In a very exciting development, Bloomberg law reported late last week that the U.S. Department of State is planning to launch a pilot program later in 2023 to offer visa renewals from within the United States for individuals in H-1B and L-1 status. Stateside processing of visa renewals used to be offered by the U.S. Department of State but was discontinued in 2004. Revitalizing this stateside renewal process would be a very welcome change to an immigration process that currently requires everyone who needs to renew a visa to travel abroad to a U.S. consulate or embassy. While the pilot project will begin with just individuals in H-1B and L-1 status, it may be expanded to include other visa categories. Stay tuned for more information as this exciting new pilot program continues to be rolled out.
Join CYA for a Zoom Presentation: 2023 H-1B Cap Survival Bootcamp
Interested in learning more about the 2023 H-1B Cap process? We’ll be hosting a 2023 H-1B Cap Survival Bootcamp presentation and discussion via Zoom on Friday, March 3rd from 12pm MST to 1pm MST. Space is limited! If you’d like to attend the presentation, please RSVP no later than 5pm on Friday, February 17th to reserve your spot.
Access to Counsel Act Reintroduced by House Rep. Jayapal
House Representative Pramila Jayapal (D-W.A.) recently reintroduced the Access to Counsel Act to ensure that U.S. citizens, green card holders, and other individuals with legal status are able to consult with legal counsel, relatives, or other interested parties to seek assistance if they are detained by Customs and Border Protection (CBP) for more than one hour at ports of entry, including airports. Companion legislation will be introduced in the Senate in the coming weeks by Senator Alex Padilla (D-CA).
The Access to Counsel Act would:
- Require the Department of Homeland Security to ensure that people with valid travel documents who present themselves at the border, airports, or other points of interaction can communicate with counsel and other interested parties if they are subjected to prolonged inspection by CBP.
- Allow counsel or a covered interested party the ability to advocate on behalf of the individual by providing information or documentation in support of the individual.
- Invalidate any effort by CBP to persuade someone to relinquish their legal status (by executing an I-407 or Record of Abandonment of Lawful Permanent Resident Status) if that person has been denied access to counsel.
The Access to Counsel Act was originally introduced by Representative Jayapal in 2017 as a response to Donald Trump’s Muslim Ban.
USCIS Reaches Cap for Additional H-2B Visas
On February 1, 2023, USCIS announced that it has received enough H-2B petitions to reach the cap for the additional 18,216 H-2B visas that were made available for returning workers for the 1st half of fiscal year 2023, with start dates on or before March 31, 2023. USCIS continues to accept H-2B petitions for the additional 20,000 H-2B visas allotted to nationals of Haiti, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras.