USCIS is issuing policy guidance in the USCIS Policy Manual instructing officers to give deference to prior determinations when adjudicating extension requests involving the same parties and facts unless there was a material error, material change, or new material facts.With this update, USCIS is reverting...
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services today announced that F-1 students seeking optional practical training (OPT) can now file Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization, online if 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...
USCIS 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:Form I-589, Application for Asylum and for Withholding of Removal; Form I-612, Application for Waiver of the...
Today, DHS Secretary Alejandro N. Mayorkas announced that the government will no longer defend the 2019 public charge rule as doing so is neither in the public interest nor an efficient use of limited government resources.“The 2019 public charge rule was not in keeping with...
Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro N. Mayorkas is designating Venezuela for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for 18 months, until September 2022. This new designation of TPS for Venezuela enables Venezuelan nationals (and individuals without nationality who last resided in Venezuela) currently residing in the United...
President Biden lifted former President Trump’s pandemic-related green card ban. President Biden lifted the Trump administration’s orders preventing foreigners from moving to the U.S. on new green cards, saying the orders failed to advance American interests. Trump first enacted the ban last April, and it...
Starting Feb. 24, 2021, petitioners filing Form I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker, requesting a change or extension of status to E-3 classification will have the option to request premium processing service for their petition. The E-3 classification applies only to nationals of Australia who...
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced today it is reverting to the 2008 version of the naturalization civics test beginning March 1, 2021.On Dec. 1, 2020, USCIS implemented a revised naturalization civics test (2020 civics test) as part of a decennial test review...
USCIS today announced that the initial registration period for the fiscal year (FY) 2022 H-1B cap will open at noon Eastern on March 9 and run through noon Eastern on March 25. During this period, prospective petitioners and representatives will be able to fill out petitioner and beneficiary information and submit their registrations.A confirmation number will be assigned to each registration submitted for the FY 2022 H-1B cap. This...
On Jan. 7, USCIS announced the H-1B Selection final rule, which amended the regulations governing the process by which USCIS selects H-1B registrations for the filing of H-1B cap-subject petitions.To give USCIS more time to develop, test, and implement the modifications to the H-1B registration...
