By Tieranny L. Cutler and Jason E. Burritt
Seyfarth Synopsis: The President’s order, which reinstates and expands travel restrictions imposed by the prior administration, will continue to have a significant impact on international travel for foreign nationals, as well as impact the transfer of global talent by U.S. corporations from
Continue Reading Previous Travel Restrictions Reinstated and Expanded As a Result of COVID-19
With the COVID-19 pandemic still in full force, nonimmigrants traveling to the United States should expect no lifting of visa and entry bans as
Continue Reading COVID-19 Visa and Entry Bans to Continue as Biden Administration Takes Command ~ Travel Ban for Muslim Countries to Be Rescinded
By: Jake Campbell and Gabriel Mozes
Seyfarth Synopsis: Effective January 26, 2021, all international passengers (with minor exceptions) traveling by air must provide a negative COVID-19 viral test to enter the U.S. Alternatively, passengers may provide results proving recovery from COVID-19 with a doctor or physician authorizing international travel.
I. Negative COVID-19 Test Requirement
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (“CDC”) order requires that all internationally arriving U.S. air passengers (ages 2 and above), including U.S. citizens and permanent residents, provide a negative COVID-19 test that was administered within three days of travel.
Continue Reading U.S. Requires Negative COVID-19 Tests for International Air Passengers
By: Dawn M. Lurie
Today, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced an extension of the flexibilities in rules related to Form I-9 compliance that was granted earlier this year. This announcement was expected in light of the increase in COVID-19 cases across the country. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) agreed to extend the policy until December 31, 2020.Continue Reading ICE Extends COVID I-9 Rules to December 31-Happy New Year!
Buried within the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) website is seemingly recent guidance regarding how to update “virtual” Forms I-9 after companies return to “normal business operations.” While it’s unclear when the guidance was actually published, we have been predicting an update to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Form I-9 Examples Related to Temporary COVID-19 Policies released in late June and further updated on July 27. So the fact that this guidance is now appearing comes as no surprise.
By way of background, on March 20, 2020, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced interim guidelines to temporarily ease I-9 compliance for employers operating remotely as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. ICE has since issued several extensions to the “virtual” guidance, with the latest one currently set to expire on November 19. Under this guidance, employers are authorized to complete the Section 2 verification or Section 3 re-verification process remotely, relaxing the USCIS Form I-9 instructions mandating an in-person review of work eligibility and identification documents. ICE expects the worksite to be 100% remote to utilize the relaxed guidance. This exception, therefore, is not available when employees are physically present at an employer’s work location.
As we have discussed in prior blog postings, virtual I-9 completion is a “two-touch” process. Physical inspection must take place within three business days after normal operations resume. While “normal operations” have not yet been defined by the government, we expect that individual companies – not the government – will define the resumption of “normal operations.” Accordingly, we continue to recommend that businesses memorialize decisions, including “phase-ins” and other timelines, individual employee anomalies, and any related protocols adopted relating to the timing of returning to work.Continue Reading Hidden ICE Guidance On Virtual I-9s
On September 15, 2020, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced that employers have an additional 60-day extension to the flexibilities in rules related to Form I-9 completion. This extension relates to the relaxation of the requirement to defer the in-person, physical inspection of new hires’ identity and employment eligibility documentation. Initially granted in March, ICE has issued several extensions, with the latest one now set to expire on November 19, 2020. ICE previously granted 30-day extensions, but likely offered this longer time frame due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Continue Reading ICE Stays the Course and Extends I-9 Flexibility
On August 18, 2020, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced that employers have an additional 30-day extension to the flexibilities in rules related to Form I-9 compliance. This relaxation of the requirement to defer the in-person, physical inspection of new hires’ identity and employment eligibility documentation was initially granted in March and will now expire on September 19, 2020.
Continue Reading The 2020 Summer Defrost Continues: ICE Extends I-9 Flexibility
Posting early morning on July 20, but dated July 18, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) confirmed that employers have an additional 30-day extension to the flexibilities in rules related to Form I-9 compliance. This relaxation of the requirement to physically inspect all new hires’ identity and employment eligibility documentation was granted earlier this year, extended in May, and in June. The expiration date for these accommodations is now August 19, 2020.
Continue Reading Better Late Than Never: ICE Announces Another Extension to I-9 Compliance Flexibility
As of early Friday morning, July 17, there’s been no announcement by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) confirming whether it will continue the flexibility granted in the Form I-9 process, temporarily suspending the in-person physical inspection requirement. ICE originally announced the relaxation on March 20, as employers were beginning to grapple with COVID-19 work-from-home and shelter-in-place orders. The initial guidance allowed companies to review “Section 2 documents remotely (e.g., over video link, fax or email, etc.) and obtain, inspect, and retain copies of the documents within three business days for purposes of completing Section 2.” The relaxation of this requirement was extended through Sunday, July 19. Employers who have been using the virtual process, and will need to switch gears over the weekend, are getting very nervous.
Continue Reading Still No Word From ICE On Virtual I-9s
The Trump administration, in response to a lawsuit filed by Harvard University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology, as well as several other suits, agreed to rescind its surprise Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) directive. We previously blogged about ICE’s Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) July 6th announcement, prohibiting foreign students from studying in the United States where their colleges and universities had canceled in-person class instruction.
Continue Reading Trump Administration Defrosts ICE’s International Student Directive