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 not determinative of whether the proposed L-1A position is managerial or executive. For L-1B petitioners, the policy alert provides a different definition of “advanced” and “specialized.” The burden is on the petitioner to prove that their knowledge meets the new definition of “advanced” or “specialized” which can be found on the USCIS website.                                                                                                    

USCIS AUTOMATIC EXTENSION FOR REQUEST FOR EVIDENCE, NOTICE OF INTENT TO DENY, AND FORM I-290B NOTICE OF APPEAL OR MOTION EXPIRES OCTOBER 23, 2022

In early 2020, USCIS issued an automatic extension of 60 days to the deadline set forth on several types of requests and notices. These include in part, any Request for Evidence, Motions, and Appeal. The automatic extension was to be applied to any of the applicable requests and motions that were issued between March 1, 2020 and October 23, 2022. USCIS has yet to indicate if there will be another extension. Therefore, as of now, the deadlines on requests and motions will have to be strictly adhered to.

POLICY GUIDANCE UPDATE FOR O-1 INDIVIDUALS WITH EXTRADORDINARY ABILITY OR ACHIEVEMENT INCLUDES MORE CLARIFICATIONS ON HOW PETITIONS WILL BE EVALUATED

The new guidance issued by USCIS provides necessary information on the criteria that is used in evaluating an O-1 beneficiary's prospective work within their area of proposed achievement or extraordinary ability. Extensive guidance on how USCIS evaluates O-1A nonimmigrants in STEM fields can be found in a table that discusses the types of evidence that will satisfy each of the criteria. If existing evidence requirements do not apply to their occupation, the guidance provides further examples of comparable evidence that can show eligibility for beneficiaries working in STEM occupations.  

CALIFORNIA EMPLOYER FOUND IN VIOLATION OF FEDERAL LAW FOR PRIORITIZING H-2A WORKERS OVER US WORKERS

Following an investigation by the Wage and Hour Division of the U.S. Department of Labor, a California grape grower was found guilty of having given more hours and better wages to workers employed under the H-2A agricultural worker program. The DOL recovered $55,000 in lost wages for the 14 affected farmworkers. In the fiscal years 2020 and 2021, 735 cases of H-2A violations were investigated, $9.5 million in civil penalties were issued to employers in violation of federal law and more than $9 million were recovered in back wages for more than 13,000 workers.