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Thursday, August 27 2020
USCIS Now Indicates it will Pay Staff, and Delay Case Processing Instead by Years

USCIS will not stop paying its employees... Rather USCIS will find "cost savings" in failing to actually work in a reasonable time frame on the cases that are submitted for review. 

How bad could this be? We don't know yet. 

However USCIS is now quoting that an Employment Authorization Document that took 45-90 days to process prior to Trump for legally working in the US will now take approximately 28.5 MONTHS to 37 MONTHS to be produced.... and on October 2 you will even need to pay extra for this application....

This begs the question. Is US immigration even open for business if you need to wait three [3] years for a work card to begin working? 

The Trump Administration's message here is clear. If you want to end all legal immigration to the US vote for Trump in 2020. The best and the brightest will move away, and the good jobs will follow them out of the US.

With four more years of Trump, US workers will begin immigrating elsewhere for jobs and opportunity as large corporations will see no need to staff in such an inhospitable, anti-international, and hateful climate. 

Bottom line for now: we can expect delays in every facet of immigration processing, and if Trump is re-elected in November....

Posted by: Christopher M. Pogue, Esq AT 09:49 am   |  Permalink   |  Email
Sunday, August 23 2020
Postal Workers - What Real Leadership Looks Like. When will USCIS Employees Learn to Fight back?

Postal workers in Washington State have reinstalled high-speed mail sorting machines—dismantled after controversial orders from the U.S. Postal Service— despite USPS orders not to put machines back in use.

Hopefully USCIS employees will learn to fight back before most of them are furloughed at the end of the month for playing along with the Trump Administration for too long without taking a stand. 

After embattled Postmaster General Louis DeJoy announced he would pause recent controversial changes to U.S. Postal Service protocol, the service told workers not to reinstall removed equipment.

40 percent of the high-speed mail sorting machines in the Seattle-Tacoma area were disconnected or dismantled since the changes went into effect, according to NPR, with workers in the Tacoma, Washington sorting plant saying eight of their 18 machines that sort and postmark letters were disconnected and pushed into a corner.

Sorting machines in Wenatchee, Washington were also reconnected, against the orders of the Postal Service’s head of maintenance, Kevin Couch.

Only two facilities, Seattle-Tacoma and one in Dallas, seem to be ignoring the Postal Service’s directive to leave decommissioned sorting machines out of use.

Since being appointed postmaster general in May, Louis DeJoy, a prolific GOP fundraiser and Trump donor, has enacted highly controversial changes to U.S. Postal Service protocol that workers say resulted in massive delays in mail delivery, including cutting overtime for postal workers, the nationwide removal of mail collection boxes and decommissioning or dismantling of hundreds of high speed mail sorting machines across the country.

The changes have led to widespread fear that the Postal Service won’t be equipped to handle the millions of mail-in ballots expected during the November election. Democrats on the state and national level have filed lawsuits against DeJoy, the USPS, and President Donald Trump arguing that the changes are an effort to curb mail-in voting during the November election. DeJoy testified before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee on Friday and is expected to testify before the House Oversight Committee on Monday.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/danielcassady/2020/08/22/washington-postal-workers-defy-usps-orders-and-reinstall-mail-sorting-machines/#263faca05f80

Posted by: Christopher M. Pogue, Esq AT 09:02 am   |  Permalink   |  Email
Thursday, August 20 2020
EAD Approval Notice Used as Permission to Work Without the EAD Card Due to Card Production Delays

USCIS, in yet another legal loss for its unconscionable conduct during the Trump Administration and during the pandemic, was forced by the courts to agree to expand the evidence for proof or employment eligibility based on USCIS's failure to timely print and mail out EAD cards after their approval.

As a result, employees may use Form I-797, Notice of Action, with a Notice date on or after December 1, 2019 just as they would an EAD card. 

Employees may present their Form I-797 Notice of Action showing approval of their I-765 application as a list C document for Form I-9 compliance until at least December 1, 2020.

See this update on I-9 Central https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/form-i-9-verification-during-ead-production-delays-due-to-covid-19:

Posted by: Christopher M. Pogue, Esq AT 09:21 am   |  Permalink   |  Email
Friday, August 14 2020
USCIS to Furlough 75% of its Workforce thanks to Trump Administration

While USCIS will technically remain open after then end of this month, 75% of its workforce will be furloughed by the Trump Administration due to Trump's deliberate mismanagement of the agency to seek re-election. 

Expectations are that while cases may still be filed with USCIS, any actual movement and work on those cases will grind to a virtual hault for as long as the Trump Administration finds it useful for Trump's re-election campaign. 

“I don’t think I can emphasize enough how large an issue this will be – we’re looking at the final days of legal immigration as we know it in the United States,” said Ruark Hotopp, a representative for USCIS workers in Nebraska who has spent years assisting American businesses in his role at the USCIS.

“International students, scientists coming to America to study COVID-19, asylum seekers, workers recruited by American businesses, refugees – we’re talking about millions of people dealing with an immigration system running at 30 percent of the capacity it usually does. Our economy will lose billions in revenue, American businesses will lose access to the workforce they need, and hundreds of thousands of legal immigrants will be thrown into limbo.”

USCIS is basically out of money by choice. Here is how we got there. While increasing staffing at USCIS and increasing overall processing times the Trump Administration enacted the following attacks on legal immigration and nonimmigrant travel/work:

  • Ban on issuance of H, L and J visas;
  • Ban on all immigrant visas (other than certain immediate relatives and EB-5);
  • Shutting down our asylum system;
  • Admission of an unprecedentedly low number of refugees;
  • Implementation of public charge provisions with the goal, and likely effect, of ending much of family immigration;
  • Shutting down US consulates for over five months despite the fact that operations of businesses, schools and other institutions in many host countries have been fully operational for months;
  • Ceasing the printing of Employment Authorization Documents and green cards;
  • Implementation of a policy to separate children from parents;
  • Appointing individuals, whose main qualification is that they are opposed to immigration, to leadership positions in various immigration agencies;
  • Taking actions to significantly reduce foreign students in the U.S., including attempts to retroactively impose unlawful presence for technical and unknowing violations and attempts to disallow students to come to the U.S. or remain in the U.S. if their full time course of studies has become online because of the pandemic;
  • Increasing processing times to unprecedented levels, despite a reduction in applications, by issuing inappropriate and burdensome Requests For Evidences, not giving deference to previous adjudications and implementing a policy of across the board interviews of cases that were not previously interviewed with the main goal of delaying the process;
  • Denying applications that are approvable under existing law and previous interpretations;
  • Announcing intention to issue new regulations to further restrict H-1B approvals and extensions.

The USCIS furloughs appear to be another step along these lines in the direction of halting immigration. US workers will be the ultimate losers here as Corporate America will shift it's business outside of the US to where the best and brightest are still welcome, and fewer jobs will be created here locally as business pivot away from trying to work in the US when there are plenty of other options for them to pursue outside the US. 


 

Posted by: Christopher M. Pogue, Esq AT 12:36 pm   |  Permalink   |  Email
Saturday, August 08 2020
New USCIS Fee Schedule Begins October 2, 2020

The Trump Administration has significantly changed the USCIS fee schedule by adjusting fees by a weighted average increase of 20 percent, adding new fees, establishing multiple fees for nonimmigrant worker petitions, and limiting the number of beneficiaries for certain forms.

The rule is effective 10/2/20. Any application, petition, or request postmarked on or after this date must be accompanied with the fees established by this final rule. (85 FR 46788, 8/3/20)

In addition to adjusting fees, the final rule removes certain fee exemptions, limits fee waivers, alters premium processing time limits, and modifies certain intercountry adoption processing.

Some of USCIS’s forms will change. USCIS will post the new and revised forms online 30 days before the new rule goes into effect. These forms include:

  • Form I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker;
  • Form I-600/I-600A, Supplement 3, Request for Action on Approved Form I-600/I-600A;
  • Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization; and
  • Form I-912, Request for a Fee Waiver.

USCIS will provide a grace period of up to 60 days in which it will accept both the previous and the new versions of certain forms as long as payment of the new, correct fees accompanies the forms. Applicants and petitioners must use the new or revised form by Oct. 2, 2020.

Immigration Benefit Request Current Fee Final Fee Change ($) Percent Change Form Revisions
I-90 Application to Replace Permanent Resident Card (online filing) $455 $405 -$50 -11 percent

Copy Deck

Screenshots

I-90 Application to Replace Permanent Resident Card (paper filing) $455 $415 -$40 -9 percent

Table of Changes – Instructions

Instructions

Table of Changes – Form

Form

I-102 Application for Replacement/Initial Nonimmigrant Arrival-Departure Document $445 $485 $40 9 percent

Table of Changes – Instructions

Instructions

Table of Changes – Form

Form

I-129 Petition for a Nonimmigrant worker $460 *DHS is separating Form I-129 into several new forms, listed below in this chart. N/A N/A

I-129CW, I-129E&TN, and I-129MISC

$460 $695 $235 51 percent

I-129H1

$460 $555 $95 21 percent

I-129H2A - Named Beneficiaries

$460 $850 $390 85 percent

I-129H2B - Named Beneficiaries

$460 $715 $255 55 percent

I-129L

$460 $805 $345 75 percent

I-129O

$460 $705 $245 53 percent

I-129H2A - Unnamed Beneficiaries

$460 $415 -$45 -10 percent

I-129H2B - Unnamed Beneficiaries

$460 $385 -$75 -16 percent
I-129F Petition for Alien Fiancé(e) $535 $510 -$25 -5 percent

Table of Changes – Instructions

Instructions

Table of Changes – Form

Form

I-130 Petition for Alien Relative (online filing) $535 $550 $15 3 percent

Copy Deck

Screenshots

I-130 Petition for Alien Relative (paper filing) $535 $560 $25 5 percent

Table of Changes – Form

Form

I-130A Table of Changes – Instructions

I-130A – Instructions

I-130A Table of Changes – Form

I-130A – Form

I-131 Application for Travel Document $575 $590 $15 3 percent

Table of Changes – Instructions

Instructions

Table of Changes – Form

Form

I-131 Refugee Travel Document for an individual age 16 or older $135 $145 $10 7 percent
I-131 Refugee Travel Document for a child under the age of 16 $105 $115 $10 10 percent
I-131A Application for Travel Document (Carrier Documentation) $575 $1,010 $435 76 percent

Table of Changes – Instructions

Instructions

Table of Changes – Form

Form

I-140 Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker $700 $555 -$145 -21 percent

Table of Changes – Instructions

Instructions

Table of Changes – Form

Form

I-191 Application for Relief Under Former Section 212(c) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) $930 $790 -$140 -15 percent

Table of Changes – Instructions

Instructions

Table of Changes – Form

Form

I-192 Application for Advance Permission to Enter as Nonimmigrant (CBP) $585 $1,400 $815 139 percent

Table of Changes – Instructions

Instructions

Table of Changes – Form

Form

e-SAFE screenshots

I-192 Application for Advance Permission to Enter as Nonimmigrant (USCIS) $930 $1,400 $470 51 percent

Table of Changes – Instructions

Instructions

Table of Changes – Form

Form

I-193 Application for Waiver of Passport and/or Visa $585 $2,790 $2,205 377 percent
I-212 Application for Permission to Reapply for Admission into the U.S. After Deportation or Removal $930 $1,050 $120 13 percent

Table of Changes – Instructions

Instructions

Table of Changes – Form

Form

e-SAFE screenshots

I-290B Notice of Appeal or Motion $675 $700 $25 4 percent

Table of Changes – Instructions

Instructions

Table of Changes – Form

Form

I-360 Petition for Amerasian, Widow(er), or Special Immigrant $435 $450 $15 3 percent

Table of Changes – Instructions

Instructions

Table of Changes – Form

Form

I-485 Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status $1,140 $1,130 -$10 -1 percent
I-485 Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status (certain applicants under the age of 14 years) $750 $1,130 $380 51 percent
I-526 Immigrant Petition by Alien Investor $3,675 $4,010 $335 9 percent

Table of Changes – Instructions

Instructions

Table of Changes – Form

Form

I-539 Application to Extend/Change Nonimmigrant Status (online filing) $370 $390 $20 5 percent
I-539 Application to Extend/Change Nonimmigrant Status (paper filing) $370 $400 $30 8 percent

I-589 Application for Asylum and for Withholding of Removal

(The rule provides for $50 reduction in the fee for Form I-485 filed in the future for principal applicants who pay the $50 fee for Form I-589 and are subsequently granted asylum.)

$0 $50 $50 N/A

Table of Changes – Instructions

Instructions

Table of Changes – Form

Form

I-600/600A Adoption Petitions and Applications $775 $805 $30 4 percent

I-600 Table of Changes – Instructions

I-600 Instructions

I-600 Table of Changes – Form

I-600 Form

I-600A Table of Changes – Instructions

I-600A Instructions

I-600A Table of Changes – Form

I-600A Form

Supplement 1 Table of Changes – Form

Supplement 1 – Form

Supplement 2 Table of Changes – Form

Supplement 2 – Form

I-600A Supplement 3 Request for Action on Approved Form I-600A N/A $400 N/A N/A

Supplement 3 - Form

I-601 Application for Waiver of Ground of Excludability $930 $1,010 $80 9 percent

Table of Changes – Instructions

Instructions

Table of Changes – Form

Form

I-601A Provisional Unlawful Presence Waiver $630 $960 $330 52 percent

Table of Changes – Instructions

Instructions

Table of Changes – Form

Form

I-612 Application for Waiver of the Foreign Residence Requirement (Under Section 212(e) of the INA, as Amended) $930 $515 -$415 -45 percent

Table of Changes – Instructions

Instructions

Table of Changes – Form

Form

I-687 Application for Status as a Temporary Resident $1,130 $1,130 $0 0 percent
I-690 Application for Waiver of Grounds of Inadmissibility $715 $765 $50 7 percent
I-694 Notice of Appeal of Decision $890 $715 -$175 -20 percent
I-698 Application to Adjust Status from Temporary to Permanent Resident (Under Section 245A of the INA) $1,670 $1,615 -$55 -3 percent
I-751 Petition to Remove Conditions on Residence $595 $760 $165 28 percent
I-765 Application for Employment Authorization (Non-DACA) $410 $550 $140 34 percent
I-765 Application for Employment Authorization (DACA only) $410 $410 $0 0 percent
I-800/800A Adoption Petitions and Applications $775 $805 $30 4 percent
I-800A Supplement 3 Request for Action on Approved Form I-800A $385 $400 $15 4 percent
I-817 Application for Family Unity Benefits $600 $590 -$10 -2 percent
I-824 Application for Action on an Approved Application or Petition $465 $495 $30 6 percent
I-829 Petition by Investor to Remove Conditions $3,750 $3,900 $150 4 percent
I-881 Application for Suspension of Deportation $285 $1,810 $1,525 535 percent
I-881 Application for Special Rule Cancellation of Removal $570 $1,810 $1,240 218 percent
I-910 Application for Civil Surgeon Designation $785 $635 -$150 -19 percent
I-924 Application For Regional Center Designation Under the Immigrant Investor Program $17,795 $17,795 $0 0 percent
I-924A Annual Certification of Regional Center $3,035 $4,465 $1,430 47 percent
I-929 Petition for Qualifying Family Member of a U-1 Nonimmigran $230 $1,485 $1,255 546 percent
N-300 Application to File Declaration of Intention $270 $1,305 $1,035 383 percent
N-336 Request for Hearing on a Decision in Naturalization Proceedings (online filing) $700 $1,725 $1,025 146 percent
N-336 Request for Hearing on a Decision in Naturalization Proceedings (paper filing) $700 $1,735 $1,035 148 percent
N-400 Application for Naturalization (online filing) $640 $1,160 $520 81 percent
N-400 Application for Naturalization (paper filing) $640 $1,170 $530 83 percent
N-400 Application for Naturalization (paper filing) $320 $1,170 $850 266 percent
N-470 Application to Preserve Residence for Naturalization Purposes $355 $1,585 $1,230 346 percent
N-565 Application for Replacement Naturalization/Citizenship Document (online filing) $555 $535 -$20 -4 percent
N-565 Application for Replacement Naturalization/Citizenship Document (paper filing) $555 $545 -$10 -2 percent
N-600 Application for Certificate of Citizenship (online filing) $1,170 $990 -$180 -15 percent
N-600 Application for Certificate of Citizenship (paper filing) $1,170 $1,000 -$170 -15 percent
N-600K Application for Citizenship and Issuance of Certificate (online filing) $1,170 $935 -$235 -20 percent
N-600K Application for Citizenship and Issuance of Certificate (paper filing) $1,170 $945 -$225 -19 percent
USCIS Immigrant Fee $220 $190 -$30 -14 percent
Biometric Services (Non-DACA) $85 $30 -$55 -65 percent
Biometric Services (DACA only) $85 $85 $0 0 percent
G-1041 Genealogy Index Search Request (online filing) $65 $160 $95 146 percent
G-1041 Genealogy Index Search Request (paper filing) $65 $170 $105 162 percent
G-1041A Genealogy Records Request (online filing) $65 $255 $190 292 percent
G-1041A Genealogy Records Request (paper filing) $65 $265 $200 308 percent
Posted by: Christopher M. Pogue, Esq AT 11:10 am   |  Permalink   |  Email
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Of Counsel with the Fleischer Law Firm LLC
810 Sycamore Street, 2nd Floor - Cincinnati, Ohio 45202            



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