This evening, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) released the text of a final rule that will change the definition of "employer" in the H1B context. Per this rule, end-clients would be required to submit petitions to the USCIS for H1B workers.At the same...
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced today that all in-person services will be suspended on January 19th and 20th in order to "ensure the safety of … employees and individuals with appointments." The USCIS will send new appointment notices to stakeholders who had...
Answer The USCIS is experiencing significant delays in issuing receipt notices for the I-485s filed at lockboxes in October. You can try sending an eMail to the USCIS lockbox support at lockboxsupport@uscis.dhs.gov. However, it appears that many of these inquiries are going unanswered. (14.Jan.2021)Sheela Murthy and...
Answer The interview requirement for all employment-based I-485 applications was implemented by the Trump Administration in 2017. Undoubtedly, that is one of the factors that has led to USCIS processing delays. It is possible the Biden Administration could reverse this requirement. However, as of yet, there...
Today, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) published a final rule in the Federal Register replacing the H1B lottery registration system with one that prioritizes cases filed based on wage level. The rule is scheduled to go into effect in 60 days. However, its...
Answer The USCIS has not yet announced when the registration period will open. However, we suspect the registration period will begin in early March, as it did last year. (07.Jan.2021)Sheela Murthy and other senior attorneys provide guidance that clarifies the law. For information on our FREE...
The COVID-19 pandemic has greatly exacerbated delays and backlogs at the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). These delays have been especially pronounced with regard to the scheduling of biometrics appointments at application support centers (ASCs) and in the issuance of receipt notices. Update on Biometrics...
In recent years, each time an annual budget or continuing resolution has been passed into law, it has also been used to extend certain immigration programs that were scheduled to expire. The omnibus spending bill signed into law on December 27, 2020, which funds the...
Answer The bill appears to be dead. Congress could have included it within the omnibus spending bill it sent to the president earlier this week, but failed to do so. For this to become law, it likely will have to be taken up again by the...
The U.S. Department of State (DOS) has released the January 2021 Visa Bulletin. Unfortunately, there is very little movement from the December 2020 Visa Bulletin. All cutoff dates listed refer to the dates in the final action chart (i.e., "Chart A"), unless otherwise specified. There...
