Category: News
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Biden Administration Closes Chapter on Trump-era “Public Charge” Rule
On March 9, 2021, the Supreme Court agreed to a Biden administration request to dismiss an upcoming case challenging the Trump administration’s highly contested “public charge” rule. This means the Biden Administration has officially closed the chapter on the Trump-era Public Charge rule. Under the Public Charge Final Rule, the Trump administration expanded the application of […]Read More -
Current Status of Immigrant Visa Processing at Embassies & Consulates
On March 1, 2021, the U.S. Department of State (DOS) shared a briefing with Consular Affairs Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for Visa Services, Julie M. Stufft, regarding the status of immigrant visa processing at embassies and consulates around the world. This briefing was conducted in light of the recent recission of Presidential Proclamation 10014, which lifted […]Read More -
Biden Administration Rescinds Buy American Hire American Executive Order & 2017 Computer Programmer Memo
President Biden signed an executive order which essentially revoked former President Trump’s Buy American Hire American (BAHA) executive order, as well as the 2017 Computer Programmer Memo. President Trump signed the BAHA executive order on April 18, 2017. The order claimed to increase wages and employment rates for U.S. workers and directed agencies to issue rules […]Read More -
President Biden Revokes Proclamation 10014, Lifting Trump’s Ban on Green Cards
On February 25, 2021, President Biden revoked Proclamation 10014, thereby lifting the ban on green cards imposed by Former President Trump last spring. In Proclamation 10014, issued April 22, 2020, Trump suspended the entry of foreign nationals as immigrants, claiming they posed a “risk to the United States labor market during the economic recovery” following the COVID-19 outbreak. […]Read More -
USCIS Issues Updated Guidance Regarding the Educational Requirements for Naturalization
On February 22, 2021, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) updated policy guidance in the USCIS Policy Manual regarding the educational requirements for naturalization. Specifically, USCIS announced it will be reverting to the 2008 naturalization civics test starting March 1, 2021, thereby eliminating the revised naturalization civics test that was implemented on December 1, 2020 (“2020 civics test”). […]Read More -
DHS Final Rule Provides for Automatic 180 Extension of Work Authorization for Certain Categories when EAD Renewal Received
On November 18, 2016, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued a final rule, Retention of EB-1, EB-2, and EB-3 Immigrant Workers and Program Improvements Affecting High-Skilled Nonimmigrant Workers, which granted automatic extensions of Employment Authorization Documents (EADs) in certain circumstances. Specifically, the rule—effective January 17, 2017—automatically extends the employment authorization and validity of existing EADs […]Read More -
DHS Expresses Support for Equal Access to the COVID-19 Vaccine for Undocumented Foreign Nationals
On February 1, 2021, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued a press release expressing its support for equal access to COVID-19 vaccines and vaccine distribution sites for all individuals, regardless of their immigration status. DHS provided: “It is a moral and public health imperative to ensure that all individuals residing in the United States […]Read More -
USCIS Announces another Extension of Flexibility for Responses to Agency Requests
On January 28, 2021, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), once again, extended the flexibilities it announced on March 30, 2020, to assist applicants, petitioners, and requestors who are responding to certain agency requests. Specifically, USCIS is granting applicants, petitioners, and requestors an additional sixty days to submit their responses to the following: Requests for Evidence; Continuations to […]Read More -
DHS Announces Upcoming H-1B Lottery Season & Delays Effective Date of the H-1B Selection Final Rule
Last week, USCIS announced that the H-1B cap registration process for the upcoming H-1B lottery season will open on March 9, 2021 and will close on March 25, 2021. USCIS will notify selected registrants by March 31, 2021 that they have been selected and petitions may be filed for the selected beneficiaries between April 1 […]Read More -
DOL Issued a Revised Wage Rule Restructuring the Prevailing Wage System
On January 14, 2021, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) published a final rule, Strengthening Wage Protections for the Temporary and Permanent Employment of Certain Aliens in the United States, changing how wage levels are computed under the DOL’s four-tier wage structure. The January 14, 2021 rule is a revised version of a similar DOL rule, […]Read More