Immigration News

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is extending certain COVID-19-related flexibilities through Jan. 24, 2023. Under these flexibilities, USCIS considers a response received within 60 calendar days after the due date before taking any action. The USCIS notices and requests eligible for this extension include:

• Requests for Evidence;
• Continuations to Request Evidence (N-14);
• Notices of Intent to Deny;
• Notices of Intent to Revoke;
• Notices of Intent to Rescind;
• Notices of Intent to Terminate regional centers;
• Notices of Intent to Withdraw Temporary Protected Status; and
• Motions to Reopen an N-400 Pursuant to 8 CFR 335.5, Receipt of Derogatory Information After Grant.

In addition, USCIS will consider a Form I-290B, Notice of Appeal or Motion, or a Form N-336, Request for a Hearing on a Decision in Naturalization Proceedings (Under Section 336 of the INA), if:

• The form was filed up to 90 calendar days from the issuance of a decision we made; and
• We made that decision between Nov. 1, 2021, and Jan. 24, 2023, inclusive.

As a reminder, the reproduced signature flexibility announced in March 2020 became permanent policy on July 25, 2022.

Please visit uscis.gov/coronavirus for USCIS updates.

In order to become a permanent resident of the United States, applicants must undergo a medical exam to ensure that they will not trigger any of the health-related grounds of inadmissibility. For example, having a contagious disease such as measles, mumps or tuberculosis could render someone unable to become a permanent resident. Normally, USCIS considers a completed Form I-693 medical exam to remain valid for 2 years after the U.S. civil surgeon signs the form, so long as the civil surgeon’s signature is no more than 60 days old when USCIS receives the application for permanent residence.

Because of COVID-related delays, USCIS has excused this 60-day signature requirement. This is a temporary exception that was set to expire today. However, USCIS announced yesterday that the exception to the 60-day signature requirement will be extended until March 31, 2023. This is a welcome extension that will help ease filings timelines and processing delays caused by COVID. For more information about the requirements to become a lawful permanent resident of the United States, reach out to our attorneys for a consultation.

Immigration processing times are not known for being quick – the opposite is sadly true as processing times for many case types have ticked up substantially over the past few years.  However, good news is at hand for at least a few more categories of employment-based permanent residence, as USCIS continues its phased approach to expanding the cases that are eligible for premium processing.  Premium processing allows for the payment of an extra fee to the agency; in return USCIS will adjudicate the petition within a greatly reduced time frame, the length of which depends on the case type.  However, the types of cases that are eligible for premium processing have been narrowly defined in the past.  With this third phase of premium process expansion, USCIS is permitting certain petitioners who have a pending Form I-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Workers, under the EB-1 and EB-2 classifications, to interfile premium processing on the pending cases.

As of September 15, USCIS will accept premium processing requests for:

• Multinational executive and manager petitions received on or before January 1, 2022 (EB-1); and
• National Interest Waiver petitions received on or before February 1, 2022 (EB-2).

USCIS has stated that it will reject premium processing requests for these Form I-140 classifications if the receipt date is after the above-mentioned dates.

Is your case eligible for premium processing?  If you have questions, reach out to the attorneys at Curray York & Associates for a consultation.

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) predicts that within the next two decades population growth in the United States will be fully fueled by immigration. “As the effects of the pandemic wane and economic conditions in the U.S. improve, net immigration flows are projected to rise.” In a new report released in July 2022, the CBO concludes that immigration will soon drive all of the United States’ population growth.  By 2043 deaths will outnumber births in the U.S., and immigration will be the only source of the United State’s population gain.

In CBO’s assessment, pandemic-related travel restrictions and reduced visa-processing capabilities resulted in 160,000 fewer net immigrants in 2020 and 110,000 fewer net immigrants in 2021. From 2022 to 2051, however, the annual net flow of immigrants is predicted to be higher. CBO now estimates 10,000 more people per year, on average, than the agency projected last year. If your family or business is amongst those looking to bring immigrants to the U.S., reach out to talk with one of our attorneys.

That’s a wrap on this year’s H-1B season! On August 23, US Citizenship & Immigration Services announced that the agency had received a sufficient number of applications to meet the congressionally mandated allotment of H-1B visas for FY2023. The H-1B program for specialty occupations is highly sought after by visa applicants, with a large number of registrations each year. Annually, there is a limit of 65,000 H-1B visas which may be granted under the regular cap and 20,000 H-1B visas which may be allocated under the U.S. advanced degree exemption. With this announcement USCIS also notified potential applicants of their non-selection from the lottery. It is not anticipated that any further lottery selections will be made in this fiscal year.

Didn’t receive a cap number in this year’s lottery? Be sure to reach out to our firm in January 2023 to enter the lottery for next year!

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced that it will be making an important update to its Policy Manual for those who seek to apply for U.S. citizenship based on their military service. This update clarifies that a current or former service member who received an “uncharacterized” discharge is eligible to apply for U.S. citizenship. Former USCIS policy held that an “uncharacterized” discharge did not qualify the service member under the legal requirements for military-based citizenship. This is a welcome change in USCIS policy that will enable more military service members to qualify for U.S. citizenship based on their military service to our country. To learn more about this update and discuss eligibility for U.S. citizenship based on military service, please contact our office for a consultation.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has rescinded Matter of Z-R-Z-C-, holding that individuals in temporary protected status (TPS) who apply for permission to travel abroad will now be found to have been inspected and admitted for purposes of adjustment of status. Individuals in TPS who would like to travel abroad will now be issued a new TPS-specific travel authorization document that enables international travel. Individuals in TPS who have been admitted back into the U.S. using this travel document following international travel will satisfy the “inspected and admitted” requirement to apply for adjustment of status. This is true even if the initial entry was without inspection. Happily, this new policy enables TPS holders to apply for permanent residence in the U.S. if they have a family-based petitioner, a qualifying employment visa petition or another option for permanent residency. To find out more about this process, please contact us for a consultation.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced on Monday that the agency is providing up to $20 million in grant funding for citizenship preparation programs. This amounts to a $10 million increase from last year. These grants are awarded to organizations that provide naturalization preparation courses, English courses and U.S. civics instruction so that applicants can best prepare to apply for U.S. citizenship.  DHS Secretary Mayorkas summarized the intention behind this increase in funding as follows: “By adding additional funding opportunities, organizations will be able to reach more communities and ensure noncitizens have access to the tools and resources needed for citizenship education.”

To apply for these funding opportunities, visit www.grants.gov. USCIS encourages applicants to visit www.grants.gov before the application deadline to obtain registration information needed to complete the application process.

For additional information on the Citizenship and Integration Grant Program for fiscal year 2022, visit www.uscis.gov/grants or email the USCIS Office of Citizenship at [email protected].

USCIS’s premium processing service is in the process of being expanded. Specifically, USCIS announced that as of June 1, 2022 it will begin this expansion by accepting premium processing requests for Form I-140 Multinational Executive and Manager Petitions received on or before January 1, 2021. USCIS further announced that beginning July 1, 2022, it will accept premium processing requests for Form I-140 on behalf of National Interest Waiver Petitions received on or before June 1, 2021, as well as Form I-140 Multinational Executive and Manager Petitions received on or before March 1, 2021. Applying for premium processing under these expanded options carries a 45 day processing timeframe and a $2,500 government filing fee.