By: Dawn Lurie, Owen Wolfe, and Alex Madrak
In the ongoing narrative of the Trump administration’s attempt to repeal the Humanitarian Parole program for Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela (CHNV), on Monday, May 5th, the US Court of Appeals for the First Circuit denied the Department of
Continue Reading CHNV Parole Pause, Continued: Mass Terminations Still Blocked, but SCOTUS Appeal Looms
Seyfarth Synopsis: Effective April 1, USCIS will implement significant filing fee increases, in particular for petition and applications related to employment-based benefits.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) published a final rule, which will take effect on April 1, 2024, to adjust certain immigration and naturalization benefit request fees. Through
Continue Reading USCIS Announces Significant Fee Increases Effective on April 1, 2024By: Jake Campbell, Weija (Victoria) Ma, and Jason Burritt
Seyfarth Synopsis: The below summarizes recent legal updates that impact U.S. immigration:
1. Government Shutdown Avoided – For Now
On September 30, 2023, Congress passed a stopgap bill to keep the government running for another 45 days. For more information on potential impacts if the government were to shutdown, please see our legal alert–Potential Government Shutdown: Immigration Consequences for Employers and their Foreign Employees—here.Continue Reading October 2023 U.S. Immigration Alert
By: Weijia (Victoria) Ma, Jake Campbell, Michelle Gergerian
Seyfarth Synopsis: The below summarizes recent legal updates that impact U.S. immigration:
1. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Launched Online Appointment Request Form
On August 21, USCIS launched a new online form for individuals to request in-person appointments at their local field offices. Instead of calling the USCIS Contact Center, individuals can use the online appointment request form to request an in-person appointment at a field office for ADIT stamps, Emergency Advance Parole, and more. However, it is important to note that the requested date and time cannot be guaranteed. USCIS will review the online appointment request form and schedule the individual for an in-person appointment date based on the local field office’s availability.Continue Reading September 2023 U.S. Immigration Alert
Tuesday, June 28, 20222:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. Eastern
1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. Central
12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m. Mountain
11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Pacific
Please join Seyfarth’s Immigration Compliance and Enforcement Team as they launch a four-part series focused on critical challenges faced by employers in
Continue Reading Webinar: Special Delivery – Unwelcome Outreach from the Government: Part 1: Love Letters From E-Verify – Complexities and Nuances
By: Dawn Lurie and Matthew Parker*
Seyfarth Synopsis: On May 3, 2022, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced an increase to the automatic extension period for certain Employment Authorization Documents (EADs) from 180 days to 540 days. This Temporary Final Rule (TFR) was published on May 4, 2022, will
Continue Reading 540 is the new 180: Employment Authorization Document Extensions
By: Dawn M. Lurie
Seyfarth Synopsis: On April 25, ICE announced its 13th extension, this time for a six-month period (until October 31, 2022), of the I-9 compliance flexibility rules relating to Form I-9. There is no substantive change in this extension of the policy, allowing for the “in-person” exemption (of identity and work authorization document review), benefiting certain employees and offering flexibility for companies that are phasing back in employees. While we are confident that the government is considering a permanent virtual option, we continue to advise employers to work under the assumption that anyone initially verified using the virtual flexibility will be required to conduct an in-person update as employees return to the workplace, especially in cases where identity was not verified (i.e. those that used the fax/email option).
Lucky #13 – Extension of the COVID I-9 Flexibility
In a thirteenth extension, ending on Halloween 2022, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) posted an unprecedented (it’s been a while since I said that word) six (6) month extension of the flexibilities in rules related to Form I-9 compliance, initially granted in March 2020. These flexibilities are now extended until October 31, 2022. The posting on the website is a bit confusing, as it just updates the December 2021 announcement, and includes an alert attached to the top of the page which indicates the new deadline.
ICE’s announcement affirms that employers who are taking COVID-19 related precautions and offering working in remote or hybrid environments, may continue inspecting I-9 documents virtually for newly hired employees as well as for reverification of work authorizations. See our prior blog for the guidance and discussion on its forward-facing application, noting that ICE will evaluate a company’s situation “on a case-by-case basis” should a company have used virtual without the workforce being 100% remote from March 20, 2020 to March 31, 2021. Given the confusion and lack of guidance surrounding the directive, we remain optimistic that the government will show leniency for early misunderstandings and misapplications of the original policy.Continue Reading Trick or Treat: I-9 Flexibilities Extended until October 31, 2022
By: Dawn M. Lurie
Continue Reading Early Holiday Present From ICE: I-9 Flexibilities Extended to April 30, 2022
By: Dawn M. Lurie and Zachary Perez
In response to continued lengthy processing delays, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) posted guidance in early September offering an extension to the time certain processing receipts (Form I-797) may be used as evidence of lawful status, for conditional permanent residents
Continue Reading Processing Delays Create Need to Extend Validity of Certain Expired Green Cards