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Here is the Immigration News You NEED to Know Now
IMMIGRATION NEWS IN BRIEF:
USCIS Announces Public Charge Rule Implementation Following Supreme Court Stay of Nationwide Injunctions – USCIS will implement the public charge final rule on February 24, 2020, except in Illinois, where the rule remains enjoined by a federal court.
Trump Administration Restricts U.S. Entry of Travelers From and Through China Due to Coronavirus Risk – The proclamation lists exceptions, such as lawful permanent residents (LPRs) of the United States, spouses and children of U.S. citizens or LPRs, air and sea crews, and others.
Trump Administration Suspends U.S. Entry, With Exceptions, of Nationals From Six New Countries – The six new countries are Burma (Myanmar), Eritrea, Kyrgyzstan, Nigeria, Sudan, and Tanzania. The proclamation states country-by-country exceptions to the ban. For example, diversity immigrants, but no others, from Sudan and Tanzania are suspended.
USCIS Changes Adjudication Process for EB-5 Visa Petitions to ‘Visa Availability Approach’ – USCIS announced a process change for Form I-526 “from a first-in, first-out basis to a visa availability approach.”
USCIS Announces I-9 Form Changes – As of January 31, 2020, employers should begin using a new version of the Form I-9 (version 10/21/2019, expires 10/31/2022). Employers may continue to use the old form until April 30, 2020.
Biometrics Collection Guidance Updated – USCIS announced updates to its policy guidance concerning mobile biometrics services and fingerprint waivers.
USCIS Updates Process for Accepting Petitions for Relatives Abroad – The Department of State will assume responsibility for certain services previously provided at USCIS international offices.
Supreme Court Amicus Brief Opposes Provision That Criminalizes Certain Legal Advice Immigration Lawyers Often Offer to Clients – Advocates, including the National Immigration Project of the National Lawyers Guild and the American Immigration Lawyers Association, submitted an amicus brief in United States v. Sineneng-Smith.
The Details:
USCIS Announces Public Charge Rule Implementation Following Supreme Court Stay of Nationwide Injunctions
Trump Administration Restricts U.S. Entry of Travelers From and Through China Due to Coronavirus Risk
Trump Administration Suspends U.S. Entry, With Exceptions, of Nationals From Six New Countries
USCIS Changes Adjudication Process for EB-5 Visa Petitions to ‘Visa Availability Approach’
USCIS Announces I-9 Form Changes
- Addition of Eswatini and North Macedonia to the Country of Issuance field in Section 1 and the foreign passport issuing authority field in Section 2 per those countries’ recent name changes. These changes are only visible when completing the fillable Form I-9 on a computer.
- Clarification of who can act as an authorized representative on behalf of an employer
- Updating of USCIS website addresses
- Clarification of acceptable documents
- Updating the process for requesting the paper Form I-9
- Updating the DHS Privacy Notice
Biometrics Collection Guidance Updated
USCIS Updates Process for Accepting Petitions for Relatives Abroad
- Temporary blanket authorizations for instances of prolonged or severe civil strife or a natural disaster; or
- Blanket authorization for U.S. service members assigned to military bases abroad.
Supreme Court Amicus Brief Opposes Provision That Criminalizes Certain Legal Advice Immigration Lawyers Often Offer to Clients
ABIL Global: United Kingdom
New Publications and Items of Interest
- Eliminate the family and employment green card backlog over five years in the order in which applications were filed;
- Keep American families together by classifying spouses and children of LPRs as immediate relatives and exempting derivative beneficiaries of employment-based petitions from annual green card limits;
- Protect “aging out” children who qualify for LPR status based on a parent’s immigration petition;
- Lift country caps; and
- Extend the “hold harmless” clause from H.R. 1044 that exempts immigrant visa petitions approved prior to enactment from the lifting of country caps to petitions approved for five years after enactment.