Department of Homeland Security

Department of Homeland Security Update: June 6, 2023

Form I-9 Employment Eligibility Verification – Compliance Flexibilities Extended Through August 2023 As coronavirus (“COVID-19”) flexibilities are faded out with the end of the public health emergency, the Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”) and U.S. Immigration Customs and Enforcement (“ICE”) have announced important Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification compliance updates for employers. The Form I-9

Department of Homeland Security

Department of Homeland Security Updates: May 9, 2023

Fiscal Year 2024 H-1B Registration Updates The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) has announced its H-1B cap updates for fiscal year 2024 (“FY 2024”), as it received 780,884 registrations for the year, a 61% increase in registrations from FY 2023. This is the result of over 400,000 eligible registrations for the same individuals,

COVID-19Department of Homeland Security

Department of Homeland Security Updates: April 11, 2023

Premium Processing Expansion for Certain F-1 Students The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (“USCIS”) has expanded premium processing for F-1 Students who have a pending Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization with USCIS and are seeking pre- or post-Optional Practical Training (“OPT”) or science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (“STEM”) OPT extensions. As of March 6,

Department of Homeland SecurityDepartment of State

Department of Homeland Security & Department of State Updates: March 7, 2023

Department of Homeland Security On January 30, 2023, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) began issuing newly redesigned U.S. Permanent Resident Cards (i.e., Green Cards) and Employment Authorization Documents (“EADs”) as part of its fraud prevention program. The new cards are equipped with updated technologies including holographic images, tactile printing, and optically variable ink,

Department of Homeland Security

Department of Homeland Security Updates: February 2, 2023

H-1B Cap Lottery Timelines Released by USCIS The H-1B Cap Season is quickly approaching and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) has recently announced important dates for the upcoming visa lottery. The initial registration period for fiscal year (“FY”) 2024 will run from 11:00 am CST on March 1, 2023, through 11:00 am CST on

Department of Homeland SecurityDepartment of Labor

USCIS Policy Updates & Department of Labor News: January 6, 2023

USCIS Policy Updates for Certain Permanent Residency Card Renewal Applicants In response to lengthy processing times for naturalization applicants, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) has updated its Policy Manual to allow for the automatic extension of Permanent Resident Cards (i.e., “Green Cards”) for individuals with properly filed and pending Form N-400, Application for

Holiday Travel

Holiday Travel Reminders and E-Verify Updates from the Munsch Hardt Immigration Team

Munsch Hardt’s Immigration Team Wishes you a Happy Holiday The Immigration Team at Munsch Hardt wishes you the best this Holiday Season and beyond! Following two years of pandemic cancellations and as countries ease coronavirus (“COVID”) restrictions worldwide, domestic and international travel is forecasted to surge this year for the holidays. A few safety tips

COVID-19Department of Homeland Security

Department of Homeland Security Update: November 8, 2022

Loss of Accreditation Determination by the U.S. Department of Education Based on the recent determination by the U.S. Department of Education that it no longer recognizes the Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools (“ACICS”) as an accrediting agency, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is having to revisit the effect of same on the

Department of Homeland SecurityImmigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) News

USCIS, DHS and ICE Updates

Automatic Extension Period Increased for Green Card Validity As of September 26, 2022, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) began automatically extending the validity of expired Permanent Resident Cards (i.e., green cards) from 12 to 24 months for lawful permanent residents who have timely and properly filed an application to renew an expiring or

Immigration

E-Verify Updates and Immigration Enforcement News

Social Security Administration Resumes Regular E-Verify Timeframes and Operations The Social Security Administration (“SSA”) has resumed its regular E-Verify operations and is no longer providing extended timeframes to resolve employment eligibility verification mismatches for cases referred on or after July 15, 2022. As such, any mismatches referred on or after July 15th must be resolved