Category: Uncategorized

USCIS ANNOUNCES TRIAL OF NEW VERSION OF THE NATURALIZATION TEST The citizenship test for naturalization consists of two parts, an English test that evaluates an applicants ability to read, write and speak, and a civics test that assesses the applicant’s knowledge of U.S. government and history. In the new trial version of the naturalization test,…

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES SET TO VOTE ON EAGLE ACT NEXT WEEK The Equal Access to Green Cards for Legal Employment Act of 2022 has received bipartisan support and is scheduled to be voted on soon. The Act aims to eliminate per-country limits on employment-based green cards, raise annual limits on family-based green cards, and to…

USCIS ANNOUNCES WORK AUTHORIZATION INCIDENT TO PAROLE STATUS FOR CERTAIN AFGHAN AND UKRAINIAN PAROLEES As of November 21, 2022, USCIS is providing employment authorization incident to status and a no-fee initial employment authorization document to parolees from Afghanistan and Ukraine, in an attempt to accord parolees the same protections as refugees. Eligible parolees include: Afghanis…

CHILD STATUS PROTECTION ACT MAY OFFER HOPE TO DEPENDENTS AGING OUT OF GREEN CARD ELIGIBILITY With the employment-based priority dates for EB-2 and EB-3 nationals from India and China in retrogression, the Child Status Protection Act (CSPA) may provide some protection to dependents who turn twenty-one while waiting for their green card applications to be…

AS ELON MUSK LAYS OFF HALF OF ALL TWITTER EMPLOYEES, H-1B AND L-1 WORKERS ARE LEFT IN LIMBO US-based tech companies hire a significant number of H-1B workers and many are considered “H-1B dependent” which means that a notable portion of their workforce is in the country on an employment-related visa. Widespread layoffs such as…

BIG TECH PUSHES FOR ADDITIONAL IMMIGRATION PROTOCOL TO BE ADDED TO THE CHIPS AND SCIENCE ACT IN THE NAME OF NATIONAL SECURITY Three months ago, Congress passed the Chips and Science Act, which aims to attract foreign STEM workers to the United States to help reinvest in the domestic manufacturing of semiconductors and increase scientific…

USCIS EXTENDS COVID-19 RELATED FLEXIBILITY On October 24th, USCIS issued a renewed automatic extension of 60 days to the due date of several types of requests and notices. This extension applies to Requests for Evidence, Continuations to Requests for Evidence, Notices of Intent to Deny, Notices of Intent to Revoke, Notices of Intent to Rescind,…

USCIS ISSUES POLICY ALERT FOR L-1 INTRACOMPANY TRANSFEREES Updates on eligibility requirements, filing, documentation and evidence, and adjudication procedures for L-1 visa petitions can be found in the recent policy guidance provided by USCIS. For L-1A visas, the employee must be performing managerial duties, not day-to-day tasks, and that the title of the job is…

DHS EXTENDS I-9 FLEXIBILITY THROUGH JULY 2023 AND SAYS EMPLOYERS SHOULD CONTINUE USING CURRENT I-9 FORM EVEN AFTER ITS EXPIRATION DATE OF OCTOBER 31, 2022 UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE Form I-9 is used to verify the identity and employment authorization for both citizens and noncitizens who are hired to work in the United States. The Department…

AILA RELEASES UPDATE ON THE DEPARTMENT OF STATE’S PROGRESS TOWARDS OVERCOMING DELAYS AND BACKLOGS DURING COVID19 PANDEMIC The average number of immigrant visas issued per month is slowly climbing back to pre-pandemic levels. Within the last three years, the average number of immigrant visas has declined significantly- from roughly 40,000 per month in 2019 to…