The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is to the Federal Register to amend regulations that govern the process by which the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) selects H-1B cap-subject petitions. If this rule is finalized, USCIS would replace the random selection process (the "H-1B lottery") with a proce...
The Department of Labor (DOL) and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) have published two new interim rules, changing wage requirements for employment-based visas as well as regulatory criteria for adjudicating H-1B petitions. The first (wage requirements) will be effective October 8, 2020 – for both new and ...
The U.S. Department of State (DOS) will begin accepting online registrations for the Fiscal Year (FY) 2022 Diversity Visa lottery beginning on Wednesday, October 7, 2020 at noon Eastern and ending on Tuesday, November 10, 2020 at noon Eastern. The Diversity Visa lottery program for FY 2022 will make up to 55,000 green card numbers...
On September 30, 2020 the President signed H.R. 8337, the Continuing Appropriations Act 2021 and Other Extensions Act, part of which seeks to address USCIS’s budget shortfall. Part of the act addresses Premium Processing fees. Note that while the law takes effect immediately, the increased fees and expanded availability of premiu...
As a result of COVID-19 and the closings of U.S. embassies and USCIS for long periods of time, the USCIS and DOS approved far fewer permanent residence applications (“Green Cards”) in FY2020. As a result, the start of the new fiscal year, FY2021, has heralded a unique window of opportunity for many clients to file an adjustment o...
On Friday, September 18, 2020, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ruled that a lower court did not have the authority to enjoin the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) from enforcing its public charge rule during the COVID-19 pandemic. This ruling is pursuant to a recent Supreme Court decision that DHS may enforce the...
The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is reviewing a Department of Labor (DOL) rule that is seeking to make a restructuring to the wage level system to establish prevailing wage minimums in the H-1B, H-1B1, and E-3 and PERM programs. The regulation is expected to increase the prevailing wage minimum requirements for the H-1B, ...
Beginning on October 2, 2020, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will implement a as well as changes to several key employment-based immigration forms and changes to the timeframe for premium processing service. New Fees The following chart shows the new fees that will come into effect on Octob...
The Department of State (DOS) has issued its September 2020 Visa Bulletin. Most notably, there was no advancement for all chargeability areas for EB-2, and EB-3. EB-1-Worldwide: Priority dates are current, except: China: Priority date of March 1, 2...
The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that it will avert a furlough of more than 13,000 employees through September 30, 2020. The agency claims that spending cuts as well as an increase in revenues will allow USCIS to maintain its operations through the end of this fiscal year. However, USCIS has...
