Long processing times for renewal Employment Authorization Documents has resulted in the loss of work authorization for many individuals because their EAD cards expired before new cards could be issued. Individuals who filed...more
We would like to share the following recent U.S. immigration-related updates announced by United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) in April 2024. Automatic Extension of EAD Cards From 180 Days to 540 Days ...more
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced a temporary final rule to increase the automatic extension period for Employment Authorization Documents (EADs) for certain renewal categories from 180 days to up to...more
Last January I posted about "An Unwelcome Update to Start 2023: USCIS Proposing Rule to Raise Filing Fees; Set Specific Filing Fees for Different Types of I-129 Filings". That unwelcome proposal to start 2023 may become an...more
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will increase premium processing fees for a number of immigration benefit applications due to inflation. The fee increases, outlined below, will take effect on February 26,...more
On September 8, 2023, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced it was extending the re-registration period for beneficiaries of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) under the designations of El Salvador, Haiti,...more
By the end of October, a temporary rule that has been allowing certain foreign nationals to receive an increased period of automatically extended authorization to work in the United States for the past year will expire – and...more
As part of their I-9 obligations, many employees provide an Employment Authorization Document (EAD) as evidence of their authorization to work in the United States. Such EADs have an expiration date, and those dates can vary...more
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) recently announced the expansion of the myProgress tool to include Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization, and Form I-131, Application for Travel Document....more
On July 12, 2023, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) added eight fields of study to the Designated Degree Program List qualifying F-1 students to secure a STEM OPT (science, technology, engineering, mathematics...more
On Wednesday, July 12, 2023, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that it is expanding myProgress (formerly known as personalized processing times) to Form I-765, Application for Employment...more
OVERVIEW As previously forecasted, USCIS has now expanded premium processing service to I-765, Applications for Employment Authorization, filed by certain F-1 students seeing work authorization in connection with Optional...more
Effective January 25, 2023, USCIS resumed concurrent processing of I-539 applications to extend/change nonimmigrant status and I-765 applications for employment authorization filed by H-4 and L-2 spouses and minor children...more
Federal immigration officials just agreed to streamline the process by which certain nonimmigrant dependent spouses are able to secure employment, reverting to a previous method that should reduce processing times and...more
On January 19, 2023, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) reached a settlement in Edakunni v. Mayorkas, which restructures U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ (USCIS) adjudication policies for H-4 and L-2...more
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) further expanded premium processing for Form I-140, Immigrant Petitions for Alien Workers, marking the final phase of implementing premium processing for employment-based...more
Earlier this year, federal immigration officials announced concrete measures to reduce the massive backlog of petitions and applications currently pending at the agency’s National Service Centers – but has this promise been...more
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has further expanded premium processing eligibility to include more Form I-140, Immigrant Petitions for Alien Workers, under the EB-1 and EB-2 classifications, consistent...more
Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, processing delays have plagued the USCIS and frustrated many employers and foreign nationals applying for and extending their visas. At its peak in January 2022, the USCIS had a...more
USCIS has implemented a temporary final rule to automatically extend the validity of certain expired or expiring Employment Authorization Documents (EADs) for up to 540 days. Previously USCIS permitted a 180-day...more
On May 3, 2022, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced a Temporary Final Rule that temporarily increases the automatic extension period for employment authorization and Employment Authorization Documents...more
On Wednesday, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services issued a Temporary Final Rule to address the long delays in the approval of Employment Authorization Document renewal applications. Hundreds of thousands of foreign...more
Thanks to a new rule published yesterday, a broad group of nonimmigrant workers waiting for their employment authorization cards will have their temporary work authorizations extended for 540 days from their expiration date –...more
Effective May 4, 2022, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will increase the automatic extension period for employment authorization and Employment Authorization Documents (EADs) to a maximum of 540 days for...more
The Department of Homeland Security has published a final rule to expand premium processing service to expand premium processing service for certain immigration benefit requests. The rule takes effect May 31, 2022....more