Visa Lawyer Blog

Articles Posted in Employment

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state-2731980_1280In this blog post, we share with you an important announcement from the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).

On July 8, 2024, the Department of Homeland Security announced an extension of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) benefits for Yemeni nationals for an 18-month period beginning from September 4, 2024 through March 3, 2026.

The Biden administration has made the decision to extend Temporary Protected Status for Yemeni nationals due to ongoing armed conflict and extraordinary and temporary conditions that prevent Yemeni nationals from safely returning to their home country.

Yemeni nationals (and individuals having no nationality who last habitually resided in Yemen) continuously residing in the United States since July 2, 2024, are eligible for Temporary Protected Status under Yemen’s designation.

Existing beneficiaries of TPS may re-register to maintain their benefits during the 60-day re-registration period that runs from July 10, 2024, through September 9, 2024.

Those who do not currently have TPS but who qualify for TPS benefits can register from July 10, 2024, through March 3, 2026.

It is important for re-registrants to timely re-register during the registration period and not wait until their Employment Authorization Documents (EADs) expire, as delaying reregistration could result in gaps in their employment authorization documentation.

The main benefit of applying for TPS is that those who are approved can remain in the country on a lawful basis, will receive protection against deportation (deferred status), and are eligible to apply for employment authorization and travel permission by filing, Form I-765 Application for Employment Authorization, and Form I-131 Application for Travel Document, with the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).

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international-2693195_1280We are pleased to report that the Department of Homeland Security recently issued a notice in the Federal Register extending Haiti’s designation for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for an 18-month period, from August 4, 2024 to February 3, 2026.

Those who qualify will be eligible to apply for an Employment Authorization Document (EAD) that is valid for the duration of the TPS country designation.

The redesignation was made based on the Secretary of Homeland Security’s assessment that Haiti faces challenges that warrant ongoing humanitarian assistance based on the regional violence and insecurity throughout the country.

Who qualifies?

You may be eligible to apply for TPS under Haiti’s designation if you continuously resided in the United States on or before June 3, 2024, and have remained continuously physically present in the United States since that date.

However, if you arrived in the United States after June 3, 2024, you are not eligible for TPS under Haiti’s designation.

It is estimated that Haiti’s redesignation will allow approximately 309,000 additional Haitian nationals to file an initial TPS application if they are otherwise eligible.

Haitian TPS recipients will also be allowed to retain their TPS benefits upon their re-registration.

First Time Applicants

Under the redesignation of TPS for Haiti, eligible individuals who do not have TPS may submit an initial Form I-821, Application for Temporary Protected Status, during the initial registration period that runs from July 1, 2024 through February 3, 2026.

Applicants can apply for a TPS-related EAD by submitting a completed Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization, with their Form I-821, or separately later. The I-765 form can be filed online.

Re-registration for current TPS recipients

Current beneficiaries under TPS must re-register during the 60-day re-registration period that runs from July 1, 2024, through August 30, 2024. Qualifying beneficiaries who re-register and continue to meet the TPS eligibility requirements will be able to retain their TPS benefits and employment authorization.

Re-registration is limited to individuals who previously registered for and were granted TPS under Haiti’s initial designation.

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53598884922_4742d81a60_cLa semana pasada el mundo de inmigración vivió un evento sísmico. El Presidente anunció una acción ejecutiva histórica sobre inmigración que cambiará para siempre las vidas de los cónyuges indocumentados de ciudadanos estadounidenses y agilizará el proceso de visas de trabajo de no inmigrantes para los beneficiarios de DACA y otras personas indocumentadas.

En esta publicación, compartimos con ustedes todo lo que sabemos sobre cómo la orden ejecutiva beneficiará a los graduados universitarios estadounidenses que buscan visas de trabajo.

La acción ejecutiva del presidente Biden se anunció en el duodécimo aniversario del programa de Acción Diferida para los Llegados en la Infancia (DACA), promulgado por primera vez bajo la administración Obama. Además de brindar protección a las personas contra la deportación, la orden brinda alivio a potencialmente miles de beneficiarios de DACA y otros soñadores que han obtenido títulos académicos en los EE. UU. y están buscando oportunidades de empleo en campos relacionados con su curso de estudio.

Al hacerlo, el gobierno permitirá a los soñadores explorar opciones existentes de visas basadas en empleo, como las visas H-1B, TN, L, O, etc.

Detalles Claves

¿Qué hace la Orden Ejecutiva?

  • Visas de Trabajo: Los beneficiarios de DACA y otras personas indocumentadas pronto podrían solicitar exenciones aceleradas de inelegibilidad y recibir visas de trabajo temporales, otorgándoles estatus legal para vivir y trabajar en los Estados Unidos sin temor a la deportación.
  • Elegibilidad: Para ser elegible para visas de trabajo de no inmigrantes, las personas deben haber obtenido un título en una institución estadounidense de educación superior acreditada en los Estados Unidos y tener una oferta de empleo estadounidense en un campo relacionado con su curso de estudio.
  • Camino hacia la residencia: Existe la posibilidad de que estas visas de trabajo temporal creen un camino hacia la residencia permanente a través de opciones de patrocinio basadas en el empleo.

Importancia

Debido al polémico clima político, el Congreso de los Estados Unidos no ha logrado aprobar una reforma migratoria significativa que proporcione un camino legal para que los soñadores permanezcan en los Estados Unidos y contribuyan positivamente a la economía estadounidense, utilizando las habilidades y la educación que obtuvieron aquí en los Estados Unidos.

Por primera vez, el gobierno ordenará al Departamento de Estado (DOS) y al Departamento de Seguridad Nacional (DHS) que emitan una guía aclaratoria que haga posible que los beneficiarios de DACA y otras personas sin estatus legal soliciten exenciones aceleradas de inelegibilidad y visas de trabajo temporales.

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july-5404922_1280We are pleased to inform our readers that today June 10th, the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Consular Affairs released the July Visa Bulletin. In this blog post we breakdown the projected movement of the employment-based and family-sponsored categories during the month of July.

USCIS Adjustment of Status

For employment-based preference categories, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has confirmed that in July it will continue to use the Final Action Dates chart to determine filing eligibility for adjustment of status to permanent residence.

For family-sponsored preference categories, USCIS will continue to use the Dates for Filing chart to determine filing eligibility for adjustment of status to permanent residence.

Highlights of the July 2024 Visa Bulletin

Employment-Based Categories

Final Action Dates

EB-1 Aliens of extraordinary ability, Outstanding Professors and Researchers, and Certain Multinational Managers or Executives

  • EB-1 India will advance by eleven months to February 1, 2022
  • EB-1 China will advance by two months to November 1, 2022
  • EB-1 All other countries will remain current

EB-2 Members of the Professions and Aliens of Exceptional Ability

  • EB-2 India will advance by two months to June 15, 2012
  • EB-2 China will advance by one month to March 1, 2020
  • EB-2 All other countries will advance by two months to March 15, 2023

EB-3 Professionals and Skilled Workers

  • EB-3 India will advance by one month to September 22, 2012
  • EB-3 China will remain at September 1, 2020
  • EB-3 All other countries will retrogress by eleven months and three weeks to December 1, 2021

EB-3 Other Workers

  • EB-3 India will advance by one month to September 22, 2012
  • EB-3 China will remain at January 1, 2017
  • EB-3 Philippines will remain at May 1, 2020
  • EB-3 All other countries will advance by almost three months to January 1, 2021

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student-5473769_1280A new California legislative bill known as AB 2586 may soon grant undocumented students the ability to work on college campuses without having a work permit.

The assembly bill introduced by David Alvarez is meant to provide relief to the millions of undocumented students unable to apply for employment authorization under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.

As our readers may know, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) stopped processing new DACA applications in 2017, when former President Donald Trump rescinded the program. Since then, only renewal applications have been accepted by USCIS, putting millions of undocumented students out of work who can no longer apply for and obtain work permits.

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New fraud prevention mechanisms applied to the H-1B program in fiscal year 2025 have led to a dramatic decrease in the number of eligible registrations for H-1B cap visas, plunging to almost 40% from the past year.

These fraud prevention mechanisms were introduced with the final rule “Improving the H-1B Registration Selection Process and Program Integrity,” which changed the H-1B selection process to center around unique beneficiaries, preventing employers from gaming the system and unfairly increasing their chances of selection.

Starting this fiscal year, each beneficiary could only be registered under one passport or travel document to prevent the submission of multiple registrations.

Recent USCIS data suggests that these new changes to the H-1B system were successful at combating fraud. The agency recently released its selection statistics for the fiscal year 2025 H-1B cap season.

The data shows a significant drop in the number of eligible registrations for fiscal year 2025 totaling 470,342—representing a 38.6% reduction when compared to the 758,994 eligible registrations received in fiscal year 2024.

Of these eligible registrations (470,342), USCIS selected 114,017 beneficiaries, resulting in a total of 120,603 selected registrations for fiscal year 2025.

The number of workers who were registered did not change significantly at 442,000 when compared with 446,000 last year.

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We are pleased to announce that the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will soon publish a new temporary final rule in the federal register aimed at streamlining the processing of renewal applications for Employment Authorization Documents (also known as EADs) and increasing the automatic extension period of EADs.

What does this new rule propose?

The new temporary final rule (TFR) proposes an increase of the automatic extension period of certain employment authorization documents (EADs) from up to 180 days to up to 540 days from the expiration date printed on EADs.

Who will benefit?

This automatic extension will benefit employment-authorized noncitizens to prevent workforce interruption for those that have pending employment authorization renewal applications with USCIS, which were timely and properly filed on or after October 27, 2023.

Additionally, to be eligible for the automatic extension, the EAD renewal application must still be pending with USCIS on the date of the rule’s publication in the Federal Register on April 8, 2024.

It will also benefit any eligible applicant who files a renewal EAD application during the 540-day period beginning on or after April 8, 2024 (the date of the rule’s publication in the Federal Register).

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spin-wheel-7137017_1280

In this blog post, we bring you an important announcement regarding the H-1B fiscal year (FY) 2025 cap season.

Today, April 1st the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that it received sufficient electronic registrations during the initial registration period to meet the annual numerical limitations for the fiscal year (FY 2025), including for the advanced degree exemption (also known as the master’s cap).

Due to this, the agency has completed the H-1B visa lottery and selected unique beneficiaries at random from the properly submitted registrations to reach the H-1B cap.

As of today, April 1st  USCIS has notified all prospective petitioners of their selection via their myUSCIS organizational accounts. Please be aware that only selected beneficiaries are eligible to file an H-1B cap-subject petition with USCIS.

Congratulations to all those who were selected!

How will I know if I was selected in the lottery?

Petitioners with selected registrations will have their myUSCIS online organizational accounts updated to include a selection notice, which includes details of when and where to file. If you submitted your electronic registration with the assistance of an attorney, you should contact your legal representative to determine whether you were selected in the randomized lottery and your next steps.

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SSN Updates for New N-400 Applicants

If you have been thinking of applying for U.S. Citizenship, you may be pleased to learn that starting April 1st applicants will have the option of requesting an original or replacement Social Security number (SSN) or card and have the chance to update their immigration status with the Social Security Administration (SSA), without having to visit an SSA office in person.

This is all part of the new edition of Form N-400, Application for Naturalization (edition date 04/01/24) which will allow these requests to be made when submitting the application with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).

Previously, green card holders were required to visit an SSA office in person to notify them of their new U.S. Citizenship status and apply for a replacement SSN card reflecting their new immigration status.

Unfortunately, this new update only applies to applicants filing the new edition of the N-400 application (04/01/24) on or after April 1st.  Those who applied using the previous edition of the form (09/17/19) cannot take advantage of this option.

When will the new edition of the N-400 be available for use?

The new edition of the Form N-400 (04/01/24) will be available for online filing on April 1.

To file Form N-400 online, applicants must first create a USCIS online account, a convenient and secure method to submit forms, pay fees, and track the status of any pending USCIS immigration request throughout the adjudication process.

H-1B FY 2025 Cap Season Updates: What to Expect

You may be aware that the electronic registration period for the FY 2025 H-1B cap season closed at noon Eastern on March 25, 2024.

Within the next few days, USCIS will conduct a lottery to randomly select within the pool of properly submitted registrations to reach the FY 2025 H-1B annual numerical allocations, including the advanced degree exemption (master’s cap). USCIS will notify the public once the lottery has been completed.

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breaking-news-7562021_1280
We are reporting some breaking news for the H-1B FY 2025 cap season. This afternoon, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has announced that it will be extending the H-1B electronic registration period for the FY 2025 cap until noon eastern time, Monday, March 25, 2024.

Why the Change?

The H-1B FY 2025 electronic registration process which began on March 6th has been plagued by technical issues and system outages which has caused problems for registrants attempting to submit their registrations. Due to these issues, USCIS has decided to extend the electronic registration period to provide relief to those experiencing difficulties.

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