U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has been facing a backlog for many petitions. One of them is I-751 petitions, which are used by conditional permanent residents to remove the conditions on their residency. There are several reasons why USCIS is so behind on processing these petitions: 1. Increased demand: The number of I-751 petitions has increased over the years, putting pressure on USCIS resources. 2. Staffing shortages: USCIS has experienced staffing shortages, first due to Trump’s no federal employee hiring and then Covid-19 pandemic, which have impacted USCIS’ ability to process cases in a timely manner. 3. COVID-19 pandemic: The pandemic has disrupted USCIS operations, causing delays in processing times for all types of applications. 4. Prioritization of other cases: USCIS has prioritized other types of cases, such as applications for citizenship, over I-751 petitions. These factors have contributed to a backlog of I-751 petitions, leading to long processing times for those who are waiting for a decision on their case.

USCIS announced that the initial registration period for FY2024 H-1B cap will open at 12:00 pm (ET) on March 1st and run through 12:00 pm (ET) on March 17, 2023. During this period, employers and their representatives will be able to submit registrations using the online H-1B registration system. After the registration closes, USCIS will conduct a lottery to pick cases that can submit full H-1B application package including but not limited to I-129H, LCA, and supporting Documents within 60 day.

The program was set to expire on Feb 5, 2023. The Administration extended it for another two years. Under the program, Hong Kong residents are eligible to apply for a work permits and can remain in the U.S. legally for another two years passed their I-94 and/or visa expiration date because they are covered by the temporary humanitarian status. This applies for all Hong Kong resident in the U.S. whether they entered as students, tourists, or employees on work visas.

Because of recent court settlements, starting on January 25, 2023 it will be possible for H-4 and L-2 dependents to file form I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker, at the same time as either I-539, Application to Extend/Change Nonimmigrant Status, or I-765, Application for Employment Authorization. It used to be possible to file these forms together, but in March 2019 policy changes started requiring additional biometrics from dependents, which required the forms to be filed separately and caused delays. Fortunately, the additional biometric requirement has now been suspended, and it is again possible to file these forms concurrently.

If you are a member of one of the 40 lucky counties allowed to enter the United States under a Visa Waiver Program (VWP), and you are entering the United States by land, there is now a new App called CBP One that allows an easy, time saving, and more convenient way to fill out your I-94W ahead of time. U.S. Customs and Boarder Patrol (CBP) announced that starting October 1, 2022, everyone entering the United States (weather air, sea, or land) must present completed and approved ESTA application before they are allowed entry. Before those traveling by land did not need such a requirement. VWP eligible travelers to the United States can follow a number of questions on the app, pay a $6 fee, and receive a provisional I-94W approval up to 7 days before their travel day. Doing so would make it easier and faster entry at the U.S. land boarder. If you have any questions, contact an experienced immigration attorney.

USCIS recently released 22 Eligible to Naturalize Fact Sheets about the LPR populations in certain cities in California, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas, and Wisconsin to coincide with outreach efforts in those places. Each fact sheet provides localized data on the top countries of birth, number of years in lawful permanent resident (LPR) status for the population eligible to apply for naturalization, top categories of admission to the United States, concentrated areas the population reportedly resides in, and age and gender breakdowns.

USCIS publish regular reports on the characteristics of naturalized citizens, and are committed to providing additional data on LPRs who are eligible to apply for naturalization based on their time in LPR status. Accurate data is critical to addressing barriers to citizenship and is an important part of the Interagency Strategy for Promoting Naturalization developed under President Biden’s Executive Order 14012.

USCIS plan to release additional fact sheets as part of our work to restore faith in the U.S. legal immigration system and to support strong integration and inclusion efforts for new Americans.

Employment-Based, First Preference (EB-1) Category

The EB-1 category remains current for all countries of chargeability.

Employment-Based, Second Preference (EB-2) Category

The cutoff date for EB-2 India advances by a few days, to December 14st, 2014. EB-2 China’s cutoff date remained the same at April 1st, 2019. EB-2 is current for all other countries of chargeability.

Employment-Based, Third Preference (EB-3) Category There has been no movement in th EB-3 category. The cutoff date for EB-3 India remains at January 15th, 2012, while EB-3 China keeps a March 22nd, 2018 cutoff date. The EB-3 Category remains current for all other countries chargeability.

EB-3 Other Workers

The cutoff date for EB-3 other workers for India is the same as its EB-3 cutoff date. For China, the cutoff date for EB-3 other workers remains at June 1st, 2012. India cut off date for EB-3 other workers is at February 15, 2012. All other countries of chargeability, EB-3 other workers retrogresses to May 8th, 2019.

EB-4 Category

The EB-4 cutoff date remains at November 8th, 2017 for El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras. For EB-4 Mexico, the cutoff date remains at April 1st, 2020. This category is current for all other countries of chargeability.

EB-5 Category

EB-5 remains current for all other countries of chargeability with the exception of China. China’s cutoff date for EB-5 unreserved (i.e. EB-5 immigrant visa numbers not set aside for rural, high unemployment and infrastructure projects) is November 22nd, 2015. EB-5 set aside for China is current.

Due to the EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act of 2022, USCIS has released two new forms that revise the Immigration and Nationality Act 203(b)(5). The new forms are Form I-956F, Application for Approval of an Investment in a Commercial Enterprise, and Form I-956G, Regional Center Annual Statement. The USCIS will be releasing the next series of Form I-526, Immigrant Petition by Standalone Investor, and Form I-526E, Immigrant Petition by Regional Center Investor.

Form I-956F may only be filed by an approved regional center. Form I-956F allows regional centers to apply for approval for each particular investment offering through an associated new commercial enterprise.

Form I-956G incorporates increased statutory reporting requirement under the revised program.

The Filing Fees are as Follows:

Form I-956F-$17,795

Form I-956G-$3,035

If you have any questions about hoe the immigration and nationality laws in the United States may impact you or your family, please call MC Law Group at (702)238-1093.

Effective June 12th, 2022, the CDC has announced that it’s Order for airline or other aircraft passengers to show a negative COVID-19 test result or documentation of recovery from COVID-19 in order to board any aircraft destined to the United States from a foreign country has been rescinded. Please note that the CDC’s order requiring vaccination proof for non-U.S. citizen nonimmigrants to travel to the United States is still in effect. The current Order is as follows:

If you are a non-U.S. citizen who is a nonimmigrant (not a U.S. citizen, U.S. national, lawful permanent resident, or traveling to the United States on an immigrant visa), you will need to show proof of being fully vaccinated against COVID-19 before you travel by air to the United States from a foreign country.

Some categories of noncitizen, nonimmigrants are excepted from this requirement. If you meet the criteria for one of these categories, you will need to fulfill additional requirements to travel by air to the United States.

USCIS announced:

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services are implementing premium processing for certain petitioners who have a pending Form I-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Workers, under the EB-1 and EB-2 classifications. This expansion of premium processing only applies to certain previously filed Form I-140 petitions under an E13 multinational executive and manager classification or E21 classification as a member of professions with advanced degrees or exceptional ability seeking a national interest waiver (NIW). Petitioners who wish to request a premium processing upgrade must file Form I-907, Request for Premium Processing Service.

The expansion will occur in phases:

- Beginning June 1, 2022, we will accept Form I-907 requests for E13 multinational executive and manager petitions received on or before Jan. 1, 2021.

- Beginning July 1, 2022, we will accept Form I-907 requests for E21 NIW petitions received on or before June 1,2021, and E13 multinational executive and manager petitions received on or before March 1, 2021.

We will reject premium processing requests for these classifications that are filed before their start date of June 1,2022, or July 1, 2022. We will not accept new (initial) Forms I-140 with a premium processing request at this time.

On May 23, 2022, we published a new version of Form I-907, dated 05/31/22. For the month of June, we will accept both the 09/30/20 and the 05/31/22 editions of Form I-907. Starting July 1, we will reject the older 09/30/20 edition of Form I-907.

As previously announced, we are expanding premium processing to additional form types as part of our efforts to increase efficiency and reduce burdens to the overall legal immigration system.

Please reach out to an expert immigration attorney who can guide you through these new processes.

The NDA is an opportunity for immigration lawyers to directly sit across from senators and congresspersons to voice our concerns and to make suggestions about the US immigration law system. Margo Chernysheva raised these questions to the senators she was able to meet:

1. There is a shortage of workers in all areas of the US economy currently. Signs like: “The entire world is short staffed.

PLEASE be kind to the awesome employees that showed up today. WE appreciate your patience” is so common on the streets of America, it’s not even funny anymore – what is congress planning to do about it?

2. The work authorizations for spouses of H-1Bs (H-4) were not included in the new I-94S program – why?

3. When Congress voted to expend the Premium Processing for broader categories, was the intent to have USCIS implement those starting only in 2026?

4. EB-5 Program reform was a welcome news. Also, welcoming was allowing those in the US on different other non-immigrant visas (H-1Bs, L-1, O, P, etc.) to allow them to file Adjustment of status while waiting for their I-526 decisions.

However, there are thousands of EB-5 investors, who invested over $500,000 and created 10 US jobs) currently waiting more than 5 years in just processing time (note waiting for visa availability time) for their cases to be adjudicated and such a prolonged wait time was not addressed for those lawfully waiting their turn outside the US.

Any plans to address and allow them to enter at least on HP since they want their lives in the US start as promised (within normal processing times) not 5 years before they ever see their green card.

5. With the war in Ukraine continuing and the Uniting Ukraine HP program, which was rolled out April 25, 2022, closing the Southern Border Crossing into the US by Ukrainians -- yet TPS eligibility is for those physically present as of April 11, 2022 – any plans to expend it until April 25, 2022 to allow those last lucky war-torn sufferers to obtain TPS status?

6. AAA for Afghanis – what is the current environment in the Congress and Senate to implement this crucial to US global reputation program?

7. The Congress and Courts have long agreed that an exception should be carved out for parents bringing their children with them when they come to the US and such exemption from trafficking illegal alien charges was practiced for decades; however, during Trump administration, it was suddenly and arbitrarily changed without any court ruling nor Congress decision.

Now, all parents who at some point brought their children to the United States without authorization are being charged with smuggling their, now US citizen, children to the United States even if it was not done by them.

For example, I had a very fresh case where a father of a US citizen, who was divorced from his spouse at the time but still sending them child support, was charged with smuggling and not allowed to receive an immigrant visa at the consulate in Mexico although he said that he did not even know the mother of his children was bringing them to the US.

The consular officer asked if he provided any financial support for his children, when he acknowledged it, the officer said – then you paid for their processing and denied his otherwise approvable immigrant visa based on this statement.

Multiple suggestions were offered by Margo and her colleagues about ways that the government can improve on the issued raised above. Other concerns included the long delays in hearing schedules and prejudice treatment of immigrants in the immigration courts.

Unfortunately, meetings with our congressional representatives cannot solve immigration problems immediately.

However, Margo hopes that by bringing the issues to Senators and Congress by sharing real examples will help government representatives know and understand how the dysfunctionality of the US immigration and nationality law system is negatively impacting the lives of U.S. citizens and their international family members as well as U.S. businesses and the entire U.S. economy.

USCIS announced that TPS is finally available for Ukrainians. To be eligible under the Ukraine designation, individuals must demonstrate their continuous residence in the United States since April 11, 2022, and continuous physical presence in the United States since the designation date in the Federal Register notice. Ukrainian nationals currently outside the United States are not eligible for TPS under this designation, and they will not become eligible by relocating to the United States in the coming weeks. Ukrainians are encouraged instead to apply for a visa or other legal pathway at a U.S. consulate abroad. Ukrainians in the Unites States will need to prove their Ukrainian Citizenship. Individuals holding passports of other countries or ability to have a permanent residency in another country, would not qualify for an Ukrainian TPS. The status will be given for 18 months (at a time) and registration is open from 19 of April, 2022 to 19 of October, 2023. It allows TPS recipient to live without fair of deportation in the United States, to work (by applying for a work authorization), to receive a Social Security number, and ability to apply for Advance Parole (which will allow to travel anyone approved for TPS status). It does not correct any illegal entry to the United States or ability to switch to another non-immigrant status just because individual has TPS status. If a person applied for TPS while in another non-immigrant status, they would not be accruing illegal status while on TPS. In other words, if someone was here on a B-2 visa and applied for TPS, they can later leave the United States and reenter on another immigrant or non-immigrant visa without a need for applying for waiver of long presence in the United States under TPS. However, if someone has been in the United States without status already when they applied for TPS, then TPS status would not correct prior status problems.

USCIS just announced today that effective immediately, new criteria will guide USCIS officers on when to waive interviews for those waiting for their I-751 removal of condition application approval. This update replaces previous policy that required all applicants to undergo an interview if they obtained permanent legal status via consular processing. “Implementing a risk-based strategic approach to the CPR-interview process will increase efficiencies that improve processing times, allow for a better use of agency staffing resources, and help reduce the pending caseload while still maintaining procedures to identify fraud and protect national security,” said USCIS Director Ur M. Jaddou. “This update is consistent with agency priorities to break down barriers in the immigration system, eliminate undue burdens on those seeking benefits, and effectively respond to stakeholder feedback and public concerns.” The previous policy was not effective and extended the process for more than 2 years for those waiting for application to be processed. The new process is hoping to assist in cleaning the backlog of the applications waiting for approval.

1. Internal processing time improvement goals and quotas for USCIS field offices and Service Centers to speedup processing of cases.
2. Premium processing has expended to include I-765 (work authorizations); I-539 change/extension of non-immigrant status.
3. Expedited processing of work authorization for healthcare and childcare workers as well as those waiting for their asylum case processing.

For premium processing detailed information please see below directly form DHS page:
“Today the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced a final rule that aligns premium processing regulations with the Emergency Stopgap USCIS Stabilization Act. The rule codifies premium processing fees and adjudication timeframes provided by Congress. Premium processing is an expedited adjudication service now available only to petitioners filing a Form I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker, and to certain employment-based immigrant visa petitioners filing a Form I-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Workers.
This final rule expands the categories of forms ultimately eligible for premium processing services, including Form I-539, Application to Extend/Change Nonimmigrant Status; Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization; and additional classifications under Form I-140. USCIS intends to begin implementing, through a phased approach, premium processing availability of Form I-539, Form I-765 and Form I-140 in fiscal year 2022. USCIS will also adhere to the congressional requirement that the expansion of premium processing must not cause an increase in processing times for regular immigration benefit requests.

USCIS plans to begin this phased implementation process by expanding premium processing eligibility to Form I-140 filers requesting EB-1 immigrant classification as a multinational executive or manager, or EB-2 immigrant classification as a member of professions with advanced degrees or exceptional ability seeking a national interest waiver.”

The House just introduced a new immigration package for the budget reconciliation process which has been sent to the Rules Committee for next steps. (See link: https://rules.house.gov/legislation click on HR 5376 Build Back Better Act. The immigration provisions begin on page 794 of the entire BBB bill.). The reconciliation package will likely go to the House floor next week for debates. The substance of this new House BBB bill will likely to be modified once the Senate looks at it hence it is important to remember that this is not a final bill or law. The bill includes registry as the legalization option for those living in the United State undocumented. It is likely that the Senate will go with parole rather than registry as there is a negative connotation to that word. As with the original House bill, this new one includes many of the legal immigration provisions immigrants and others have been fighting for to help family, employment, and DV visa backlogs (see American Immigration Lawyers’ Association summary of those provisions in the original House bill: Summary and Section by Section Breakdown of Title VI- Subtitle A- Immigration Provisions). The House bill is also trying to impose additional fees on several applications and petitions. These proposed additional fees were added because the government needs to offset the registry costs, which is guesstimated to be way more than $107 billion currently allocated for immigration services. There will more likely be some re-negotiations on the fees and the final fee schedule would not be available until the bill passes is finalized in Senate but increase in fees is almost imminent.

On September 14, 2021, USCIS announced that applicants undergoing the immigration medical examination must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 before the civil surgeon can complete an immigration medical examination as well as sign Form I-693. While there are stipulations based on age, underlying medical conditions and availability of the vaccine itself, this requirement still stands as yet another to-do list item for those immigrating to the US. For years, the CDC has been requiring a whole host of vaccinations as a requirement for anyone seeking legal permanent residency in the US, along with a full medical exam. That being said, this vaccination requirement has some implications that will need to be improved over time. For instance, there is still the highly prevalent issue of barriers to vaccination. More specifically, vaccination sites require identification—a requirement that undocumented immigrants would not be able to meet. Furthermore, information regarding the vaccine and where/how to get it is rarely translated into foreign languages. Thus, a language barrier may also prove as a difficulty to this new update.

Today, USCIS has issued a new policy about job portability after filing application for Adjustment of status through I-140 petition has already been filed. This policy claims to consolidate existing guidance on determining eligibility to transfer, or “port” including evaluating whether the new job offer is in the same or similar occupational classification as the job specified in the Immigrant Petition for Alien Workers...
Learn More

If you are an immigrant in the United States, or if you are a U.S.-based employer who hires immigrants, changes in immigration procedures due to the....
Read More

Effective Monday, October 19, 2020, new regulations are being put in place!

Learn More