Visa Lawyer Blog

Articles Posted in Work permits

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On March 5, 2018, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that Syrian nationals currently receiving benefits under Temporary Protected Status (TPS) may re-register between March 5, and May 4, 2018, to maintain their status under the program.

Re-registration instructions and information on how to renew employment authorization have been published on the USCIS website.

Applicants must re-register by submitting Form I-821 Application for Temporary Protected Status to maintain TPS benefits, and may submit a properly completed Form I-765 Application for Employment Authorization to renew employment authorization documents (EAD) at the same time. Alternatively, TPS applicants may file Form I-765 at a later date.

Those who are eligible to apply will receive new employment authorization documents with a September 30, 2019 expiration date. For individuals who have filed for TPS re-registration, USCIS will automatically be extending the validity of EADS that expire on March 31 for a period of 180 days, through September 27, giving USCIS enough time to process applications while at the same time allowing TPS beneficiaries to continue working without interruptions.

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During December of last year, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), announced that the agency was beginning to take preliminary steps to terminate H-4 Employment Authorization for certain H-4 spouses, a privilege that has been available to eligible spouses of H-1B nonimmigrant workers since 2015. As it stands, the 2015 H-4 EAD rule allows certain H-4 dependent spouses of H-1B nonimmigrant workers the ability to obtain an employment authorization card (work permit), provided the H-1B nonimmigrant worker is in the process of obtaining an employment based green card.

Proposal to Amend the 2015 H-4 EAD Rule

On December 14, 2017, a rulemaking notice was first published in the Federal Register notifying the public that the Department of Homeland Security, in conjunction with USCIS, would be reviewing and possibly amending the 2015 H-4 EAD rule, following the issuance of Executive Order 13788, “Buy American, Hire American.”

According to the notice published in the Federal Register, DHS reserves the authority to amend the 2015 H-4 EAD rule under section 102 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 and section 103(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). These sections of the law give the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security the discretionary power to amend the law so that it aligns with the policies set out in the President’s executive order.

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Last week, the United States Senate began much-anticipated debates to reach a deal on immigration before the March 5th deadline imposed by the President. Debates in the Senate last week however were unavailing with both parties blaming one another for their inability to come up with a solution that would protect thousands of DACA recipients from deportation. To make matters worse the President issued a firestorm of tweets attacking leaders of the Democratic party and criticizing sanctuary cities that protect undocumented immigrants from deportation. Should Congress fail to enact legislation to shield Dreamers from deportation by March 5th, thousands of young undocumented immigrants brought to the United States as children will begin to lose their protection from deportation and the ability to work legally in the United States.

In the weeks ahead, Congress must also focus their efforts to pass a spending bill to permanently fund the government. Currently, the government is running on a short-term spending bill which expires midnight on March 23rd. Failure to pass a spending bill that permanently funds the government would mean yet another government shutdown. This urgent need to pass a spending bill may present an opportunity for Congress to finally reach a solution on top immigration priorities and seal the future of DACA recipients. Top immigration priorities for Republicans include building a wall between the United States and Mexico, beefing up the presence of border patrol agents and law enforcement, ending “Chain-Migration,” the diversity visa lottery program, while Democrats remain focused on creating a path to citizenship for Dreamers, and strongly oppose ending “Chain-Migration.” However, it would not be surprising if Congress fails to safeguard the status of DACA recipients given that members of Congress have on previous occasions failed to come up with a bipartisan solution.

Since October, approximately 122 young undocumented immigrants have had their DACA-permits expire on a daily basis, which is expected to add up to 22,000 immigrants by March 5th. Approximately 668,000 immigrants have been issued work permits under DACA that will not expire until March 5th or later.

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IMPORTANT UPDATE: On February 14, 2018 USCIS announced that due to federal court orders issued on January 9, 2018 and February 13, 2018, USCIS will resume accepting requests to renew a grant of deferred action under the DACA program. Please read our post below to determine whether you qualify for a renewal request. 

File Your DACA Renewal Request Immediately

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Image by Lorie Shaull

It is with great sadness that we report that today, Monday January 8, 2018, the Secretary of Homeland Security, Kirstjen M. Nielsen, has formally decided to terminate the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) designation for the country of El Salvador. This decision is extremely upsetting given that Salvadorans were among the largest group of foreign nationals receiving temporary provisional residency permits under the TPS program in the United States. The consequences of this decision are even more troubling considering the plight that Salvadorans face in their home country. For more than a decade, the country of El Salvador has been plagued by soaring gang violence, drug trafficking, human smuggling, and an endemic rate of violence against women.

Per today’s statement issued by the Department of Homeland Security, the TPS designation for El Salvador will officially terminate on September 9, 2019. This means that the Department of Homeland Security will give Salvadorans a period of 18 months, before terminating their provisional residency permits on September 9th, to allow Salvadorans to make an orderly departure from the United States or to seek alternative legal means to remain in the United States.

According to the Washington Post, the United States has issued approximately 200,000 provisional residency permits to Salvadorans, many of whom have been living in the country since 2001. Salvadorans were first given Temporary Protected Status in 2001 when a series of large earthquakes devastated the impoverished country. Since 2001, the United States government has renewed their temporary permits on an 18-month basis.

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As Congress begins negotiations to enact legislation that would give young undocumented immigrants known as ” Dreamers” the opportunity to continue to live and work in the United States, three former secretaries from the Department of Homeland Security have come forward to pressure lawmakers to come up with a legislative solution by the March 5th deadline proposed by President Donald Trump. As previously reported, the President has given Congress until March 5th to act before the majority of work permits issued under the now defunct Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) will begin to expire. Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced the termination of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program during September of last year.

On January 3rd, Michael Chertoff, the former Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security under President George W. Bush, Janet Napolitano, and Jeh Johnson, former secretaries under President Barack Obama, fired off a powerful 2-page letter warning members of Congress that time is quickly running out for Congress to enact a legislative solution to the DACA problem in a responsible and realistic manner. The letter emphasizes that Congress must act swiftly, much before the March 5th deadline, to give the Department of Homeland Security enough time to “meet the significant administrative requirements” that would be necessary for implementation of any legislative solution proposed by Congress.

The letter also affirms that swift legislative solution would ensure certainty for American companies and small business owners employing young recipients of DACA. In order to meet the objectives for implementation, the former secretaries urge that “the realistic deadline for successfully establishing a Dreamers program in time to prevent large scale loss of work authorization and deportation protection is only weeks away,” placing that deadline in the middle of January.

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Since President Donald Trump was elected to the office of the Presidency, a lot has changed in immigration law. From the very beginning, President Trump set out to shatter the status quo with his infamous campaign slogan “Make America Great Again” and immigration was one of the targets. With the help of his campaign advisers and his larger than life personality, President Donald Trump, defeated his biggest political rival, the famed career politician Hillary Clinton. Throughout his campaign it became clear that the Donald Trump persona was not simply made for TV. Whether you agree with his policies or not, Donald Trump has proven that he is a force to be reckoned with.

As Americans headed to the polls on that fateful morning on November 8th there was a tinge of uncertainty in the air—even an odd sense of silence. For those that disagreed with President Trump’s policies, the choice was clear, but for those that had endured eight years under Barack Obama, an unfamiliar face in politics was the answer. Everyone knew Donald Trump as a wealthy real estate mogul with an affinity for the spotlight, but few knew what Donald Trump would be like as a politician, let alone President of the United States. Despite the criticism, Donald Trump became a national phenomenon, capturing the hearts and minds of the American people with his no nonsense approach to politics, and his appeal to a large and growing conservative base. From the very beginning of his presidency, Donald Trump set out to become one of the most unconventional Presidents of the modern era, using his preferred method of Tweeting to reach the American people. Although his administration is only a year old, it has been marred with scandals, dozens of firings, resignations, and abrupt departures.

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According to an internal memorandum, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has plans to conduct a targeted enforcement operation at a national food service chain within the coming weeks. An ICE official spoke with The Daily Beast, on condition of anonymity, telling the news organization that ICE plans to conduct this operation to discourage American employers from exploiting undocumented workers by paying them low wages. Officials told the news organization that the operation will be targeting multiple locations across the United States, and that employers will likely be charged with federal offenses including harboring illegal aliens.

This move is the Trump administration’s latest attempt to deter illegal immigration through worksite enforcement actions, described by the administration as targeted operations to prosecute individuals who employ undocumented immigrants. If all goes to plan, the operation will be primarily focused on prosecuting owners of franchises who illegally employ undocumented immigrants. Sources with knowledge of the investigation have said that a preliminary investigation has already been conducted and that targets have already been chosen.

The food industry has and continues to be an industry that employs thousands of undocumented workers due to the unskilled nature of the work, and the fact that employers are able to cut costs by paying undocumented workers very low salaries. According to a 2008 Pew report, at least 10 percent of the hospitality industry is supported by the labor of undocumented immigrants. Last year, Eater reported that over 20% of all cooks working in restaurant kitchens could be undocumented. Noelle Stewart, communications manager for Define American, said that undocumented immigrants make up a crucial part of our economy in that, “they cultivate our produce; they cook our food,” she says, “the food industry wouldn’t be possible in the way it is without them.”

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The Trump administration has taken its first step toward dismantling the International Entrepreneur Rule, an Obama era program that would have given thousands of foreign entrepreneurs the opportunity to travel to the United States for a 30-month period, for the purpose of starting or scaling their start-up business enterprise in the United States.

On November 17, 2017, the Trump administration sent a notice to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to officially end the International Entrepreneur Rule. This notice appeared on the website of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs as early as Friday. At this time, the Trump administration is finalizing a draft to officially rescind the rule. Once the administration has finished reviewing the draft, it will be published in the Federal Register. It is expected that the draft to rescind the rule will be published within the next week.

After publication, a public notice and comment period will follow, as required by the Administrative Procedure Act, a process by which the government invites the public to comment on a proposed version of a government rule published in the Federal Register. Once the comment period has ended, the government responds to comments, considers feedback, and decides whether such feedback will have any influence on their decision to rescind the rule.

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Premium Processing Resumes for all H-1B Petitions

Today, October 3, 2017, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) made an official announcement letting the public know that premium processing service has resumed for all types of H-1B petitions including H-1B extension of stay petitions.

What is premium processing?

Premium processing service refers to an optional premium processing service offered by USCIS to employers filing Form I-129 (Petition for a Non-immigrant Worker) or Form I-140 (Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker). Premium processing guarantees 15 calendar day processing to petitioners who make use of the service. Applications that are not processed within 15 calendar days, receive a refund of the $1,225 premium processing fee. To make use of the service, petitioners must file Form I-907 with their application and include the appropriate fees. The I-907 request for premium processing service can be filed together with an H-1B petition or separately pending a decision. This service has now resumed for all types of H-1B petitions.

For more information on premium processing please click here.

New I-765 Form Allows Applicants to Apply for SSN without visiting SS Office

On October 2, 2017, USCIS announced a new partnership with the Social Security Administration which will allow certain foreign nationals to apply for employment authorization and a social security number using the updated Form I-765 Application for Employment Authorization, without having to visit the Social Security office. In order to obtain lawful employment in the United States, foreign nationals are required to apply for an employment authorization card from USCIS, and a Social Security number with the Social Security Administration. Both are required to engage in lawful employment in the United states. Employment Authorization Cards are accepted as valid employment documentation by U.S. employers, the Social Security Administration, and all federal agencies including the Department of Motor Vehicles.

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