Category: Misc. Immigration News

On Friday, November 1, 2019, the Department of Homeland Security announced a Federal Register notice extending the validity of TPS-related documentation for beneficiaries under the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) designations for El Salvador, Haiti, Honduras, Nepal, Nicaragua and Sudan through January 4, 2021.

The notice also automatically extends the validity of Employment Authorization Documents; Forms I-797, Notice of Action; and Forms I-94, Arrival/Departure Record (i.e., TPS-related documentation).

USCIS announced today that beginning on Nov. 29, it is increasing the premium processing filing fee for Form I-907 from $1410 to $1440.

Department of State’s Charlie Oppenheim’s Comments on November 2019 Visa Bulletin

 

The Employment-Based 1^st preference categories (EB-1) will continue to advance at the pace previously reported, i.e.,  up to three months for EB-1 Worldwide (including El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras, Mexico, Philippines, and Vietnam) and EB-1 China, and little if any forward movement for EB-1 India at least through January.

 

Since EB-1 China and EB-1 India will be subject to their per country limits in the foreseeable future, the only possibility of more rapid movement in these categories is if demand for visas in EB-1 Worldwide and other categories were to fall below that allowed under the overall annual limit.

 

EB-1 worldwide is experiencing low demand which could lead to a return to “current” at some point this fiscal year.

 

EB-2 Worldwide (including EB-2 El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras, EB-2 Mexico, EB-2 Philippines, and EB-2 Vietnam) remains current for November and is expected to remain current for the foreseeable future.

 

Charlie still expects EB-3 Worldwide (including EB-3 El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras, EB-3 Mexico, and EB-3 Vietnam) to remain current through at least January.

The Department of State’s Charlie Oppenheim projects that the employment-based EB1 category will move up to 3 months for the worldwide and China categories, and for India, little if any forward movement until January 2020 at the earliest.

 

Potential EB-2 movement:

Worldwide:	CURRENT
China:	Up to two months
India:	Up to one week

 

Potential EB-3 movement:

Worldwide:	CURRENT
China:	Little if any forward movement
India:	Little if any forward movement
Mexico:	Will remain at the Worldwide date
Philippines:	Up to several months

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has started to conduct site visits of employers who employ F-1 students on STEM Optional Practical Training.  Please visit https://studyinthestates.dhs.gov/employer-site-visits for details on these site visits.

 

Employers need to make sure their front line employees request identification and a business card from the ICE officer, and to have the officer wait until a designated person at the worksite is present to accompany the ICE officer during the visit, which typically lasts 1-2 hours according to recent reports.

The I-9 form currently in use expires August 31, 2019. USCIS has advised that employers should continue using Form I-9 available on https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central, which is the August 31, 2019 version, even after it expires on August 31^st, until further notice.

Even though the September Visa Bulletin indicates cut-off dates for the EB-3 category, the State Department has advised that the entire EB-3 category is now “unavailable” for the remainder of FY2019.

Department of State’s Charlie Oppenheim provides the following analysis of the September Visa Bulletin.

· EB-1 and EB-2 categories could become “unavailable” at any time before the end of the fiscal year.

· We should not expect any of the EB-1 categories to become current at any time in the foreseeable future. Hopefully the EB-1 Worldwide and EB-1 China dates will revert to where they were in July 2019, it is possible they will not fully recover. EB-1 India and EB-1 China may not recover for the foreseeable future.

· Nothing too significant of note for the family-based categories.

· Unlike the other employment-based preference categories, the demand trends for EB-2 are such that Charlie is more confident that the Final Action Dates for this category (i.e., EB-2 Worldwide, including EB-2 El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras, EB-2 Mexico, EB-2 Philippines, and EB-2 Vietnam) will be able to recover to current in either October or November 2019.

· Charlie is unable to say when EB-2 Worldwide, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Philippines and Vietnam will again be current.

Further, per USCIS, adjustment of status applicants in the F2A category may file in September using the Final Action Dates for September. All other family-based preference categories must use the Dates for Filing chart.

For Employment-Based Preference filings, the Final Action Dates chart must be used for September adjustment of status filings.

In the past when an I-539 was filed simultaneously with an H-1B petition that requested premium processing, USCIS as a courtesy would typically adjudicate the I-539 in about 15 days as well.  However, because of the new biometrics requirement for all I‑539 applicants, USCIS has discontinued this practice. Currently, USCIS processing time for an I-539 is 3-8 months, depending upon where the case is filed.  In some cases, it may be strategically advantageous to consular process for a new H-4 visa as opposed to filing the I-539.  Discuss what is best in your situation with the attorney.