News

In response to an increase in labor needs, the Biden administration stated they will make 22,000 additional non-agricultural seasons work visas available to employers.

Employers across the U.S. reported vacancies that could not be filled with the domestic labor pool. As a result, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the U.S. Department of Labor recommended the expanded H-2B availability for FY 2021.

The number of new cases and deaths caused by COVID-19 has significantly increased in India. As a result, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued a Level 4 Travel Health Notice advising all against travel to India. ILBSG will keep monitoring the situation and advise when CDC lifts the advisory.

Due to the rise of COVID, the U.S. Consulate Offices in India have updated the service they provide to applicants and visa seekers. Please see below the updates for each consulate office.

Earlier this month, the Department of State released frequently asked questions (FAQ) on the immigrant visa backlog and consular processing. In the FAQ, the State Department acknowledged the Immigration Visa (IV) interview backlogs. They attribute the backlogs to three factors.

First, as expected, the backlog is a result of limitations in staffing and other COVID-related operational constraints preventing the consular offices to operate in their normal capacity. The second factor is former President Trump’s proclamation limiting the visa issuance to nonimmigrant and immigrant visa applications including (F-1, H-1B, parents of US citizens...etc.). Lastly, the geographical COVID proclamations restricting visa processing for many immigrants from specific countries for nearly a year.

With Covid-19 surges happening across the globe and a series of new lockdowns are being announced each day, many of ILBSG’s clients may have renewed concerns about required travel. As always, ILBSG advises that clients avoid traveling wherever possible, as the nature of the pandemic is unpredictable and consulate closures and/or travel restrictions could result in an inability to return to the U.S.

Nonetheless, ILBSG recognizes that in some instances, travel may be required or unavoidable. If you are in a situation where you must travel, we encourage you to set up a consultation with an immigration attorney before leaving the U.S. Travel considerations vary on a case by case basis, so it is important to get individualized advice based on your particular case and circumstances.

USCIS is testing a new calculation method to more accurately inform individuals about their estimated processing times. The new calculation is being tested on specific forms. With the updated approach, the USCIS is providing a range of completion dates based on the prior month's actual processing time. All information a user needs to identify their processing time for their case is located on the receipt notice.

In December 2020, a lawsuit was filed in federal court challenging the EB-5 Modernization Rule which went into effect in November 2019. If successful, the lawsuit could help restore the $500,000 EB-5 minimum investment and more liberal targeted employment area (“TEA”) designation rules. The likelihood of that success, though, now seems low.

In Behring Regional Center v. Wolf, the Plaintiffs alleged that the Department of Homeland Security violated the law in issuing the EB-5 Modernization Rule, by failing to examine a regulatory flexibility analysis and by exceeding statutory authority. The result is a rule the plaintiffs characterize as arbitrary and capricious. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, the plaintiffs alleged that DHS lacked the authority to enact the rule in the first place.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) released the April 2021 Visa Bulletin. This month, the bulletin notifies applicants if they are able to submit their I-485, Adjustment of Status Application. The below article explains the cause of the visa backlogs, how to use the Visa Bulletin Charts, and what to expect in the for the rest of FY 2021.

USCIS today confirmed that for all forms it has reverted to the form rejection criteria it applied before October 2019 regarding blank responses.

In 2019, USCIS changed the form rejection criteria for:

USCIS has reverted back to the rejection criteria that existed for these forms before October 2019. USCIS will no longer reject Form I-589, Form I-612 or Form I-918 if an applicant leaves a blank space.

As many of our clients are already aware, USCIS has completed the H-1B Lottery for FY 2022. Due to a high number of registrations, the number of candidates selected in the lottery for each petitioning company may be lower than usual. While many of our clients may be wondering what to do next, ILBSG encourages those not selected to explore other viable options – like recapturing a previously denied H-1B petition.

As ILBSG has reported earlier, USCIS has announced that it will consider Motions to Reopen / Reconsider filed for cases which were denied based on three recently rescinded policy memos. While an MTR must normally be filed within 30 days of the denial notice, USCIS has stated that it will consider MTRS filed beyond the deadline in its discretion. Since many of the affected cases were denied before the policy memos were struck down, this is only fair. This is important news for our clients who may have suffered from unfair H-1B denials in the last few years– particularly those who didn’t get selected in the lottery this year.

Below is a News Release from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE):

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) today announced an extension of the flexibilities in rules related to Form I-9 compliance that was initially granted last year. Due to the continued precautions related to COVID-19, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) will extend this policy until May 31, 2021.

The current extension includes guidance for employees hired on or after April 1, 2021, and work exclusively in a remote setting due to COVID-19-related precautions. Those employees are temporarily exempt from the physical inspection requirements associated with the Employment Eligibility Verification (Form I-9) until they undertake non-remote employment on a regular, consistent, or predictable basis or the extension of the flexibilities related to such requirements is terminated, whichever is earlier.