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 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

Department of Homeland Security

Department of Homeland Security Updates

Form I-9 COVID Flexibilities Extended Through October 21, 2022 The Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”) has extended I-9 flexibilities enacted in response to stay-at-home orders and document renewal difficulties faced during the COVID-19 pandemic. The flexibilities, which were set to expire on April 30, 2022, have been extended through October 31, 2022. In addition to

COVID-19Department of Homeland Security

New Travel Restrictions + DHS Update

International Travel Update: On November 26th, 2021, the White House issued a proclamation suspending and limiting entry into the United States for certain individuals traveling from Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe which are the countries where the COVID-19 Omicron variant has been detected in substantive numbers thus far. Restrictions began

COVID-19

Vaccine Requirement, Non-Essential Travel + Visa Application Procedure Updates

The Department of State Releases Changes to Vaccine Requirements for Immigrant, Nonimmigrant, and K Fiancé(e) Visa Applicants Effective October 1, 2021, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (“CDC”) instructions for panel physicians requires all immigrant visa, K visa applicants, and nonimmigrant visa applicants who are referred to the panel physicians to receive a full

Department of Homeland Security

Immigration Insights – DHS Update

– United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has agreed to extend the validity period of receipt notices issued to conditional permanent residents with pending Removal of Condition applications. The receipt notices, used by the conditional residents to prove their legal status, employment, and travel eligibility in the U.S. currently are valid for 18 months.

Department of Homeland Security

Immigration Insights – DHS Update

In March 2021, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) conducted the initial lottery round for the electronic H-1B registrations for the fiscal year (FY) 2022 H-1B cap. The petition filing period for the selected registrations was from April 1, 2021 to June 30, 2021. USCIS uses historical data related to H-1B petition approvals, denials

Department of Homeland Security

Immigration Insights – DHS Update

While the pandemic wreaked havoc on many immigration processes and has resulted in some breaks in employers’ I-9 compliance, E-Verify program obligations for employment eligibility verification have not been relaxed. E-Verify requires all subscribed employers to take action on cases designated as “tentative nonconfirmation case” (TNC) for their employees within 10 federal government working days.

Immigration

Updates from the DOS and USCIS + Updated Guidance for Form I-9

DOS Update The Department of State (DOS) has extended the validity of National Interest Exceptions (NIEs) for travelers subject to restrictions under Presidential Proclamations banning entry into the U.S. due to presence in China, Iran, Brazil, South Africa, the United Kingdom, Ireland, India and the Schengen area. Existing NIEs and newly-issued NIEs will be valid

Department of Homeland Security

Immigration Insights – DHS Update

Important Reminder: As we are reaching the end of the H-1B filing season under the annual government-imposed “cap,” be sure to submit your cap-subject H-1B petitions by the June 30, 2021 deadline. Petitions that are not received by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) by the deadline will be rejected. When submitting the petitions,