Headlines
USCIS Updates Guidance on OPT and Other Issues for F/M Nonimmigrant Students – U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has updated its guidance on when students may be eligible for optional practical training extensions for STEM fields. USCIS also provided clarifying guidance for F and M nonimmigrant students about online study, school transfers, the grace period, and study abroad.
DHS Announces New Work Authorization Category for T Nonimmigrants – The Department of Homeland Security has established a new C40 category “for individuals with a pending Form I-914, Application for T Nonimmigrant Status, whose application is determined to be bona fide and meets the prima facie standard, and who apply and are approved for employment authorization.”
Texas District Court Temporarily Stops “Keeping Families Together” Parole-in-Place Program, But Applications Continue – U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services will continue to collect applications although parole grants under the program are paused.
Biden Administration to Resume Program for Migrants From Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela; Fraud Investigations Continue – According to reports, the Biden administration plans to resume a program that allows would-be migrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela to apply from their home countries for entry into the United States. The 18-month-old program was paused due to fraud concerns.
Annual Limit Reached in Several Employment-Based Categories – The annual limits will reset with the start of the new fiscal year on October 1, 2024.
OFLC Announces Delay in Transition Schedule for H-2A Applications and Job Orders Under 2024 Farmworker Protection Final Rule – A District Court in Georgia issued a preliminary injunction in Kansas v. U.S. Department of Labor, prohibiting the Department of Labor from enforcing the Farmworker Protection Rule in certain states and with respect to certain entities.
USCIS to Open International Field Office in Quito, Ecuador – With a field office in Ecuador, to be located in the U.S. Embassy, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services “will be able to provide immigration expertise to U.S. embassy and regional partners in support of the Oficinas de Movilidad Segura, or Safe Mobility Offices, in Ecuador.”
DOS Releases Notice to Emami Class Members – The Department of State released a notice on August 27, 2024, with instructions to class members in the consolidated cases Emami v. Mayorkas and Pars Equality Center v. Blinken.
Court Preliminarily Approves Proposed Settlement in Garcia Perez v. USCIS – The case is a class action lawsuit involving the federal government’s practices with respect to work permits for applicants for asylum or withholding of removal.
DOS Issues Final Rule on Effect of Certain Pardons on Criminal-Related Grounds of Ineligibility – The Department of State has amended a regulation relating to the effect of certain pardons on criminal-related grounds of visa ineligibility.
DHS Announces Expedited Asylum Processing at Northern Border to Deter Unauthorized Migrants – The Department of Homeland Security has implemented measures at the U.S. border with Canada to reduce unauthorized migration.
USCIS Releases Filing Guide Ahead of New Spousal Parole Program – U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has created a filing guide for the new “Keeping Families Together” spousal parole process that begins August 19, 2024.
OFLC Releases Public Disclosure Data, Selected Program Statistics, H-2B Foreign Labor Recruiter List for Q3 of FY 2024 – The Department of Labor’s Office of Foreign Labor Certification has released several batches of data and information.
EOIR Relocates Houston Immigration Court – The Executive Office for Immigration Review announced that the Houston-Smith Street Immigration Court is relocating and will be renamed the Houston-Jefferson Street Immigration Court.
USCIS Completes Second Random Selection for Regular Cap From Previously Submitted FY 2025 H-1B Cap Registrations – U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has completed its second random selection to reach the FY 2025 H-1B regular cap numerical allocation.
DC Circuit Court Upholds H-4 Spousal Work Authorization – The D.C. Circuit upheld the authority of the Department of Homeland Security to grant work authorization to spouses of certain H-1B workers.
DOS Releases FY 2025 Diversity Visa Results – The Kentucky Consular Center in Williamsburg, Kentucky, has registered and notified the selectees who are eligible to participate.
E-Verify Employers Should Not Create a Case for Re-Paroled Ukrainian Employees, USCIS Says; Additional Guidance Released – U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services issued an update to its policy on Ukrainian employees with parole.
USCIS Provides Fact Sheet on STEM Petition Trends in EB-2 and O-1A Categories – U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has provided a fact sheet on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) petition trends in the EB-2 and O-1A categories in fiscal years 2018 to 2023.
California Service Center Moves to New Address – U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced that on August 12, 2024, the California Service Center moved to a new address.
OFLC Announces Upcoming Final Decommission of Permanent Online System – The legacy Permanent (PERM) Online System, which provides public access to permanent labor certification applications and final determinations, will be fully decommissioned on December 1, 2024.
The News in Detail
USCIS Updates Guidance on OPT and Other Issues for F/M Nonimmigrant Students
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has updated its guidance on when students may be eligible for optional practical training (OPT) extensions for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields. USCIS also provided clarifying guidance for F and M nonimmigrant students about online study, school transfers, the grace period, and study abroad.
USCIS said its Policy Manual update:
- Clarifies that students may count one class or three credits (or the equivalent) per academic session (or the equivalent) toward a full course of study if they take the class online or through distance learning not requiring physical attendance for any purpose integral to completion of the class.
- Explains that students may transfer between Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP)-certified schools at the same educational level or move between educational levels.
- Explains that during the 60-day grace period following an authorized period of post-completion of OPT, students may change their education level, transfer to another SEVP-certified school, or file an application or petition with USCIS to change to another nonimmigrant or immigrant status.
- Clarifies that students may be eligible for post-completion OPT after completion of an associate’s, bachelor’s, master’s, or doctoral degree program.
- Corrects the period during which students may apply for STEM OPT extensions and makes other technical corrections.
- Clarifies that a student enrolled in a SEVP-certified school during a study abroad program may remain active in the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System if the study abroad program lasts less than five months, but that the student will need a new Form I-20, Certificate of Eligibility for Nonimmigrant Student Status, if the program lasts longer than five months.
DHS Announces New Work Authorization Category for T Nonimmigrants
Effective August 28, 2024, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has established a new C40 category “for individuals with a pending Form I-914, Application for T Nonimmigrant Status, whose application is determined to be bona fide and meets the prima facie standard, and who apply and are approved for employment authorization.” The principal T nonimmigrant applicant and family members may now receive an EAD with category C40. Previously, the C14 category (deferred action) was used when providing work authorization to T-1 applicants. DHS explained that T nonimmigrant status is for certain noncitizens who are or have been victims of a severe form of trafficking in persons.
Once T-1 nonimmigrant status is granted, DHS explained, those individuals will receive an EAD with category A16. T-2, T-3, T-4, T-5, or T-6 nonimmigrants will receive an EAD with category C25.
The Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) database will provide an Initial Verification response of Temporary Employment Authorized for an EAD with category C40 if the applicant has no other status, DHS said. “SAVE may provide a different initial verification response if an applicant has an additional immigration status. In those situations, agencies should request additional verification to receive all the applicant’s immigration statuses.”
Texas District Court Temporarily Stops “Keeping Families Together” Parole-in-Place Program, But Applications Continue
A Texas District Court has temporarily stopped the Biden administration’s “Keeping Families Together” parole-in-place program. The program, which started August 19, 2024, allows noncitizen spouses and noncitizen stepchildren of U.S. citizens, if otherwise eligible, to apply for lawful permanent residence without leaving the United States. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will continue to collect applications although parole grants under the program are paused.
On August 23, 2024, the state of Texas, along with 15 other states, filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, Tyler Division, calling the program “unlawful” and arguing that it “incentivizes illegal immigration and will irreparably harm the Plaintiff States.” The District Court agreed, issuing an administrative stay. The court said it “has undertaken a first-blush review of the merits of plaintiffs’ standing and cause of action in light of the evidence submitted with their motion for a TRO and a stay. The claims are substantial and warrant closer consideration than the court has been able to afford to date.” In particular, the court said, its conclusion was based on the need to analyze (1) whether parole “into” the United States includes entry by those who are already in the United States, “as opposed to at or beyond the border,” and (2) the relevant rule’s possible misapprehension of the legal standard in focusing on significant public benefit from “this process” rather than whether a specific person’s lawful presence in the country would have public, as opposed to private, benefit that is significant. The court said its review was a “screening” and did not express any ultimate conclusions about the success or likely success of the government’s claims. The court noted that its stay applied to granting parole under the program but not to accepting applications.
As noted above, USCIS said it would continue to accept applications but not grant parole under the program while the stay is in place. USCIS also noted that the district court’s stay “does not affect any applications that were approved before the administrative stay order was issued at 6:46 p.m. Eastern Time on Aug. 26, 2024.” The court set forth a detailed “expedited schedule” for further court filings up to October 10, 2024, with extensions possible through mid-October, followed by “an expedited hearing on preliminary relief and summary judgment, and if necessary a consolidated bench trial.”
Biden Administration to Resume Program for Migrants From Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela; Fraud Investigations Continue
According to reports, the Biden administration plans to resume a program that allows would-be migrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela to apply from their home countries for entry into the United States. The 18-month-old program was paused due to fraud concerns. Reportedly, “thousands of suspect applications” from sponsors of the migrants will still need to be reviewed by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ Fraud Detection and National Security Directorate.
According to NBC News, an internal Department of Homeland Security (DHS) report “found that almost 101,000 sponsor applications for migrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, Venezuela and Ukraine were filed by 3,218 so-called serial sponsors.” DHS found “thousands of instances of would-be sponsors’ using the same street addresses, internet protocol addresses or phone numbers. Almost 600 applications were flagged, for example, because they all appeared to use the address of the same commercial warehouse in Orlando, Florida. The authors also found repeated uses of the same Social Security numbers, including numbers belonging to dead people.”
Homeland Security Investigations, a division of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, is assisting in investigating any potential instances of criminal fraud.
Annual Limit Reached in Several Employment-Based Categories
On August 27, 2024, the Department of State (DOS) announced the issuance of all available visas in the employment-based first preference (EB-1) and fourth preference (EB-4) immigrant visa preference categories for fiscal year (FY) 2024. On August 16, 2024, DOS announced the issuance of all available visas in the employment-based EB-3 and EW (Other Workers) and EB-5 unreserved categories.
Regarding the EB-1 category, DOS said, “Maximizing these visas facilitates legitimate travel for individuals with extraordinary ability [who have] garnered national or international acclaim, outstanding professors and researchers, and multinational executives and managers.” Regarding the EB-4 category, DOS said that maximizing such visas “facilitates legitimate travel for a wide variety of special immigrants, including religious workers, special immigrant juveniles, certain U.S. government employees, certain international organization retirees, and certain international broadcasting employees, among others.”
The annual limits will reset with the start of the new fiscal year on October 1, 2024, DOS noted. “At that point, embassies and consulates may resume issuing immigrant visas in these categories to qualified applicants.” USCIS may also resume approving applications for Adjustment of Status to Lawful Permanent Resident (Form I-485) in these categories to qualified applicants starting October 1, 2024.
OFLC Announces Delay in Transition Schedule for H-2A Applications and Job Orders Under 2024 Farmworker Protection Final Rule
On August 26, 2024, a District Court in Georgia issued a preliminary injunction in Kansas v. U.S. Department of Labor, prohibiting the Department of Labor (DOL) from enforcing the Farmworker Protection Rule in certain states and with respect to certain entities. The states are Georgia, Kansas, South Carolina, Arkansas, Florida, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia, and the entities are Miles Berry Farm and members of the Georgia Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association.
DOL said it is carefully reviewing the Kansas order and assessing various options to comply. For now, the Office of Foreign Labor Certification (OFLC) will delay until further notice updates to its FLAG system to implement revised H-2A job order and application forms associated with the rule, originally scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. ET on August 28, 2024.
OFLC will continue to receive and process H-2A job orders and applications in accordance with 20 CFR part 655, subpart B in effect as of the calendar day before the effective date as stated in the rule. OFLC said it will provide additional public notice regarding a revised transition schedule as soon as possible.
USCIS to Open International Field Office in Quito, Ecuador
On August 30, 2024, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced the opening of an international field office in Quito, Ecuador, on September 10, 2024. The Quito Field Office, to be located in the U.S. Embassy in Ecuador, “will focus on increasing refugee processing capacity, consistent with USCIS commitments under the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program, and helping reunite individuals with their family members already in the United States.”
With a field office in Ecuador, USCIS “will be able to provide immigration expertise to U.S. embassy and regional partners in support of the Oficinas de Movilidad Segura, or Safe Mobility Offices, in Ecuador.”
DOS Releases Notice to Emami Class Members
The Department of State (DOS) released a notice on August 27, 2024, with instructions to class members in the consolidated cases Emami v. Mayorkas and Pars Equality Center v. Blinken. The notice explains that a U.S. District Court in California certified a class to allow certain visa applicants who were refused visas under Presidential Proclamation 9645 “to receive a one-time, non-transferable fee credit to submit a new visa application and (for eligible class members) to have the option to get a prioritized visa appointment. The fee credit may be used once towards any immigrant or nonimmigrant visa at any U.S. embassy or consulate.”
Class members include an estimated 24,560 nationals of Iran, Libya, North Korea, Somalia, Syria, Venezuela, or Yemen, who are otherwise eligible and were denied a visa under Presidential Proclamation 9645 between December 8, 2017, and January 20, 2021, and did not receive a waiver under that proclamation.
Class-wide relief was available starting August 12, 2024. The notice is available in English, Arabic, and Farsi.
Court Preliminarily Approves Proposed Settlement in Garcia Perez v. USCIS
The U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington granted preliminary approval of a proposed settlement agreement in Garcia Perez v. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
The case is a class action lawsuit involving the federal government’s practices with respect to Employment Authorization Documents for applicants for asylum or withholding of removal. Under the terms of the proposed settlement, class members are entitled to new procedures relating to the crediting of time toward eligibility for work authorization.
Details:
- USCIS notice (scroll to Aug. 5, 2024).
DOS Issues Final Rule on Effect of Certain Pardons on Criminal-Related Grounds of Ineligibility
Effective August 22, 2024, the Department of State (DOS) has amended a regulation relating to the effect of certain pardons on criminal-related grounds of visa ineligibility.
The rule amends the existing regulation “to implement the plain meaning of statutory authorities and the President’s constitutional authority regarding the effect of pardons on inadmissibility under INA sections 212(a)(2)(A)(i) and 212(a)(2)(B).” The rule “conveys [DOS’s] interpretation of Congress having expressly not provided an exception to inadmissibility based on a pardon, reflecting a plain reading of the inadmissibility ground in INA section 212(a)(2)(A)(i) that multiple courts have shared.”
DOS found that the rule is “interpretative” and amends visa policy as a “foreign affairs function of the United States” and is therefore not subject to notice-and-comment requirements.
DHS Announces Expedited Asylum Processing at Northern Border to Deter Unauthorized Migrants
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has announced measures to reduce unauthorized migration across the U.S. border with Canada:
- Starting August 14, 2024, asylum officers conducting threshold screening interviews (TSI) for noncitizens who are processed pursuant to the U.S.-Canada Safe Third Country Agreement (STCA) are considering credible testimony, documents, and other reliable evidence available at the time of the TSI. Additional documentary evidence may not be submitted after the interview concludes, DHS announced, noting that “[a] lack of documentary evidence alone does not preclude noncitizens from establishing that they qualify for an exception to the STCA.”
- Additionally, DHS has reduced the time period for noncitizens to consult with attorneys or representatives before their TSIs from 24 hours to “a minimum of four hours beginning at the time the noncitizen is provided an opportunity to consult with a person of the noncitizen’s choosing and continuing only during the hours of 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. local time.”
“DHS carefully reviewed its implementation of the Safe Third Country Agreement with Canada and concluded that it could streamline that process at the border without impacting noncitizens’ ability to have access to a full and fair procedure for determining a claim to asylum or equivalent temporary protection,” the agency said. Migrants crossing the northern border without authorization and taken into U.S. custody increased from 2,200 in 2022 to a record 16, 500 so far in fiscal year 2024.
Details:
- USCIS notice (Aug. 13, 2024).
- U.S. to Speed Up Asylum Processing at Northern Border to Deter Migrant Crossings, CBS News (Aug. 14, 2024).
USCIS Releases Filing Guide Ahead of New Spousal Parole Program
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has created a filing guide for the new “Keeping Families Together” spousal parole process that began August 19, 2024. USCIS will reject any related filings received before that date.
Under the new process announced in June 2024, USCIS will consider, on a case-by-case basis, requests for certain noncitizen spouses of U.S. citizens who have been continuously physically present without admission or parole in the United States for 10 years or more, have no disqualifying criminal convictions, do not pose a threat to national security and public safety and pass vetting, are otherwise eligible to apply for adjustment of status, and merit a favorable exercise of discretion.
If paroled, USCIS said, these noncitizens “will generally be able to apply for lawful permanent residence without having to leave the United States and be processed by a U.S. consulate overseas.” The Department of Homeland Security estimates that “500,000 noncitizen spouses of U.S. citizens could be eligible to access this process; on average, these noncitizens have resided in the United States for 23 years. Approximately 50,000 noncitizen children of these spouses are estimated to be eligible to seek parole under this process.”
USCIS said that additional information on the application process, required fee, and other key information will be detailed in a forthcoming Federal Register notice. USCIS said it will continue to collect applications although parole grants under the program are paused pursuant to a court opinion in Texas (more about this above in Texas District Court Temporarily Stops “Keeping Families Together” Parole-in-Place Program, But Applications Continue).
OFLC Releases Public Disclosure Data, Selected Program Statistics, H-2B Foreign Labor Recruiter List for Q3 of FY 2024
The Department of Labor’s Office of Foreign Labor Certification (OFLC) has released several batches of data and information, including:
- A comprehensive set of public disclosure data through the third quarter (Q3) of fiscal year (FY) 2024 drawn from employer applications requesting prevailing wage determinations and labor certifications for the PERM, LCA (H-1B, H-1B1, E-3), H-2A, H-2B, CW-1, and Prevailing Wage programs. The public disclosure files include all final determinations that OFLC issued for these programs during the October 1, 2023, through June 30, 2024, reporting period of fiscal year 2024.
- Selected program statistics for Q3 of FY 2024 for the PERM, LCA (H-1B, H-1B1, E-3), H-2A, H-2B, CW-1, and Prevailing Wage programs.
- An updated list of the names of foreign labor recruiters for the H-2B program. The H-2B Foreign Labor Recruiter List contains the names and locations of persons or entities identified on Appendix C of Form ETA-9142B that were hired by, or working for, the recruiters that employers have indicated they engaged, or planned to engage, in the recruitment of prospective H-2B workers to perform the work described on their H-2B applications. The list includes only those names and locations associated with H-2B applications that were processed or issued a final decision from October 1, 2023, through June 30, 2024. OFLC also released related frequently asked questions.
Details:
- OFLC notice (two notices) (scroll to Aug. 15, 2024).
EOIR Relocates Houston Immigration Court
The Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) announced on August 15, 2024, that the Houston-Smith Street Immigration Court is relocating and will be renamed the Houston-Jefferson Street Immigration Court. The court will suspend normal operations at the close of business on August 22, 2024, to prepare for relocation. The court will reopen at its new location on August 27, 2024.
On August 23 and August 26, hearings will proceed at 1919 Smith Street, which EOIR said will be established as the court’s annex effective August 27. Staff will remain on site and available to accept filings, answer phone calls, and oversee court operations. EOIR said it will provide official advance notice to all parties whose cases are reassigned.
The new location is:
Houston-Jefferson Street Immigration Court
500 Jefferson Street, Suite 300
Houston, TX 77002
USCIS Completes Second Random Selection for Regular Cap From Previously Submitted FY 2025 H-1B Cap Registrations
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced on August 5, 2024, that it has completed its second random selection to reach the fiscal year (FY) 2025 H-1B regular cap numerical allocation.
As background, following its initial selections in March 2024, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that it would need to select additional registrations for unique beneficiaries to reach the FY 2025 regular cap numerical allocation.
USCIS said it did not conduct a second selection for the advanced degree exemption (master’s cap) because “enough masters cap registrations had already been selected and sufficient petitions were received based on these registrations as projected to meet the master’s cap numerical allocation.”
USCIS said it selected 114,017 beneficiaries, resulting in 120,603 selected registrations in the initial selection for the FY 2025 H-1B cap. The agency selected 13,607 beneficiaries in the second selection for the FY 2025 H-1B regular cap, resulting in 14,534 selected registrations.
Details:
- USCIS notice (Aug. 5, 2024).
- FY 2025 H-1B Cap Registration Process Update, USCIS (Aug. 5, 2024).
DC Circuit Court Upholds H-4 Spousal Work Authorization
On August 2, 2024, a D.C. Circuit Court ruling in Save Jobs USA v. DHS upheld the authority of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to grant work authorization to H-4 spouses of certain H-1B workers.
Save Jobs USA had challenged DHS’s authority to issue a rule that allows certain visa holders to work in the United States. The court said it had already interpreted the relevant provisions of the immigration statute to answer a similar question in favor of DHS. “Because Save Jobs USA has not meaningfully distinguished this case from that binding precedent, we affirm the district court’s grant of summary judgment,” the court said.
DOS Releases FY 2025 Diversity Visa Results
The Department of State’s Visa Bulletin for September includes results from the diversity visa (DV) lottery for fiscal year (FY) 2025 (October 1, 2024, to September 30, 2025). The Kentucky Consular Center in Williamsburg, Kentucky, has registered and notified the approximately 131,060 selectees who are eligible to participate. Entrants registered for the DV-2025 program were selected at random from 19,927,656 qualified entries received. The country with the most registrants selected is Algeria, with 5,526.
The bulletin notes that those selected “will need to act on their immigrant visa applications quickly. Applicants should follow the instructions in their notification letter and must fully complete all required steps.” Many more were selected than can receive visas (55,000) to account for factors such as some selectees not completing their cases or being found ineligible for a visa.
Dates for the DV-2026 program registration period will be publicized in the coming months, the bulletin notes.
E-Verify Employers Should Not Create a Case for Re-Paroled Ukrainian Employees, USCIS Says; Additional Guidance Released
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued an update to its policy on Ukrainian employees with parole, stating that E-Verify employers should not create a case in E-Verify for re-paroled employees unless they are newly hired.
USCIS had announced previously that beginning February 27, 2024, certain Ukrainian citizens and their immediate family members displaced by the Russian invasion and paroled into the United States can request an extension of parole (re-parole) for up to two additional years.
USCIS said that parolees who are approved by USCIS for re-parole should print a copy of their electronic Form I-94, Arrival/Departure Record, from the CBP I-94 website. An unexpired Form I-94 that shows a class of admission of “UHP” and a most recent date of entry on or before September 30, 2024, is an acceptable document that temporarily shows identity and employment authorization for up to 90 days, USCIS said: “These employees should provide a printed Form I-94 if they are newly hired employees or during reverification on Form I-9.”
USCIS also released a reminder with additional details about which Ukrainian parolees and immediate family members are employment-authorized incident to parole.
Details:
- E-Verify notice (Aug. 6, 2024).
USCIS Provides Fact Sheet on STEM Petition Trends in EB-2 and O-1A Categories
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has provided a fact sheet on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) petition trends in the EB-2 and O-1A categories in fiscal years 2018 to 2023. The fact sheet highlights data trends in these categories during fiscal years (FYs) 2022 and 2023 compared with fiscal years before a policy guidance change in January 2022. The trends include an increase in receipts of EB-2 petitions from FY 2022 to FY 2023 and increases in National Interest Waiver use and O-1A petition receipts, USCIS said.
In January 2022, USCIS updated its policy guidance to clarify how certain professionals in STEM fields can demonstrate eligibility for (a) the National Interest Waiver (NIW) in an employment-based immigrant status (EB-2), and (b) nonimmigrant status for individuals of extraordinary ability (O-1A).
California Service Center Moves to New Address
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that on August 12, 2024, the California Service Center moved to a new address:
California Service Center
2642 Michelle Drive
Tustin, CA 92780
USCIS said applicants should refer to form filing address pages on uscis.gov to find the specific address information, including suite numbers, they should use depending on which form they are submitting.
Details:
- USCIS notice (Aug. 7, 2024).
OFLC Announces Upcoming Final Decommission of Permanent Online System
The Department of Labor’s Office of Foreign Labor Certification (OFLC) alerted employers and other interested stakeholders that the legacy Permanent (PERM) Online System, which provides public access to permanent labor certification applications and final determinations, will be fully decommissioned on December 1, 2024. The Foreign Labor Application Gateway (FLAG) System replaces the legacy Permanent Online System. OFLC said:
On December 1, 2024, the legacy Permanent Online System will no longer be accessible to account holders and the general public will be redirected to the FLAG System. Stakeholders who require documents from their Permanent Online System accounts are strongly encouraged to access and download those documents well in advance of December 1, 2024. Permanent Online System account holders who need to upload documents or request a specific case action on an application submitted in the Permanent Online System (e.g., request reconsideration, withdraw applications, etc.) should complete action in the system by November 30, 2024, at 7 PM EST.
Applications still pending in the Permanent Online System after November 30, 2024, will continue to be processed by OFLC. Starting December 1, 2024, stakeholders who need to submit a response to the Department, upload documents, or request a specific case action on an application that was submitted in the Permanent Online System must do so by email, sent to the PLC Help Desk at [email protected]. Documents should be submitted as PDF attachments and named with the case number assigned and title of the attachment. After November 30, 2024, stakeholders with applications pending in the Permanent Online System will not be able to upload documents directly. Employers and their attorney/agents should continue to check their email for correspondence and notifications related to these pending applications.
Details:
- OFLC notice (scroll to Aug. 7, 2024).
