Immigration Settlement Clears the Way for Thousands of H-1B and L-1 Spouses to Work in the US
Immigration Insights Podcast: International Entrepreneur Parole Program & Biometrics Requirement
In the recent legal settlement of Edakunni v. Mayorkas, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has agreed to resume adjudicating H-4 and L-2 dependent and H-4 employment authorization petitions at the same time...more
On January 20, 2023, as part of a settlement agreement with the plaintiffs in Edakunni v. Mayorkas, USCIS agreed to adjudicate Forms I-539 and I-765 for extensions of H-4 and L-2 spouses and employment authorization documents...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
Seyfarth Synopsis: Starting January 25, 2023, USCIS will adjudicate I-539 and I-765 applications for H-4 and L-2 dependents when those applications are filed concurrently with the I-129 petition. The bundling of those...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
In an excellent development, as of January 25, 2023, the U.S. government agreed to resume the process of “bundling” H-4 and L-2 dependent applications, – including I-765 work permission applications, with the H-1B and L-1...more
On May 4, 2022, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that effective immediately, it would increase the automatic extension period for employment authorization documents (EADs) for certain EAD renewal...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
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and its aftermath, backlogs for immigration benefits have been at an all-time high, with some benefits—such as the L-2 Spousal EAD—taking up to 12 months or longer. ...more
Following the Shergill, et al. v. Mayorkas settlement, U.S. Customs & Border Protection (CBP) started issuing I-94 forms on January 30, 2022, with new Class of Admission (COA) codes for certain E and L spouses as evidence of...more
On March 18, 2022, U.S. Citizenship Services (USCIS) published further detail relating to employment authorization documentation for E and L spouses. By way of background, in November 2021, USCIS reached a settlement...more
As previously reported, pursuant to a policy announced on November 12, 2022, USCIS will consider E and L nonimmigrant dependent spouses to be employment authorized incidental to their status. On January 30, 2022, USCIS and...more
On January 31, 2022, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) began issuing I-94 forms with new designations for L-2 and E visa dependents. The new designations for L-2 and E dependent spouses specifically will serve as evidence...more
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (USCBP) has begun the process of implementing a federal court order following a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Homeland Security relating to the immediate ability of L and E spouses...more
As previously reported, under a new policy, USCIS will consider E and L nonimmigrant dependent spouses to be employment authorized incidental to their status. This means that upon admission and issuance of a valid I-94...more
As of January 31, 2022, spouses entering the United States in L-2 or E status may be able to obtain work authorization at the border by asking Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to give them a “spousal” designation in their...more
On November 10, 2021, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) reached a settlement in the class action Shergill v. Mayorkas. As part of the settlement, USCIS agreed to update its policy relating to H-4 and L-2...more
Employment Authorization Document (EAD) processing times have been severely delayed in recent years, rendering certain dependent nonimmigrants temporarily ineligible to work and causing gaps in some U.S. employers’...more
The USCIS (US Citizenship & Immigration Service) announced a new rule to aid in the recent dilemma many foreign national families and US employers have confronted; namely addressing the gap in work authorization and...more
Since the publication of our November 12, 2021 alert, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued policy guidance following the November 10, 2021 settlement agreement and updated the I-9 Handbook providing for...more
Effective November 12, 2021, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) extended employment authorization for certain E, H, and L dependent spouses. Specifically, USCIS now recognizes that L and E dependent spouses...more
Please see the guidance on U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service’s (“USCIS”) recent settlement and policy changes regarding work authorization for L-2, H-4, and E visa spouses. ...more
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) reached a settlement agreement on November 10, 2021, to allow automatic extensions of employment authorization for certain H-4 and L dependent spouses. Additionally, on November...more
On November 12, 2021, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued policy guidance addressing the automatic extension of employment authorization for H-4, L-2, and E dependent spouses in response to a class action...more