FY 2024 H-1B Cap Registration Opens on March 1st
USCIS announced on January 27, 2023, that the H-1B initial cap registration period will open at 12pm EST on March 1, 2023 and run through 12pm EST March 17, 2023. Prospective employers and their representatives will be able to submit registrations for foreign workers using their myUSCIS online account. The nonrefundable registration fee is $10.
Please contact Iandoli, Desai, & Cronin (info@iandoli.com) as soon as possible if you would like to register a foreign worker in this year’s H-1B lottery.
January 2023 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 January 2023, 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 January, the EB-1 preference category on the Final Action Chart for all countries other than China and India is “current.” This means the I-485 applications may be filed immediately with the Form I-140. However, applicants from China and India are subject to the final action date of February 1, 2022, and the application filing date of June 1, 2022.
The EB-2 preference category has retrogressed for all countries (including China and India) which means that individuals in these categories will not be able to file I-485 applications unless they have a “current” priority date. The priority date for all countries except India and China in the EB-2 preference category is November 1, 2022. All otherwise qualified individuals with a priority date before November 1, 2022 may file their I-485 applications.
The EB-3 preference category is also “current” for all countries other than China and India, which remain backlogged on both the Final Action and Dates for Filing Charts.
The Visa Bulletin states the following regarding the Employment Fourth Preference Certain Religious Workers (SR) category:
“The continuing resolution signed on December 16, 2022 extended the Employment Fourth Preference Certain Religious Workers (SR) category until December 23, 2022. No SR visas may be issued overseas, or final action taken on adjustment of status cases, after midnight December 22, 2022. Visas issued prior to that date will be valid only until December 22, 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 December 22, 2022.
The final action date for this category has been listed as “Unavailable” for January. If there is legislative action extending this category, it would immediately become available, subject to the same final action dates as the other Employment Fourth Preference categories per applicable foreign state of chargeability.”
The complete Visa Bulletin, including priority dates for family-based immigrant applications, can be found on the Department of State website: https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/legal/visa-law0/visa-bulletin/2023/visa-bulletin-for-january-2023.html. If you have questions about planning, please feel free to reach out and schedule a consultation with one of the attorneys at Iandoli, Desai & Cronin (info@iandoli.com).
Secretary Mayorkas Extends and Redesignates Temporary Protected Status for Yemen
On December 30, 2022, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced an extension of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Yemen for 18 months, from March 4, 2023, through September 3, 2024, due to ongoing armed conflict and extraordinary and temporary conditions that prevent Yemeni nationals from safely returning to their country. In addition, DHS announced a redesignation of Yemen for TPS for the same reasons, allowing Yemeni nationals (and individuals having no nationality who last habitually resided in Yemen) residing in the United States as of December 29, 2022, to be eligible for TPS.
Current beneficiaries re-registering under the extension of TPS for Yemen must re-register in a timely manner during the 60-day re-registration period from January 3, 2023, through March 4, 2023, to ensure they keep their TPS and work authorization without a gap. DHS recognizes that not all re-registrants may receive a new Employment Authorization Document (EAD) before their current EAD expires on March 3, 2023, and is automatically extending through March 3, 2024, the validity of certain EADs previously issued under the TPS designation of Yemen.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will continue to process pending applications filed under Yemen’s previous TPS designation. Individuals with a pending Form I-821, Application for Temporary Protected Status, or a related Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization, do not need to file either application again. If USCIS approves a pending Form I-821 or Form I-765 filed under the previous designation of TPS for Yemen, USCIS will grant the individual TPS through September 3, 2024, and issue an EAD valid through the same date.
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DHS Announces Special Student Relief Employment Benefits for F-1 International Students from Yemen
On December 30, 2022, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) posted a notice in the Federal Register that provides Special Student Relief (SSR) employment benefits for F-1 nonimmigrant students from Yemen experiencing severe economic hardship as a direct result of the current crisis in Yemen. This notice extends relief from March 4, 2023, to September 3, 2024, for eligible Yemeni students.
SSR is the suspension of certain regulatory requirements by the secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for an F1 student from parts of the world that are experiencing emergent circumstances. Regulatory requirements that may be suspended or altered for an F-1 student include duration of status, full course of study and off-campus employment eligibility.
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USCIS Provides List of Options for Nonimmigrant Workers Following Termination of Employment
Given the recent increase in layoffs in a number of industries in the U.S., U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) provided a list of options that may be available to nonimmigrant workers seeking to remain in the United States in a period of authorized stay following termination of employment.
E-Verify Restores Employers’ Ability to Upload Multiple Hiring Sites Simultaneously
E‑Verify has restored the ability of employers, employer agents, and corporate administrators to upload multiple hiring sites simultaneously. This feature increases efficiency for companies with multiple hiring sites by providing an alternative to manual entries; and is available for all access methods when adding hiring sites.
CDC Announces Negative COVID-19 Test Requirement from Air Passengers Entering the United States from the People’s Republic of China, effective January 5, 2023
Beginning on January 5, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will require a negative COVID-19 test result (such as a PCR test or an antigen self-test administered and monitored by a telehealth service or a licensed provider and authorized by the Food and Drug Administration or the relevant national authority) taken within two days of departure or proof of recovery from the virus within the last 90 days for all travelers aged two years and older to the U.S. for air passengers traveling to the United States from China, Hong Kong, or Macau, and those traveling from Seoul, Toronto, and Vancouver who have been in China, Hong Kong, or Macau in the past 10 days.
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Guangzhou Immigrant Visa Unit Closes Until Further Notice and State Department Announces Limited Services at Other U.S. Embassies and Consulates in China
On December 15, 2022, U.S. Mission China Consular Services announced that due to the operational impacts caused by the surge of COVID-19 infections across China, the U.S. Embassy in Beijing and the U.S. Consulate in Shanghai are providing passport and emergency citizen services only. The U.S. consulates in Wuhan, Shenyang, and Guangzhou will only provide emergency consular services until further notice. All routine visa services (with very limited exceptions) are temporarily suspended and all regularly scheduled appointments at U.S. Embassy Beijing and the other Consulates Genera have been canceled.
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USCIS Announces Trial for Naturalization Test Updates
On December 14, 2022, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) published a notice in the Federal Register announcing that U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) plans to conduct a trial for updates to the current naturalization test. The purposes for the trial are to test a civics component of the exam with an updated format and content and a newly developed English-speaking component. USCIS will conduct the trial with the help of volunteer community-based organizations who work with immigrant English language learners and lawful permanent residents preparing for naturalization. The trial is tentatively scheduled for a five-month period in 2023.
USCIS Seeks Comments on Proposal for Fee Increases
On January 3, 2023, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) to adjust certain immigration and naturalization benefit filing fees. USCIS has stated that these new fees would allow them to more fully recover its operating costs, reestablish and maintain timely case processing, and prevent accumulation of future case backlogs.
New measures include a proposal to incorporate biometrics costs into the main benefit fee and remove the separate biometric services fee; establish separate fees for each nonimmigrant classification covered by Form I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Workers; change the premium processing timeframe from 15 calendar days to 15 business days; and institute lower fees for certain forms filed online. The proposed rule would not change fee waiver eligibility requirements. The projected revenues resulting from the proposed rule would allow USCIS to increase the number of adjudicators processing applications, implement technology improvements, and increase support provided to individuals seeking information and assistance from USCIS.
The 60-day public comment period starts following publication of the NPRM in the Federal Register. Fees will not change until the final rule goes into effect, after the public has had the opportunity to comment and USCIS finalizes the fee schedule in response to such comments. USCIS will host a public engagement session on the proposed fee rule on January 11, 2023.