Earlier this year, USCIS suspended the availability of Premium Processing for H-1B Petitions selected in the “H-1B Visa Lottery.”  That suspension was scheduled to end on September 10, 2018.

The Service has now announced that it will continue the suspension of Premium Processing for those cases beyond September 10, 2018, and expands the suspension to include all H-1B petitions except the following:

H-1B Petitions filed by cap-exempt institutions at the California Service Center.

H-1B Petitions filed at the Nebraska Service Center by Petitioners seeking continuation of previously approved H-1B employment without change.

A Premium Processing request filed before September 10 will continue to be honored.  The Service will refund the $1,225 fee if the Petition is not adjudicated within 15 days.

In the absence of Premium Processing, Petitioners can request expedited processing of the petition provided one or more of the following criteria are met.  (Note: our experience is that expedite requests are rarely granted).

Severe financial loss to company or person

Emergency situation

Humanitarian reasons

Nonprofit organization whose request is in furtherance of the cultural and social interests of the United States

Department of Defense or n ational i nterest s ituation (These particular expedite requests must come from an official U.S. government entity and state that delay will be detrimental to the government

USCIS error, or

Compelling interest of USCIS.

The Service anticipates that Premium Processing will not become available again until February,  2019

Please contact our office if you have any questions.

F-1 students working under a grant of STEM OPT must, along with their employers, be aware of important reporting requirements In order to maintain their legal F-1 status. Both the student and the employer must report and verify information to the student’s designated School official (DSO) during the course of the OPT validity period.

The student is required to confirm their record in SEVIS (the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System) every six months with their DSO to confirm that the student’s record accurately reflects their current circumstance.

As part of this six-month reporting, STEM OPT students must confirm that their SEVIS information correctly identifies the following:

• Legal name.
• Residential or mailing address.
• Employer name and address.
• Status of current employment.

Please note that STEM OPT students must report a change in this information, including any loss of employment, within 10 days of the change.

STEM OPT students must also complete and submit to their DSO an annual self-evaluation describing the progress of the training experience.  The employer must also review the student’s annual self-evaluation and sign it to attest to its accuracy.  This should be completed and submitted to the DSO no later than 10 days beyond first 12 months of the STEM OPT period.  A final evaluation, also prepared by the student and signed by the employer must also be submitted to the DSO within 10 days of completion of the OPT training period.

If the OPT status terminates prior to the 24 month period, a final assessment must also be submitted to the DSO within 10 days of that early termination.  Not submitting a final evaluation would be a violation of the terms of the Form I-983, “Training Plan for STEM OPT Students,” and may jeopardize the student’s nonimmigrant status.

Employers must report the STEM OPT student’s termination of employment or departure to the DSO within five business days.

STEM OPT students must also report to their DSO any material changes to, or material deviations from, the student’s formal training plan.

Material changes or deviations from the original Form I-983 may include, but are not limited to:

• Any change of the employer’s EIN.
• Any reduction in student compensation that is not tied to a reduction in hours worked.
• Any significant decrease in hours per week that a student engages in a STEM training opportunity.
• Changes to the employer’s commitments or student’s learning objectives as documented on the Form I-983.

So long as the STEM OPT student and employer meet the regulatory requirements and the modified Form I-983 meets the specified requirements, the student’s employment authorization will not cease based on a change to the plan.

When a STEM OPT student changes employers, the new employer must be enrolled in E-Verify before the student begins to work for pay. The student must also submit a new Form I-983 to their DSO within 10 days of starting the new practical training opportunity.  When a student begins a new practical training opportunity with a new employer less than 10 days after leaving the student’s prior employer, the student may fulfill all reporting obligations (loss of employment and new training plan) by submitting a new Form I-983.  Such changes should always be discussed by the student with their DSO before such changes take place.

STEM OPT students must report the termination of their practical training as listed on the I-983 within 10 days of the event.  Students who are granted a 24-month STEM OPT extension are allowed an additional 60 days of unemployment beyond the initial post-completion OPT limit. This means that students who obtain a 24-month STEM OPT extension will receive, for a total of 150 days of allowable unemployment, 90 days during the initial period of post-completion OPT plus an additional 60 days during the extension period.

Effective August 9, 2018, USCIS implemented fundamental changes to its policy on how an immigration status violation referred to as “unlawful presence” might lead to a finding that an F, M, or J nonimmigrant should be subject to the 3- or 10-year reentry bar provisions of INA 212(a)(9)(B).

Under the new policy, F, M, or J nonimmigrants who failed to maintain nonimmigrant status prior to August 9, 2018 will begin to accrue unlawful presence on August 9, 2018, unless they already started to accrue unlawful presence earlier by virtue of (1) a DHS denial of an immigration benefit based on a finding of violation of status (2) the expiration of a “date certain” I-94 departure date or (3) an exclusion or removal order by an Immigration Judge.

For F, M, or J  nonimmigrants who fail to maintain status after August 9, 2018, USCIS will start counting days of unlawful presence the day after a status violation occurs, unless the student applies for reinstatement or the student or exchange visitor is covered by some other exception to the unlawful presence counting rules. Prior policy did not count unlawful presence until a USCIS official or Immigration Judge made a formal finding of a status violation.  Additional information is available on the Unlawful Presence and Bars to Admissibility page of the USCIS website.

IMPORTANT: Most non-US citizens must report a change of address to USCIS within 10 days of moving within the US or its territories, by filing Form AR-11 by mail or online. For additional information and instructions please go to https://www.uscis.gov/addresschange.

USCIS has indicated in a Memorandum, dated July 13, 2018, that officers now have the discretion to deny applications without first issuing a Request for Evidence (RFE) or Notice of Intent to Deny (NOID) when they find that the required initial evidence was not submitted or the evidence of record fails to establish eligibility.

Under current practice, unless an application is clearly frivolous or lacking any legal basis, the Service would typically issue an RFE spelling out, often in great detail, the perceived deficiencies and giving the applicant/petitioner an opportunity gather and submit additional evidence and/or legal arguments in support of their case.  This new approach will require applicants and petitioners to take extra care in preparing a properly documented matter for filing.

Importantly, this Memo will only affect matters filed after September 11, 2018.

In light of these Memos, there is no longer any doubt that this Administration is doing everything it can to implement its anti-immigration philosophy.

We intend to do the best we can to see that our clients have the best advice possible under difficult circumstances.

USCIS has announced an important and disturbing change in how the agency will deal with denied applications for immigration benefits such as requests for extension of stay and change of nonimmigrant status.  Under the new policy set forth in a Memorandum issued June 28, 2018, when the subject of a denied application has no valid underlying immigration status, USCIS is instructed to issue a Notice to Appear (NTA) in Immigration Court to face removal proceedings.

For example, an applicant already in H-1B status working on the basis of a timely filed and now pending application for extension of stay would not have a valid underlying status if the petition extension is denied.  The same would be true for an applicant for Adjustment of Status whose prior nonimmigrant status expired after the I-485 was filed.

This change does not affect applicants who have a valid underlying status.  For example, an applicant who is maintaining valid F-1 OPT status and has time remaining and who is seeking a change to H-1B status would not be affected by the new policy.

Previously, if an immigration benefit was denied and an applicant was then unlawfully present in the U.S., the applicant would need to depart the U.S. immediately but NTAs were not routinely issued nor were any bars usually imposed if they departed before the accrual of 180 days of unlawful presence.

Once an NTA is issued, the matter becomes a removal case in Immigration Court.

Even if the applicant departs from the U.S. immediately, he/she will eventually be called to appear before an Immigration Judge.  If the applicant fails to appear, having already left the U.S., he/she may be ordered removed in absentia.  Once issued, this will trigger bars for reentry that may or may not be waivable.

USCIS offices were given until July 28 to come up with plans to implement this new policy.  Perhaps the government will recognize that this approach unduly burdens the already backlogged Immigration Courts, in addition to causing unnecessary hardship to petitioners and applicants and will moderate or scale back this plan.  But so far, we have no reason to think this is likely.

Since 2004, USCIS policy required adjudicators to defer to prior determinations when reviewing nonimmigrant H or L Visa Petition extensions.  Where the parties involved and the basic facts remained the same, there was a built-in bias toward approval.  The October 23, 2017 Memorandum rescinds that policy.

Now adjudicators must “thoroughly review the petition and supporting evidence to determine eligibility for the benefit sought.”  This will require Petitioners to more thoroughly document petition extensions, even though the regulations at Title 8 C.F.R. specifically state that in some cases, initial evidence need not be submitted with these extension requests.

USCIS cites the undue burden placed on the Service by the prior policy.  The Memorandum notes that adjudicators would have to request a separate file-possibly at another location-in order to determine if the original petition was properly approved, there has been a material change in circumstances, or there is new material information which adversely affects eligibility.

Moving forward, extra care must be taken when preparing an H-1 or L-1 petition extension in order to avoid the dreaded Request for Evidence.

This is just the latest step taken by the administration to negatively impact the lawful employment of foreign nationals-all in the name of protecting U.S. workers.

Please contact our office if you have any questions.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has announced that it will begin expanding in-person interviews for certain applicants for lawful permanent resident (green card) status. According to USCIS, this is “part of the agency’s comprehensive strategy to further improve the detection and prevention of fraud and further enhance the integrity of the immigration system.”

Effective Oct. 1, USCIS will begin to phase-in interviews for the following:

• Adjustment of status applications based on employment (Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status).  Previously, applicants in these categories rarely required an in-person interview with USCIS in order for their application for permanent residency to be adjudicated.
• Refugee/asylee relative petitions (Form I-730, Refugee/Asylee Relative Petition) for beneficiaries who are in the United States and are petitioning to join a principal asylee/refugee applicant.

Beyond these categories, USCIS is planning an incremental expansion of interviews to other benefit types.
Our office will be in touch to discuss how to prepare for the interviews as soon as we receive any interview appointment notices. Please contact us should you have any questions or concerns.

Due to the recent reductions in U.S. Consular staff imposed by the Russian government, nonimmigrant visa processing in Russia will be sharply curtailed.  Specifically:

All NIV operations in Russia are suspended effective tomorrow, August 23.  Previously scheduled appointments are being canceled and applicants are being notified individually.

Beginning September 1, ALL NIV processing will resume in Moscow only.  NO NIV applications will be processed in St. Petersburg, Yekaterinburg, or Vladivostok until further notice.

Scheduling of immigrant visa interviews may also be affected.

Please refer to the Department of State website (https://ru.usembassy.gov/fact-sheet/) for additional information.

We encourage all our clients to contact us in advance of any international travel if they have questions about current documentary requirements for reentry to the U.S.

The Department of State has released the Visa Bulletin for the month of August.

Unfortunately, a backlog has developed and a cutoff date of April 1, 2015 has been established for the employment-based E-2 worldwide category in the “final action date” chart.*  USCIS has announced that it will use this chart to determine whether an Adjustment of Status application can be filed.

Therefore, only applicants who have a “Priority Date” prior to April 1, 2015 will be able to file an Adjustment of Status application after July 31.

The Department predicts that the cutoff date for worldwide will again become current on October 1, 2017, the beginning of the new fiscal year. Historically, this has been the case when numbers have become backlogged during the months of August and September.

*the cutoff date for India is July 22, 2008 and the cutoff date for China is April 22, 2013.

June 26, 2017.  The U.S. Supreme Court today issued a decision partially reinstating the travel ban set forth in President Trump’s Executive Order 13780 issued on March 6, 2017, while indicating that it will consider the case on its merits in the Fall term.   Implementation of the ban was previously enjoined by decisions of the U.S. Courts of Appeal in the 4^th and 9^th Circuits.

Nationals of six Muslim majority countries are affected by the decision: Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen. The ban sought to bar all nationals of these countries from entering the U.S. for a 90 day period, while the government reviewed the security issues involved in screening visa applicants.

In today’s decision, the Court allowed the ban to take effect except for those individuals who have a close familial relationship with a U.S. person, or a documented relationship with a U.S. entity.  Examples provided by the Court include a person seeking to visit or live with a family member, a student admitted to a U.S. university, or a worker offered a job in the U.S.

Three Justices dissented and would have allowed the ban to apply to all foreign nationals from the designated countries.  They were motivated in part by their concern that creation of these “exceptions” would lead to extensive litigation by prospective travelers and their U.S. contacts seeking to push the boundaries of the decision.

USCIS has recently announced that it has completed the random selection process for cap-subject H-1B Petitions filed during the first five days of April. The Service will begin returning cases that were not selected to Petitioners in the coming days along with all filing fees tendered. H-1B visas are still available in the following situations:

Extensions of H-1B status for foreign nationals currently employed in H-1B status by the petitioner

New employees who currently maintain H-1B status with another employer, OR who have previously been in H-1B status in the past six years and have not subsequently been absent from the U.S. for more than one year [note: if the prior H-1B employer was an exempt employer as described below, the new petition does require a number under the cap and can only be filed when H-1B visa numbers are available].

H-1B1 Petitions filed on behalf of citizens of Chile and Singapore (based on treaty obligations).

New Petitions filed by “Cap-Exempt” Petitioners: the following organizations are exempt from the “cap” and may obtain H-1B status for new employees at any time:

institutions of higher education

a nonprofit organization related to or affiliated with an institution of higher education

a nonprofit research organization or governmental research organization

(These exempt classes are often referred to informally as “educational H-1B” cases, though this label is somewhat misleading.)
Note carefully: this does not exempt all nonprofit organizations; only those affiliated with an institution of higher education