USCIS Proposed Rule with Adjustments to Fee Schedule and Other Changes

Department of Homeland Security (DHS) proposed a rule which would make changes to the USCIS fee schedule. DHS proposes to adjust USCIS fees by a weighted average increase of 21%, add new fees, and make other changes, including form changes and the introduction of several new forms. 

 Of particular note, DHS is proposing to separate Form I-129 into several forms and adjust the filing fees per visa type (E, H-1B, L, O, R, etc). Please see below.

Form No.: I-129 E&TN (Proposed)

Form Title: Application for Nonimmigrant Worker: E or TN Classification

Current Fee: $460

Proposed Fee: $705

Difference: $245

Percent Change : 53% increase

Form No.: I-129 H1 (Proposed)

Form Title : Petition for Nonimmigrant Worker: H-1 Classification

Current Fee : $460

Proposed Fee : $560

Difference: $100

Percent Change: 22% increase

Form No. : I-129L (Proposed)

Form Title : Petition for Nonimmigrant Worker: L Classification

Current Fee : $460

Proposed Fee : $815

Difference : $355

Percent Change : 77% increase

Form No. : I-129O (Proposed)

Form Title : Petition for Nonimmigrant Worker: O Classification

Current Fee : $460

Proposed Fee : $715

Difference : $255

Percent Change : 55% increase

Form No. : I-129MISC (Proposed)

Form Title : Petition for Nonimmigrant Worker: H-3, P, Q, or R Classification

Current Fee : $460

Proposed Fee : $705

Difference : $245

Percent Change : 53% increase

Comments to DHS regarding the proposed fee changes are due 12/16/19 and can be made through the Federal Register here

New H-1B Registration Tool

In November, Acting Director of USCIS Ken Cuccinelli stated that he has a fairly high degree of certainty that USCIS will be ready to implement the new e-registration tool for the upcoming H-1B cap season, and that he expects USCIS will make a formal announcement by the end of the year as to whether or not USCIS will move forward with the tool for this upcoming H-1B cap season.

Upon implementation of the e-registration system, petitioners seeking to file H-1B cap-subject petitions, including those eligible for the advanced degree exemption, will first have to electronically register with USCIS during a designated registration period, unless the requirement is suspended. The registration tool will require a $10 non-refundable fee for each H-1B registration submitted by petitioning employers. The registration fee is part of an agency-wide effort to modernize and more efficiently process applications to live or work in the United States.

Iandoli Desai and Cronin, P.C. continues to monitor the e-registration roll out and will provide updates as they become available.

Reminder USCIS Premium Processing Fee Increased

Beginning on December 2, 2019, the premium processing fee increased to $1,440 from the current fee of $1,410 for Form I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker, and Form I-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker. Premium processing is an optional service currently authorized for certain petitioners filing Forms I-129 or I-140. The premium processing system allows petitioners to request 15-day processing of these forms if they pay an extra fee.

According to USCIS, this increase reflects the full amount of inflation from the implementation of the premium processing fee in June 2001 through August 2019 based on the Consumer Price Index for all Urban Consumers (CPI-U). USCIS last increased the fee in 2018.

Iandoli Desai & Cronin PC News

IDC attorneys are speaking at several colleges and universities across Massachusetts at the end of the Fall Semester as students start to prepare for Optional Practical Training (OPT) and employment options after OPT. 

 If your institution is interested in a presentation, please contact Iandoli Desai & Cronin at info@iandoli.com.

Iandoli Desai & Cronin PC News

• Iandoli Desai & Cronin P.C. was recognized in the 2020 “Best Law Firms” by U.S. News & World Report. Firms included in the 2020 Edition of “Best Law Firms” are recognized for professional excellence with consistently impressive ratings from clients and peers.

  To be eligible for a ranking, a firm must first have a lawyer recognized in The Best Lawyers in America©, which recognizes the top 5% of private practicing lawyers in the United States. Achieving a tiered ranking signals a unique combination of quality law practice and breadth of legal expertise. “Choosing the right law firm can be a vital decision,” said Tim Smart, executive editor at U.S. News & World Report. “The rankings draw on U.S. News’ 35 years of experience evaluating complex institutions to help individuals and companies alike make the best decisions.”

• It is International Education Week, November 18-22, 2019 and IDC attorneys are speaking at several colleges and universities across Massachusetts during that week. 

  If your institution is interested in a presentation, please contact Iandoli Desai & Cronin at info@iandoli.com.

• Attorney Mary Walsh, as Co-Chair of the Boston Bar Association's Immigration Section, is hosting an important event about asylum seekers this Friday, November 8th from 12:30-1:30pm at 16 Beacon Street, Boston, MA.  Hear from Eunice Rendón, an expert on immigration, violence prevention, public health, and civil safety, who will cover the current challenges and possible options of relief for asylum seekers in transit and remaining in Mexico.  She will also discuss the impact of the Department of Homeland Security's "Remain in Mexico" policy. Since the policy took effect, more than 42,000 asylum seekers have been sent back to Mexico to wait until their court cases in the U.S. are heard. All the while, the number of people requesting asylum in Mexico has increased by about 53 percent amid the Administration's effort to push Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras to accept more migrants, most of whom come from Central American countries.

  Speaker Bio: Eunice Rendón is the Executive Director of Agenda Migrante and a researcher in the National System of Researchers of CONACYT (Mexico’s National Council of Science and Technology).  Previously, Ms. Rendón served as the Deputy Executive Secretary of Mexico's Executive Secretariate of the National Public Security System, consultant in different international organizations belonging to the United Nations System, and fellow at the National Health Institute in the United States.

  For more information or to register for the event, please go to the BBA's website.

TPS extended for Six (6) Countries

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced on November 1, 2019 that the validity of TPS-related documentation for beneficiaries under the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) designations for El Salvador, Haiti, Honduras, Nepal, Nicaragua and Sudan will be extended through January 4, 2021. 

The notice automatically extends the validity of Employment Authorization Documents; Forms I-797, Notice of Action; and Forms I-94, Arrival/Departure Record (collectively, TPS-related documentation). The validity dates for the affected countries are:

TPS Designation(s) Current Expiration Date New Expiration Date

El Salvador, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Sudan Jan. 2, 2020 Jan. 4, 2021

Honduras Jan. 5, 2020 Jan. 4, 2021

Nepal Mar. 24, 2020 Jan. 4, 2021

DHS is extending the TPS documentation in compliance with the preliminary injunctions of the Courts. Should the government prevail in its challenge to the Ramos preliminary injunction, the secretary’s determination to terminate TPS for Nicaragua and Sudan will take effect no earlier than 120 days from the issuance of any appellate mandate to the district court. The secretary’s determination to terminate TPS for El Salvador will take effect no earlier than 365 days from the issuance of any appellate mandate to the Ramos district court to allow for an orderly transition for affected TPS beneficiaries.

American Council on Education (ACE) and 43 other higher education associations file amicus brief with the US Supreme Court; November 12, 2019 hearing date with a ruling expected in Spring 2020

An Amicus Brief was filed by the American Council on Education and 43 Other Higher Education Associations in Department of Homeland Security, et al. v. Regents of the University of California, et al. (October 4, 2019)to the Supreme Court of the United States in support of district court decisions that have kept in place the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) policy, which the Trump Administration rescinded in 2017.

The government claims that its rescission of the policy is not reviewable. Amici argue that the recession of DACA is subject to judicial review and that rescinding DACA will considerably harm colleges and universities and their students by making it far more difficult for promising students to enroll in postsecondary institutions.

Iandoli Desai and Cronin, P.C. will continue to monitor the ongoing litigation and will provide updates as they become available.

U.S. Admissions Directors Increasingly Concerned About International Enrollment as International interest in U.S. business schools down and Chinese student enrollment in decline

According to Inside Higher Ed's 2019 Survey of College and Admissions Officers, 86 percent of admissions directors at public and private U.S. colleges are concerned about their institution's ability to meet 2019–20 enrollment goals and 58 percent are concerned about maintaining international student enrollment numbers. Following the trend from the 2018 survey results, 76 percent of respondents said that "the policies and rhetoric of the Trump administration have made it more difficult to recruit international students." Read more in the ICEF Monitor.

Furthermore, in a recent survey of college counselors in China, 87 percent of counselors reported that Chinese students and their families are now reconsidering plans for studying in the United States. Eighty-five percent of counselors said that the top concern for parents is the unpredictable Chinese student immigration policies of the Trump administration. Survey respondents also pointed to concerns about student safety in the United States and uncertainty about post-graduation employment opportunities. Read more in Inside Higher Ed.

Proposal to Replace Duration of Status (D/S) for F-1, J-1 and other nonimmigrants with Maximum period of stay dates

US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced that they intend to propose a rule to limit the amount of time international students can stay in the country by eliminating the "duration of status" or "D/S" policy. If the admission stamp or Form I-94 contains a specific date, then that is the date by which individual must leave the United States. If the individual has D/S on the admissions stamp or Form I-94, the individual may remain in the United States as long as they continue your course of studies, remain in their exchange program, or qualifying employment. 

Under the proposed change, ICE would modify the period of authorized stay to a maximum period of stay, with options for extension, for each applicable visa category. This policy is part of the spring 2019 Regulatory Agenda of Department of Homeland Security. However, the policy is still at the “Proposed Rule Stage” and has not been approved for implementation. The agency’s target date for the change is February 2020.

This would be a significant change in how F-1, J-1 and M-1 nonimmigrants are admitted into the US.

Urge your members of Congress to speak out and publicly defend international students and scholars.

Department of Labor Releases Information related to USCIS adjudicating H-1Bs

As H-1B employers and H-1B beneficiaries have long known, US Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) has relied heavily, and erroneously, in asserting H-1B eligibility based on a sister agency’s data, specifically, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Occupational Outlook Handbook (OOH).The OOH itself notes, “the OOH provides a general, composite description of jobs and cannot be expected to reflect work situations in specific establishments or localities. The OOH, therefore, is not intended to, and should never, be used for any legal purpose.”

Pursuant to a recent Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request, Department of Labor (DOL) released information related to communications within the BLS concerning USCIS’s use of the OOH in adjudicating H-1B petitions.  The FOIA request highlights from BLS, “We have known for several years that the US. Customs and Immigration Service (USCIS) occasionally uses education and training information in the OOH to establish strict education requirements for H-1B eligibility. This is an incorrect use of OOH information and we discourage this practice.”