U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services today announced that the initial registration period for the fiscal year 2023 H-1B cap will open at noon Eastern on March 1 and run through noon Eastern on March 18, 2022. During this period, prospective petitioners and representatives will be able to complete and submit their registrations using our online H-1B registration system.
Prospective H-1B cap-subject petitioners or their representatives are required to use a myUSCIS online account to register each beneficiary electronically for the selection process and pay the associated $10 H-1B registration fee for each registration submitted on behalf of each beneficiary. Prospective petitioners submitting their own registrations (U.S. employers and U.S. agents, collectively known as “registrants”) will use a “registrant” account. Registrants will be able to create new accounts beginning at noon Eastern on Feb. 21.
Representatives may add clients to their accounts at any time, but both representatives and registrants must wait until March 1 to enter beneficiary information and submit the registration with the $10 fee. Prospective petitioners or their representatives will be able to submit registrations for multiple beneficiaries in a single online session. Through the account, they will be able to prepare, edit, and store draft registrations prior to final payment and submission of each registration.
If USCIS receives enough registrations by March 18, USCIS will randomly select registrations and send selection notifications via users’ myUSCIS online accounts. USCIS intends to notify account holders by March 31.
An H-1B cap-subject petition, including a petition for a beneficiary who is eligible for the advanced degree exemption, may only be filed by a petitioner whose registration for the beneficiary named in the H-1B petition was selected in the H-1B registration process.
Posted by: Christopher M. Pogue, Esq AT 12:00 pm
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U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services today announced updated guidance on adjudicating requests for “National Interest Waivers” regarding job offer and labor certification requirements for certain advanced degree professionals and individuals of exceptional ability. This includes discussing the unique considerations for persons with advanced degrees in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields and entrepreneurs.
An employer seeking to hire a noncitizen must generally obtain a permanent labor certification from the Department of Labor that proves there are no qualified U.S. workers for the position they are seeking and that their employment will not adversely affect similarly employed U.S. workers. The noncitizen may, however, seek a waiver of a job offer, and of the labor certification, if it is in the interest of the United States.
Individuals seeking a national interest waiver must show evidence of an advanced degree or exceptional ability and must also meet three factors that USCIS uses to determine, in its discretion, whether it is in the national interest that USCIS waive the requirement of a job offer, and thus the labor certification. The three factors USCIS considers for a national interest waiver are whether:
The person’s proposed endeavor has both substantial merit and national importance;
The person is well positioned to advance the proposed endeavor; and
It would be beneficial to the United States to waive the job offer and thus the permanent labor certification requirements.
The security situation in Ethiopia continues to deteriorate. The U.S. Embassy urges U.S citizens in Ethiopia to depart now using commercially available options. Although the Embassy continues to process emergency passports and repatriation loans, and to provide other emergency services, the Embassy is unlikely to be able to assist U.S. citizens in Ethiopia with departure if commercial options become unavailable. Please see information on What the Department of State Can and Can’t Do in a Crisis.
U.S. citizens wishing to depart Ethiopia, currently have multiple options via commercial flights from Bole International Airport. If you have difficulty securing a flight or need assistance to return to the United States, please contact AddisACS@state.gov for guidance. The Embassy can also provide a repatriation loan for U.S. citizens who cannot afford at this time to purchase a commercial ticket to the United States. If you are a U.S. citizen and delaying your departure because your non-U.S. citizen spouse or minor children do not have immigrant visas or U.S. passports, please contact us immediately. Similarly, if you are a non-U.S. citizen parent of a U.S. citizen minor but do not have a valid U.S. visa or other document valid for entry to the United States, please contact us.
State Department – Consular Affairs: 888-407-4747 or 202-501-4444
The Department of State has no higher priority than the safety and security of U.S. citizens overseas. U.S. citizens still in country should enroll in the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP) to receive security updates and to ensure you can be located in an emergency.
Please see contact information for airlines operating from Bole International Airport below:
In 2019, the monthly average of immigrant visa cases pending at the National Visa Center (NVC) waiting for an interview was 60,866. Two years later, those numbers have skyrocketed, with the NVC reporting 506,221 immigrant visa applications awaiting interviews in June 2021– an approximately 732 percent increase.
As the NVC confirmed in the February 2021 meeting with the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), the NVC continues to schedule cases only for posts that can conduct interviews.
DOS has thankfully expanded interview waiver eligibility for NIVs and consular posts are beginning to phase in more routine visa services as shown by the jump in both IV and NIV issuance in March and April 2021.
While things appear to be trending in the right direction, the restrictions brought on by the pandemic have created an enormous IV backlog that continues to rise.
Posted by: Christopher M. Pogue, Esq AT 09:45 am
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In response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services is extending the flexibilities it announced on March 30, 2020, to assist applicants, petitioners and requestors who are responding to certain:
Requests for Evidence;
Continuations to Request Evidence (N-14);
Notices of Intent to Deny;
Notices of Intent to Revoke;
Notices of Intent to Rescind;
Notices of Intent to Terminate regional centers; and
Motions to Reopen an N-400 Pursuant to 8 CFR 335.5, Receipt of Derogatory Information After Grant.
In addition, USCIS will consider a Form I-290B, Notice of Appeal or Motion, or Form N-336, Request for a Hearing on a Decision in Naturalization Proceedings (Under Section 336 of the INA), if:
The form was filed up to 60 calendar days from the issuance of a decision we made; and
We made that decision anytime from March 1, 2020, through Jan. 15, 2022
Notice/Request/Decision Issuance Date:
This flexibility applies to the above documents if the issuance date listed on the request, notice or decision is between March 1, 2020, and Jan. 15, 2022, inclusive.
Response Due Date:
USCIS will consider a response to the above requests and notices received within 60 calendar days after the response due date set in the request or notice before taking any action. Additionally, we will consider a Form N-336 or Form I-290B received up to 60 calendar days from the date of the decision before we take any action.
Posted by: Christopher M. Pogue, Esq AT 01:05 pm
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The Biden administration will lift travel restrictions starting in November on foreigners who are fully vaccinated against the coronavirus, reopening the country to thousands of people, including those who have been separated from family in the United States during the pandemic.
The foreign travelers will need to show proof of vaccination before boarding and a negative test for the coronavirus within three days before coming to the United States, Jeff Zients, the White House pandemic coordinator, said Monday.
“International travel is critical to connecting families and friends, to fueling small and large businesses, to promoting the open exchange ideas and culture,” Mr. Zients said. “That’s why, with science and public health as our guide, we have developed a new international air travel system that both enhances the safety of Americans here at home and enhances the safety of international air travel.”
The administration has restricted travel for foreigners looking to fly to the United States from a group of European countries, Iran and China for more than a year.
Unvaccinated Americans overseas aiming to travel home will have to clear stricter testing requirements. They will need to test negative for the coronavirus one day before traveling to the United States and show proof that they have bought a test to take after arriving in the United States, Mr. Zients said. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will also soon issue an order directing airlines to collect phone numbers and email addresses of travelers for a new contact-tracing system. Authorities will then follow up with the travelers after arrival to ask whether they are experiencing symptoms of the virus.
The changes announced on Monday only apply to air travel and do not affect restrictions along the land border, Mr. Zients said.
Posted by: Christopher M. Pogue, Esq AT 10:54 am
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U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services today announced that, effective Oct. 1, 2021, applicants subject to the immigration medical examination must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 before the civil surgeon can complete an immigration medical examination and sign Form I-693, Report of Medical Examination and Vaccination Record.
We are updating our policy guidance in accordance with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Aug. 17, 2021 update to the Technical Instructions for Civil Surgeons. That update requires applicants subject to the immigration medical examination to complete the COVID-19 vaccine series (one or two doses, depending on the vaccine) and provide documentation of vaccination to the civil surgeon before completion of the immigration medical examination. This requirement is effective Oct. 1, 2021, and applies prospectively to all Forms I-693 signed by the civil surgeons on or after that date. We are working on updating Form I-693 and the form instructions to incorporate this new requirement.
In general, individuals applying to become a lawful permanent resident, and other applicants as deemed necessary, must undergo an immigration medical examination to show they are free from any conditions that would render them inadmissible under the health-related grounds. USCIS designates eligible physicians as civil surgeons to perform this immigration medical examination for applicants within the United States and to document the results of the immigration medical examination on the Form I-693.
USCIS may grant blanket waivers if the COVID-19 vaccine is:
Not age-appropriate;
Contraindicated due to a medical condition;
Not routinely available where the civil surgeon practices; or
Limited in supply and would cause significant delay for the applicant to receive the vaccination.
Posted by: Christopher M. Pogue, Esq AT 10:50 am
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Conditional permanent residents who properly file Form I-751 or Form I-829 will receive a receipt notice that can be presented with their Form I-551, Permanent Resident Card (also known as a Green Card), as evidence of continued status for up to 24 months past the expiration date on their Green Card, while their case remains pending with USCIS.
Additionally, USCIS will issue new receipt notices to eligible conditional permanent residents who properly filed their Form I-751 or Form I-829 before Sept. 4 and whose cases are still pending. Those receipt notices will also serve as evidence of continued status for 24 months past the expiration date on their Green Card.
DON'T FORGET...... Those married with US citizens can file for Naturalization while their Removal of Conditions is still pending, and save a significant amount of time :-)
Posted by: Christopher M. Pogue, Esq AT 01:25 pm
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The National Visa Center (NVC) is currently issuing notices for all cases still on hold with the NVC prior to forwarding to the appropriate US Embassy or Consulate for visa stamping appointments. While this is normal for most immediate relatives consular cases, K-1 cases are now being included in these email updates.
The updates do not provide a timeline, but do indicate that cases are ready to be forwarded automatically when the time comes. This effort is to calm fears of petitioners and beneficiaries that are swamping the NVC and Embassies with calls and emails about their cases that are on hold due to backlogs in normal processing from the Covid 19 pandemic and continuing issues from Covid Variants.
Good News: Immediate relative petitions and K-1 petitions are being given higher priority, and in some cases additional consular posts are taking on new case types that they've not traditionally done. For example, the US Embassy in Mexico City is now handling K-1 visa cases even though these cases in the past were exclusively done through the US Consulate in Juarez Mexico.
Bad News: Though the NVC and embassy/consular posts are improving their communication, it is still impossible to tell how long a wait will be for a visa stamping interview at a particular post. Hopefully time will be saved and more resources spent on conducting visa stamping interviews where petitioners and beneficiaries follow the advice issued in the NVC emails and refrain from contacting the NVC or embassy locations where notice has already been issued that their case is documantarily qualified.
Posted by: Christopher M. Pogue, Esq AT 08:12 am
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