Immigration - General

Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security Alejandro N. Mayorkas has announced several new USCIS policies meant to improve the legal immigration system, eliminate barriers, and reduce burdens on applicants.

In Sanchez v. Mayorkas , 593 U.S. ____(June 7, 2021), the U.S. Supreme Court resolved the circuit split on whether a grant for temporary protected status (TPS) authorizes eligible noncitizens to adjust status to lawful permanent resident even if they entered the United States unlawfully – the Court

The Department of Homeland Security will no longer be collecting civil financial penalties for noncitizens who fail to depart from the United States. Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas announced that “[t]here is no indication that these penalties promoted compliance” and that the penalties were “ineffecti

By tweet, the Department of Homeland Security announced an extension of the travel restrictions at the Northern and Southern land and sea borders until June 21, 2021. These borders have been closed to “non-essential” travel since March 2020 due to COVID-19. According to the restrictions: Individuals

The Department of Homeland Security has announced that it will be extending Haitian Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for 18 months, until November 2022. It also has officially set out the application procedures for Burmese TPS, which the Secretary of DHS announced in March 2021, but had not yet issu

The Biden administration is breathing life into the International Entrepreneur Rule (IER). It has announced that the IER will be launched anew, because it will “strengthen and grow our nation’s economy through increased capital spending, innovation, and job creation.” Although there were stops and s

President Joe Biden’s American Citizenship Act of 2021, introduced in Congress in February, would provide large-scale immigration reform. But it will be difficult to pass such a comprehensive bill. The last time comprehensive immigration reform made it through Congress was in 1986, during the Reagan

The Social Security Administration (SSA) has stated that it has discontinued mailing No-Match letters (also known as EDCOR notifications) to employers. SSA stated that it plans to focus instead on making it easier for employers to fix errors electronically through its Business Services Online Portal

On April 26, 2021, the U.S.

On April 30, 2021, the Biden administration issued a proclamation that implements restrictions for travelers from India, due to concerns regarding COVID-19. Pursuant to the proclamation, noncitizens who have been physically present in India within 14 days of travel to the United States will be barre

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki announced today that based upon CDC advice, India will be added to the list of countries subject to the 14-day travel restriction rule. It is reported that the new rule will go into effect on Tuesday, May 4, 2021 at 12:01 am and that

Deference is back! USCIS announced that, effective immediately, it will reinstate its 2004 policy of deferring to prior determinations of eligibility. Rescinded by the Trump administration, this policy directed officers to “generally defer to prior determinations of eligibility when adjudicating pet

The Healthcare Workforce Resilience Act (HWRA) has been introduced in the Senate again . The bill would recapture 15,000 immigrant visas for doctors and 25,000 for nurses. The bill has bipartisan support. Introduced by Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL), John Cornyn (R-TX), Todd Young (R-IN), Chris Coons (

The U.S. Supreme Court has heard oral argument on whether individuals who initially entered the United States without permission and subsequently were granted Temporary Protected Status (TPS) are eligible to adjust to lawful-permanent-resident status without leaving the United States. Sanchez v. May

By: USCIS to Accept Electronic I-765 OPT EAD Applications The USCIS is modernizing its processes and moving towards electronic filing for student work documents. On April 12, 2021, USCIS announced that it will begin accepting Form I-765 Application for Employment Authorization (“EAD”) from F-1 stude

On April 2, 2021, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced updated guidance on domestic and international travel. The guidance includes new recommendations for those fully vaccinated (defined as two weeks after the second dose in a two-dose series or two weeks after a sing

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in numerous presidential proclamations restricting travel and entry into the United States. Likewise, since the pandemic began, the criteria for “national interest exceptions” (NIEs) has also evolved. On March 2, 2021, the U.S. Department of State issued up

On March 30, 2021, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that it had completed the initial H-1B regular cap and master’s cap selection process for fiscal year (FY) 2022. This is the second year that USCIS has used an electronic preregistration system to conduct the random selec

The U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear a case from the Third Circuit that will resolve the circuit split on whether a grant of temporary protected status (TPS) authorizes eligible noncitizens to obtain lawful-permanent-resident status. Sanchez v. Mayorkas, No. 20-315 . Arguments for the case are set

The COVID-19 pandemic required nearly every employer around the globe to take stock of its workforce, policies and practices, and adapt to a rapidly changing and unpredictable environment. COVID-19 will eventually pass, but transformative issues laid bare by the pandemic—which were already in motion