November 2022 Visa Bulletin

Each month, the U.S. Department of State (DOS) publishes the Visa Bulletin, listing all "preference" categories and states whether a backlog exists for each one.  In addition, the categories are folded into two charts: “Final Action” chart and a “Dates for Filing” chart for Family-Based immigration and Employment-Based immigration.

The November Visa Bulletin has been released.  There has been no movement in either the Employment-Based or Family-Based Preference Filings from last month.  For both categories, you may use the Dates for Filing chart in the Department of State Visa Bulletin for November 2022.The November Visa Bulletin also notes the following:

“Increased demand in the Employment Second category may necessitate the establishment of a worldwide final action date in the coming months to hold number use within the maximum allowed under the Fiscal Year 2023 annual limit. This situation will be continually monitored, and any necessary adjustments will be made accordingly.”

If you have questions about planning, please schedule a consultation with one of the attorneys at Iandoli, Desai & Cronin (info@iandoli.com).

IDC Welcomes Casey Troost to Our Firm

We are excited to announce that Casey Troost has joined our firm as a paralegal. Casey graduated from Oberlin College and previously worked for the Capital Area Immigrants’ Rights Coalition in Washington, D.C. Casey is also fluent in French.

We're Hiring!

Iandoli, Desai, & Cronin has an immediate opening for a Business Immigration Paralegal. We are dynamic eight attorney and twelve paralegal immigration law firm serving professionals, businesses, and academic institutions. Our clients are leaders in medicine, engineering, biotechnology, and academia. The duties and responsibilities include:

• Assist attorneys in the preparation and filing of employment-based immigrant (EB-1, EB-2, and EB-3) and nonimmigrant (H-1B, O-1, E-2, E-3, L-1 and TN) petitions and supporting documentation

• Assemble petitions and application packages

• Communicate with individual clients, HR representatives and government agencies

• Help individuals gather necessary information/documents

• Use specialized Case Management software to monitor deadlines and expirations and draft petitions and applications

• Draft support letters and other documents

• Track client communications and government correspondence

• Additional administrative duties may include answering phones, scheduling appointments, generating invoices, filing, and other ad hoc tasks.

Must have a bachelor’s degree and excellent writing, computer, interpersonal, organizational, and time management skills. Must be able to meet rigid deadlines and prioritize tasks.

NO JDs, LLBs, LLMs, or current/matriculating law students.

Please email résumé and cover letter to careers@iandoli.com

No phone calls please. Only those candidates selected for an interview will be contacted.

Attorneys Desai and Walsh Present at the NAFSA Region XI Conference

Attorneys Prasant Desai and Mary Walsh presented at the NAFSA Region XI Conference in Manchester, New Hampshire in October. Attorney Walsh chaired a session on Immigration Considerations for Influencers, YouTubers, and TikTok Stars with Andrea Popa, Director of the Office of International Student Affairs at Emerson College. Attorney Desai chaired a session on Employment-Based Visa Policy and Practice in Higher Ed with Patrick Trouve, HR Immigration and Compliance Specialist at University of Massachusetts-Lowell.

Attorney Erin Murphy Receives First International Entrepreneur Parole (IEP) Approval at IDC

Attorney Erin Murphy recently received an approval of our first International Entrepreneur Parole (IEP) application for a client who founded a U.S.-based start-up company.  From the date of submission to USCIS, the process took approximately 13 months. The International Entrepreneur Parole program was first introduced by the Obama administration and was put on hold through the Trump administration.  Only one IEP application received an approval during the Obama administration. 

On May 10, 2021, the Biden administration revived the rule and began accepting applications again. Entrepreneurs applying for parole under this rule must demonstrate that they:

• Possess a substantial ownership interest in a start-up entity created within the past five years in the United States that has substantial potential for rapid growth and job creation.

• Have a central and active role in the start-up entity such that they are well-positioned to substantially assist with the growth and success of the business.

• Will provide a significant public benefit to the United States based on their role as an entrepreneur of the start-up entity by showing that:

  • The start-up entity has received a significant investment of capital from certain qualified U.S. investors with established records of successful investments;

    • Qualified investors are defined as U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident (or organizations owned or controlled primarily by U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents) that have made investments to start-up entities over the past 5 years totaling at least $633,952; and

    • Following the investment, at least 2 of these start up entities each created at least 5 qualified jobs or generated at least $528,293 in revenue with average annualized revenue growth of at least 20 percent.

  • The start-up entity has received significant awards or grants for economic development, research and development, or job creation (or other types of grants or awards typically given to start-up entities) from federal, state, or local government entities that regularly provide such awards or grants to start-up entities; or

  • They partially meet either or both of the previous two requirements and provide additional reliable and compelling evidence of the start-up entity’s substantial potential for rapid growth and job creation.

• Otherwise merit a favorable exercise of discretion.

A grant of International Entrepreneur Parole allows the parolee to travel to the U.S. to work for their start-up company for an initial period of up to 30 months.   The parole can be extended for an additional 30 months if the applicant can show continued growth and success of the start-up.  More information can be found on USCIS’s web page for the program, and the Federal Register’s notice can be found here.

Public Charge Final Rule Published and will be Effective December 23, 2022

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) amended its regulations to prescribe how it determines whether noncitizens are inadmissible to the U.S. because they are likely at any time to become a public charge.

Noncitizens who are applicants for visas, admission, and adjustment of status are required to establish that they are not likely to become a public charge unless Congress has expressly exempted them from this ground of inadmissibility or has otherwise permitted them to seek a waiver of inadmissibility.

Under this rule, DHS will determine that a noncitizen is likely at any time to become a public charge if the noncitizen is likely at any time to become primarily dependent on the government for subsistence, as demonstrated by either the receipt of public cash assistance for income maintenance or long-term institutionalization at government expense.

On August 14, 2019, DHS issued a different rule on this topic, Inadmissibility on Public Charge Grounds Final Rule (2019 Final Rule), which is no longer in effect. This rule implements a different policy than the 2019 Final Rule. This final rule is effective December 23, 2022. This final rule will apply to applications postmarked on or after the effective date.

Links:

• USCIS Announcement

• Federal Register Notice

Diversity Visa Lottery for 2024 Opens on October 5, 2022

The Department of State (DOS) released instructions on how to apply for the 2024 Diversity Immigrant Visa Program -

The DOS annually administers the statutorily-mandated Diversity Immigrant Visa Program. The Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) provides for a class of immigrants known as “diversity immigrants” from countries with historically low rates of immigration to the United States. For Fiscal Year 2024, up to 55,000 Diversity Visas (DVs) will be available. There is no cost to register for the DV program and it is safe for non-immigrant only visa holders to apply (i.e., F, J, etc.).

Applicants who are selected in the program (selectees) must meet simple but strict eligibility requirements to qualify for a diversity visa. The DOS determines selectees through a randomized computer drawing. The DOS distributes diversity visas among six geographic regions, and no single country may receive more than seven percent of the available DVs in any one year.

For DV-2024, natives of the following countries are not eligible to apply, because more than 50,000 natives of these countries immigrated to the United States in the previous five years: Bangladesh, Brazil, Canada, China (including Hong Kong SAR), Colombia, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Haiti, Honduras, India, Jamaica, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, Philippines, Republic of South Korea, United Kingdom (except Northern Ireland) and its dependent territories, Venezuela and Vietnam. Persons born in Macau SAR and Taiwan are eligible.

Applicants must submit entries for the DV-2024 program electronically at dvlottery.state.gov between noon, Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) (GMT-4), Wednesday, October 5, 2022 and noon, Eastern Standard Time (EST) (GMT-5), Tuesday, November 8, 2022. Do not wait until the last week of the registration period to enter, as heavy demand may result in website delays. No late entries or paper entries will be accepted. The law allows only one entry per person during each registration period. The DOS uses sophisticated technology to detect multiple entries. Individuals with more than one entry will be disqualified. Please visit the DOS website for instructions.

Links:

• Overview of Diversity Visa Program

• Diversity Visa Instructions

Extension of Temporary Waiver of 60-Day Rule for Civil Surgeon Signatures on Form I-693 – set to end March 31, 2023

On September 29, 2022, USCIS announced that they are extending their temporary waiver of the requirement that civil surgeons must sign Form I-693, Report of Medical Examination and Vaccination Record, no more than 60 days before an individual applies for the underlying immigration benefit (including Form I-4985, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status).

The original waiver was originally effective until September 30, 2022, but it has now been extended until March 31, 2023 to further ease processing delays and difficulties in timely completing the medical exam. The waiver applies to all Forms I-693, regardless of when the application was submitted to USCIS or when a civil surgeon signed the form.

Click here.

USCIS Extends Green Card Validity to 24 Months for Green Card Renewals

Beginning September 26, 2022, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will begin automatically extending the validity of Permanent Resident Cards (a.k.a. Green Cards) to 24 months for permanent residents who file Form I-90, Application to Replace Permanent Resident Cards. Form I-90 receipt notices had previously provided for a 12-month extension of the validity of a green card. Individuals who file an I-90 after September 26, 2022 will receive a receipt notice that provides for the new 24-month extension. Additionally, on September 26, USCIS also began printing amended receipt notices to send to individuals who currently have pending I-90 applications so that they may benefit from the longer extension period, as well.

Click here for more.

October 2022 Visa Bulletin

Each month, the U.S. Department of State (DOS) publishes the Visa Bulletin, listing all "preference" categories and states whether a backlog exists for each one.  In addition, the categories are folded into two charts: “Final Action” chart and a “Dates for Filing” chart for Family-Based immigration and Employment-Based immigration.

For October, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has indicated that for Employment-Based immigration, the “Dates for Filing” chart should be used in establishing eligibility to file the I-485 Adjustment of Status petitions. This means that those who filed an Immigrant Petition [Form I-140] on or before the date given in the Visa Bulletin may file an application for permanent resident status [Form I-485].

In October the EB-1 preference category on the Dates for Filing Chart for all countries including China and India remains “current.” This means the I-485 applications may be filed immediately with the Form I-140. Also, any otherwise qualified national of China or India with an approved EB-1, I-140 may file the I-485 in September.

The EB-2 preference category remains “current” for all countries other than China and India, which means that individuals in these categories may immediately file I-485 applications. China and India remain backlogged on both the Final Action and Dates for Filing Charts, and India has retrogressed.

Rapid forward movements of the India E2 final action and application filing dates during FY-2022 were made to maximize number use under the unprecedented high employment limit of 281,507. As a result, heavy applicant demand has materialized and coupled with significantly lower visa number availability for India E2 for FY-2023 as compared to FY-2022, corrective action was required to keep number use within the maximum allowed under the FY-2023 annual limits.  The situation will be continually monitored, and any necessary adjustments made accordingly.

The EB-3 preference category is also “current” for all countries other than China and India. In August, the final action dates for EB-3 preference categories for Chinese and Indian nationals were April 22, 2018 and February 15, 2012, respectively. They have remained the same for September. 

The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2022, enacted on March 15, 2022, extended the Employment Fourth Preference Certain Religious Workers (SR) category until September 30, 2022.  No SR visas may be issued overseas, or final action taken on adjustment of status cases, after midnight September 29, 2022.  Visas issued prior to that date will be valid only until September 29, 2022, and all individuals seeking admission in the non-minister special immigrant category must be admitted (repeat admitted) into the United States no later than midnight September 29, 2022. 

The SR category is listed as “Unavailable” for all countries for October.  If there is legislative action extending the category, it will become available effective immediately and will be subject to the same final action dates as the other Employment Fourth Preference categories per applicable foreign state of chargeability.  

High demand in the Employment Fourth category may necessitate the establishment of a worldwide final action date in the coming months to hold number use within the maximum allowed under the Fiscal Year 2023 annual limit. This situation will be continually monitored, and any necessary adjustments will be made accordingly.

The EB-5 preference category was recently reformed under the EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act and the visa bulletin includes three new categories for EB-5 processing. All EB-5 preference categories are “current” except for EB-5 China-Mainland Born, which retrogressed, and the imposition of a final action date in the EB-5 Unreserved categories C5, T5, I5 and R5.

If you have questions about planning, please schedule a consultation with one of the attorneys at Iandoli, Desai & Cronin (info@iandoli.com).

Link: https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/legal/visa-law0/visa-bulletin/2023/visa-bulletin-for-october-2022.html