USCIS Announces Premium Processing for Certain Previously Filed EB-1C Manager/Executive or EB-2 NIW Petitions (Copy)

UPDATED! USCIS has announced it is implementing premium processing for certain previously filed EB-1C Multinational Manager/Executive and EB-2 National Interest Waiver (NIW) petitions. The premium processing expansion will take effect in phases and will not yet be available for new EB-1C Multinational Manager/Executive or EB-2 NIW petitions, as detailed below:

Beginning June 1, 2022

  • The USCIS will accept premium processing requests for EB-1C Manager/Executive petitions received on or before January 1, 2021.

Beginning July 1, 2022

  • The USCIS will accept premium processing requests for EB-2 NIW petitions received on or before June 1, 2021.

  • In addition, the USCIS will accept premium processing requests for EB-1C Manager/Executive petitions received on or before March 1, 2021.

UPDATE: Beginning September 15, 2022

  • The USCIS will accept premium processing requests for EB-1C Manager/Executive petitions received on or before January 1, 2022.

  • The USCIS will accept premium processing requests for EB-2 NIW petitions received on or before February 1, 2022.

This effort comes after the USCIS announced new plans to reduce backlogs and expand premium processing. As previously indicated, premium processing for Form I-140 under the EB-1C Manager/Executive or EB-2 NIW categories will require a fee of $2,500 and will have an adjudication time of 45 days. More information on which categories are eligible for premium processing can be found here. 

D&S will continue to closely monitor the roll out and expansion of premium processing services and will provide further guidance as it becomes available.

State Department October 2022 Visa Bulletin Summary

The Department of State has released the October 2022 Visa Bulletin. D&S provides a Monthly Summary of the employment-based priority dates. In October, USCIS will be accepting adjustment of status applications based on the Dates for Filing Chart, rather than the Final Action Dates Chart. 

With respect to Final Action Dates, all EB-1 categories will remain current for all preference categories. With the exception of China and India, all other EB-2 countries of chargeability will remain current. Notably, EB-2 India’s Final Action Date has retrogressed more than 2 years to April 1, 2012. DOS reported that rapid forward movements of the EB-2 India Final Action and Date for Filing Application dates were implemented in FY2022 in order to fill the maximum number of visas available, which increased applicant demand and resulted in the large retrogression in India EB-2. In contrast, EB-2 China’s Final Action Date advanced by 2 months to July 8, 2019. 

All EB-3 categories except India and China will remain current. EB-3 China’s Final Action Date advanced to July 15, 2018, while EB-3 India’s Final Action Date advanced to July 1, 2012. Furthermore, the Final Action date for the EB-5 China Unreserved categories retrogressed by nine months, to March 22, 2015, and a Final Action cut-off date of November 8, 2019 will be imposed on the previously current EB-5 Unreserved category for India. EB-5 Final Action dates will remain current for all other countries.

With respect to Application Filing Dates, EB-2 China’s Date for Filing advanced by 2 months to July 8, 2019 and EB-3 China’s Date for Filing advanced by nearly 2 months to July 15, 2018. It appears that USCIS has used nearly all available employment-based immigrant visas for this fiscal year. The State Department is expected to make an official announcement in the coming days.

USCIS Reaches Fiscal Year 2023 H-1B Cap

USCIS has announced that the Agency has received a sufficient number of petitions needed to reach the Fiscal Year 2023 H-1B cap. This includes both the 65,000 H-1B visas available under the "regular cap" and the 20,000 H-1B visas available under the U.S. advanced degree exemption, known as the "master’s cap".

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State Department September 2022 Visa Bulletin Summary

The Department of State has released the September Visa Bulletin. D&S provides a Monthly Summary of the employment-based priority dates. USCIS has yet to confirm whether, in September 2022, it will accept adjustment of status applications for family- and employment-based petitions based on Dates for Filing or Final Action Dates. 

With respect to Final Action Dates, all EB-1 categories will remain current. With the exception of India and China, all other EB-2 countries of chargeability will remain current. EB-2 China will remain the same with a Final Action Date of April 1, 2019, and EB-2 India will remain the same with a Final Action Date of December 1, 2014. All EB-3 categories except India and China will remain current. EB-3 China will remain at April 22, 2018, and EB-3 India will remain at February 15, 2012. 

The Department of State has resumed processing visa applications based on approved EB-5 Preference Regional Center petitions that were filed with USCIS on or before June 30, 2021. The EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act of 2022 is now in effect and has created two pools of visa numbers within the EB-5 category. One pool of numbers is ‘reserved’ for certain set-aside categories while the remaining available numbers remain ‘unreserved’. For final action dates, all EB-5 categories remain current except for  EB-5 Unreserved (I5 and R5) China, which has a Final Action Date of  December 22, 2015. 

With respect to Application Filing Dates, all applicable EB categories will remain unchanged except for EB-3 India. EB-5  EB-5 Unreserved (I5 and R5) China will move forward one week to January 1, 2016.

 

 


USCIS Expected to End Temporary Flexibility for Responding to Agency Requests After August 25, 2022

In response to business disruptions experienced as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, on March 30, 2020, USCIS announced that the agency would provide a 60-day flexibility period for responding to certain agency requests including Requests for Evidence (RFEs), Notices of Intent to Deny (NOIDs), etc. USCIS has periodically extended this flexibility over the last 2 years of the pandemic.

In their most recent announcement on March 30, 2022, the agency extended this deadline flexibility through August 25, 2022, and indicated that it anticipated this would be the final extension of these flexibilities such that the standard deadlines will apply to RFE issued after August 25th. As such, practitioners are advised to plan accordingly in terms of responding to impacted agency requests within the time frame mandated on the request for any requests with an issuance date after August 25, 2022.

UPDATE: on July 25, 2022 USCIS announced that it would, in fact, extend the agency’s flexibility for responding to certain agency quests through October 23, 2022

State Department August 2022 Visa Bulletin Summary

The Department of State has released the August Visa Bulletin. D&S provides a Monthly Summary of the employment-based priority dates. USCIS has confirmed that, in August 2022, it will accept adjustment of status applications for family- and employment-based petitions based on Dates for Filing and Final Action Dates respectively. 

With respect to Final Action Dates, all EB-1 categories will remain current. With the exception of India and China, all other EB-2 countries of chargeability will remain current. EB-2 China will remain the same with a Final Action Date of April 1, 2019, and EB-2 India will remain the same with a Final Action Date of December 1, 2014. All EB-3 categories except India and China will remain current. EB-3 China will move forward one month to April 22, 2018, and EB-3 India will move forward one month to February 15, 2012. 

The Department of State has resumed processing visa applications based on approved EB-5 Preference Regional Center petitions that were filed with USCIS on or before June 30, 2021. The EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act of 2022 is now in effect and has created two pools of visa numbers within the EB-5 category. One pool of numbers is ‘reserved’ for certain set-aside categories while the remaining available numbers remain ‘unreserved’. For final action dates, all EB-5 categories remain current except for  EB-5 Unreserved (I5 and R5) China, which has a Final Action Date of  November 22, 2015. 

With respect to Application Filing Dates, all applicable EB categories will remain unchanged except for EB-3 India. EB-3 India will move forward one month to February 22, 2012.

State Department July 2022 Visa Bulletin Summary

The Department of State has released the July Visa Bulletin. D&S provides a Monthly Summary of the employment-based priority dates. USCIS has confirmed that, in July 2022, it will accept adjustment of status applications for family- and employment-based petitions based on Dates for Filing and Final Action Dates respectively. 

With respect to Final Action Dates, EB-1 China and EB-1 India will both remain current. With the exception of India and China, all other EB-2 countries of chargeability will remain current. EB-2 China will move forward one month to April 1, 2019, and EB-2 India will move forward three months to December 1, 2014. All EB-3 categories except India and China will remain current. EB-3 China will remain unchanged at March 22, 2018, and EB-3 India will remain unchanged at January 15, 2012. 

The Department of State has resumed processing visa applications based on approved EB-5 Preference Regional Center petitions that were filed with USCIS on or before June 30, 2021. The EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act of 2022 is now in effect and has created two pools of visa numbers within the EB-5 category. One pool of numbers is ‘reserved’ for certain set-aside categories while the remaining available numbers remain ‘unreserved’. For final action dates, all EB-5 categories remain current except for  EB-5 Unreserved (I5 and R5) China, which has a Final Action Date of  November 15, 2022. 

With respect to Application Filing Dates, all applicable EB categories will remain unchanged except for: EB-2 China and India. EB-2 China will move forward one month to May 1, 2019, and EB-2 India will move forward one month to January 1, 2015.

Department of State June 2022 Visa Bulletin Summary

The Department of State has released the June Visa Bulletin. D&S provides a Monthly Summary of the employment-based priority dates. USCIS has  confirmed that, in June 2022, it will accept adjustment of status applications for family- and employment-based petitions based on Dates for Filing and Final Action Dates respectively. 

With respect to Final Action Dates, EB-1 China and EB-1 India will both remain current. With the exception of India and China, all other EB-2 countries of chargeability will remain current. EB-2 China will remain unchanged at March 1, 2019, and EB-2 India will move forward one year to September 1, 2014. All EB-3 categories except India and China will remain current. EB-3 China will remain unchanged at March 22, 2018, and EB-3 India will remain unchanged at January 15, 2012. 

The Department of State has resumed processing visa applications based on approved EB-5 Preference Regional Center petitions that were filed with USCIS on or before June 30, 2021. The EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act of 2022 is now in effect and has created two pools of visa numbers within the EB-5 category. One pool of numbers is ‘reserved’ for certain set-aside categories while the remaining available numbers remain ‘unreserved’. For final action dates, all EB-5 categories remain current except for  EB-5 Unreserved (I5 and R5) China, which has a Final Action Date of  November 22, 2022. 

With respect to Application Filing Dates, all EB categories will remain unchanged.

USCIS Issues a Temporary Automatic Employment Authorization Document (EAD) Extension

Effective May 4, 2022, USCIS issued a temporary final rule that will increase the automatic extension period for certain Employment Authorization Document (EAD) extensions from 180 days past the expiration of the current EAD card to up to 540 days past the current card’s expiration. This temporary measure is being put in place to address unprecedented delays on processing EAD renewals to help avoid gaps in employment authorization for individuals waiting for a renewal of their EAD work permit.

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Department of State May 2022 Visa Bulletin Summary

The Department of State has released the May 2022 Visa Bulletin. D&S provides a Monthly Summary of the employment-based priority dates. USCIS has yet to confirm whether, in March 2022, it will accept adjustment of status applications for family- and employment-based petitions based on Dates for Filing or Final Action Dates.

With respect to Final Action Dates, EB-1 China and EB-1 India will both remain current. With the exception of India and China, all other EB-2 countries of chargeability will remain current. EB-2 China will remain unchanged at March 1, 2019, and EB-2 India will move forward less than two months to September 1, 2013. All EB-3 categories except India and China will remain current. EB-3 China will remain unchanged at March 22, 2018, and EB-3 India will remain unchanged at January 15, 2012. 

The Department of State has resumed processing visa applications based on approved EB-5 Preference Regional Center petitions that were filed with USCIS on or before June 30, 2021. The EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act of 2022 is now in effect and has created two pools of visa numbers within the EB-5 category. One pool of numbers is ‘reserved’ for certain set-aside categories while the remaining available numbers remain ‘unreserved’. For final action dates, all EB-5 categories remain current except for  EB-5 Unreserved (Regional Center) China, which has a Final Action Date of November 2015, 2022. 

With respect to Application Filing Dates, all EB-5 categories will remain current and unchanged with the exception of EB-5 Unreserved (Regional Center) China, which is December 15, 2015.


USCIS Announces FY2023 H-1B Initial Electronic Registration Selection Process Is Completed

Today the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) announced that the agency has completed the H-1B electronic registration selection process (also known as the “H-1B Lottery”) and that employers and their legal representatives can login to their my.USCIS.gov accounts to confirm their selected cases.

Employers can begin submitting H-1B cap petitions for selected cases starting on April 1, 2022, and the filing window will close on June 30, 2022. USCIS has stated that, due to increased filing volumes typically seen during H-1B cap filing periods, even where a petition is timely and properly filed, there may be delays in their issuance of Form I-797 receipt notices.

For individuals who were not selected, USCIS will keep their registrations available and open until the end of the fiscal year as, in the event that additional visa numbers become available (due to denials, withdrawals, or failure to file after selection), USCIS may go back in and randomly select additional cases for processing as they have done in years past. Should they do this, they will make an announcement later this year, noting that multiple additional lotteries are possible.

USCIS Provide Updates on Evidence of Employment Authorization for E and L Spouses

Following the November 12, 2021, announcement that USCIS would now be granting employment authorization to E and L dependent spouses incident to status, USCIS has updated its Policy Manual to provide clarity on what documentation eligible spouses may present to evidence their employment authorization for purposes of completing a Form I-9 Employment Eligibility Verification.

As of January 30, 2022, any E or L dependent spouse who has an unexpired Form I-94 with a Class of Admission (COA) code stating E-1S, E-2S, E-3S or L-2S can present that I-94 as an acceptable List C document to evidence employment authorization for I-9 purposes.

In addition, starting on or about April 1, 2022, E and L spouses age 21 and older with an unexpired Form I-94 issued before January 30, 2022, will be mailed a notice along with a new unexpired I-94 reflecting the new employment authorized COA code. E and L spouses under the age of 21 and those who have not received a notice by April 30, 2022, can email E-L-married-U21@uscis.dhs.gov to request a notice.

Department of State April 2022 Visa Bulletin Summary

The Department of State has released the April Visa Bulletin. D&S provides a Monthly Summary of the family- and employment-based priority dates. USCIS has yet to confirm whether, in March 2022, it will accept adjustment of status applications for family- and employment-based petitions based on Dates for Filing or Final Action Dates.. 

With respect to Final Action Dates, EB-1 China and EB-1 India will both remain current. With the exception of India and China, all other EB-2 countries of chargeability will remain current. EB-2 China will remain unchanged at March 1, 2019, and EB-2 India will move forward over two months to July 8, 2013. All EB-3 categories except India and China will remain current. EB-3 China will remain unchanged at March 22, 2018, and EB-3 India will remain unchanged at January 15, 2012. 

The EB-5 Regional Center program has been reauthorized by Congress and certain Regional Center Program aspects of this legislation go into effect 60 days after the date of the reauthorization.  As a result, this category will not be available for April 2022. Final action dates for the EB-5 Non-Regional Center program will remain  current for all countries of chargeability. 

With respect to Application Filing Dates, all categories will remain unchanged from March 2022 with the exception of EB-2 India, which advances on year to September 1, 2014.


DHS Designates Afghanistan for Temporary Protected Status

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has announced the designation of Afghanistan for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for 18 months.

Individuals eligible for TPS under this designation must have continuously resided in the United States since March 15, 2022 and must meet all eligibility requirements and undergo security and background checks.

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DHS Proposes New Public Charge Rule

This week the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) posted an advance copy of a new proposed rule that will be published in the Federal Register in the coming days. The proposed rule is being described as a “Fair and Humane” Public Charge Rule in contrast to the 2019 Rule proposed by the Trump Administration which greatly expanded the types of public benefits that could render someone likely to become a public charge and, thus, inadmissible to the United States. Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro N. Mayorkas described the Trump era public charge rule as “not consistent with our nation’s values” and stated that the new proposed rule would “return to the historical understanding of the term ‘public charge’ and individuals will not be penalized for choosing to access the health benefits and other supplemental government services available to them.”

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State Department March 2022 Visa Bulletin Summary

The Department of State has released the March Visa Bulletin. D&S provides a Monthly Summary of the employment-based priority dates. USCIS has confirmed that in March 2022, it will accept adjustment of status applications for family- and employment-based petitions based on Dates for Filing. 

With respect to Final Action Dates, EB-1 China and EB-1 India will both remain current. With the exception of India and China, all other EB-2 countries of chargeability will remain current. EB-2 China will remain unchanged at March 1, 2019, and EB-2 India will move forward over four months to May 13, 2013. All EB-3 categories except India and China will remain current. EB-3 China will remain unchanged  at March 22, 2018, and EB-3 India will remain unchanged at January 15, 2012. 

The EB-5 Regional Center program has not been reauthorized by Congress.  As a result, this category will not be available for March 2022. Final action dates for the EB-5 Non-Regional Center program will remain  current for all countries of chargeability. 

With respect to Application Filing Dates, all categories will remain unchanged from December 2021.


State Department February 2022 Visa Bulletin Summary

The Department of State has released the February Visa Bulletin. D&S provides a Monthly Summary of the employment-based priority dates. USCIS has confirmed that in February 2022, it will accept adjustment of status applications for family- and employment-based petitions based on Dates for Filing. 

With respect to Final Action Dates, EB-1 China and EB-1 India will both remain current. With the exception of India and China, all other EB-2 countries of chargeability will remain current. EB-2 China will move forward more than five weeks to March 1, 2019 and EB-2 India will move forward nearly six months to January 1, 2013. All EB-3 categories except India and China will remain current. EB-3 China will remain at March 22, 2018 and EB-3 India will remain at January 15, 2012. 

The EB-5 Regional Center program has not been reauthorized by Congress.  As a result, this category will not be available for November 2021. Final action dates for the EB-5 Non-Regional Center program will remain  current for all countries of chargeability. 

With respect to Application Filing Dates, all categories will remain unchanged from December except EB-2 India, which advances nearly 2 months to September 1, 2013.