Consulates worldwide, the State Department in conjunction with the Department of Homeland Security announced that “U.S. citizens currently overseas whose passports expired on or after January 1, 2020, may be able to use their expired U.S. passport for direct return travel to the United States until December 31, 2021.” The State Department’s new exception for expired passports applies to adults, whose documents are valid for 10 years, and to children, whose passports expire after 5 years.
Read moreMemorial Day 2021
With the unofficial start of summer right around the corner, we are treasuring our times outdoors, including at Kew Gardens in London. Just thirty minutes from Central London, Kew Gardens is a UNESCO World Heritage site with over 50,000 living plants. From the Arboretum to an Alpine rock garden, there's something for everyone. It’s the perfect place to be in nature and plan for the summer ahead, reflect on the challenges of the past year, and commemorate the Memorial Day holiday (US) or just the joy of having another Bank Holiday in May (UK). We wish you and yours a safe holiday weekend, as well as some free time to take a walk outside and breathe in the changing season. And, for those of you in the eastern United States, watch out for the cicadas. They are coming for us all.
AILA files Lawsuit Challenging H-1B Wage-Based Selection Process
On Monday, May 17, 2021 under the representation of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), five nonprofit organizations and businesses filed a lawsuit against President Joe Biden’s administration challenging the move from an H-1B lottery system to a wage-based selection process.
The suit addresses the implementation of a Trump administration regulation that replaced the H-1B random, computerized H-1B lottery with a system that allocates H-1B visa numbers according to the Department of Labor’s four-level wage system. The final rule which was made effective as of March 9, 2021, and later delayed by the Biden administration to December 31, 2021, gives priority in the H-1B selection process to foreign nationals whose offered salary falls within the highest level of their occupation, continuing on to select cases in descending order from OES wage levels III, II and I.
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.
Read moreBiden Administration to Restrict Travel from India Effective May 4, 2021
On April 30, 2021, President Biden issued a Presidential Proclamation which imposes COVID-19-related travel restrictions on certain individuals traveling into the US from India effective Tuesday, May 4, 2021, in an effort to prevent the further spread of COVID-19. The proclamation restricts and suspends the entry into the US of nonimmigrants and noncitizens of the US who were physically present within India during the fourteen-day period preceding their entry or attempted entry into the United States.
Read moreUSCIS Will Once Again Give Deference to Previous Decisions for Extension Requests
On April 27, 2021, US Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) issued updated guidance in the USCIS Policy Manual effective immediately instructing officers to once again give deference to prior determinations when adjudicating extension of petition validity requests “involving the same parties and facts unless there was a material error, material change, or new material facts.” In doing so, “USCIS is reverting in substance to previous long-standing guidance issued in 2004”, which had been rescinded in 2017.
Read moreUSCIS Announces Form I-765 Can Now Be Filed Online by F-1 Students Seeking Optional Practical Training
On April 12, 2021, US Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that F-1 students seeking optional practical training (OPT) can now file Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization, online as long as they are filing under one of these categories:
(c)(3)(A) – Pre-Completion OPT;
(c)(3)(B) – Post-Completion OPT; and
(c)(3)(C) – 24-Month Extension of OPT for science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) students.
President Biden Lets Trump’s Suspension of Certain Work Visas Including H-1B’s Expire
President Biden has let former President Trump’s Presidential Proclamation 10052, which temporarily suspended the entry of certain H-1B, H-2B, J (for certain categories within the Exchange Visitor Program), and L nonimmigrants, expire on March 31, 2021. In their announcement regarding the expiration of PP 10052, the Department of State (DOS) noted that “visa applicants who have not yet been interviewed or scheduled for an interview will have their applications prioritized and processed in accordance with existing Visa Services Operating Status Update guidance.”
Read moreThe Musical Brain on the High Line
In New York City, you never know when or where Art might happen. From now until March 2022, you can take a stroll along the High Line and encounter “The Musical Brain.” The group exhibition, named for a short story by Argentine writer César Aria, reflects on the theme of the power that music has to bring people together. For his contribution, Brooklyn-based artist Raúl de Nieves has created colorful figures placed on park benches throughout the High Line to honor the magical and intricate stage costumes that musicians wear. To me, they are reminiscent of some of David Bowie’s magnificent costumes. Can you hear me, Major Tom?