Choi Law LLC

Choi Law LLC Choi Law LLC is a NY/NJ based immigration law firm providing a full range of U.S. immigration and vi

02/22/2021

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced today (02/22/2021) it is reverting to the 2008 version of the naturalization civics test. On Dec. 1, 2020, CIS implemented a revised naturalization civics test (2020 civics test) as part of a decennial test review and update process. On March 1, 2021, CIS will revert to the 2008 version of the civics test.

02/06/2021

USCIS announced that the initial registration period for the FY2022 H-1B cap will open at 12:00 noon (ET) on March 9, 2021, and run through 12:00 noon (ET) on March 25, 2021. During this period, prospective petitioners and representatives will be able to fill out petitioner and beneficiary information and submit their registration.

02/06/2021

On February 2, 2021 President Biden issued an Executive Order (EO) entitled, “Restoring Faith in our Legal Immigration System and Strengthening Integration and Inclusion Efforts for New Americans." The EO does not change the current requirements to file a Form I-944, Declaration of Self Sufficiency, with Form I-485 Adjustment of Status applications. As of today February 6, 2021, the DHS public charge rule remains in effect and that the Form I-944 is currently required in all jurisdictions.

02/06/2021

The delayed effective date of the rule creating wage-based selection process for H-1Bs will be published in the Federal Register on February 8. The effective date will be delayed until December 31, 2021.

02/06/2021

Starting in January 2021 CIS will replace the sticker that is currently issued to lawful permanent residents (LPRs) to extend the validity of their Form I-551, Permanent Resident Card, with a revised Form I-797, Notice of Action for Form I-90, Application to Replace Permanent Resident Card. The revised Form I-797 receipt notice, together with an applicant’s Green Card, will serve as temporary evidence of lawful permanent resident status for 12 months from the expiration date on the face of the Green Card.

How has President Biden Changed Immigration?
01/28/2021

How has President Biden Changed Immigration?

01/22/2021

On January 20, 2021, White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain issued a memorandum regarding review of pending regulatory actions which directs, in part, that 1) all rules pending at the Federal Register that have not been published must be immediately withdrawn and 2) agencies must “consider” postponing the effective dates for regulations that have been published, but not yet taken effect, for 60 days from the date of this memorandum. As a result, the modified version of the Strengthening the H-1B Nonimmigrant Visa Classification Program Final Rule sent to the Federal Register on January 15, but not yet published, will be withdrawn, In addition, any final rule that has already published, but not yet taken effect may upon further agency action be postponed for until March 21, 2021, including the H-1B Wage Selection Final Rule.

AILA Doc. No. 20100701 | Dated January 21, 2021

01/22/2021

CDC order requiring a negative pre-departure COVID-19 test or documentation of recovery from COVID-19 for all airline or other aircraft passengers arriving into the United States from any foreign country, effective 1/26/21. (86 FR 6331, 1/21/21)

01/20/2021

Receipt Notice Delays for Applications and Petitions Filed with USCIS Lockbox

AILA Doc. No. 20111936 | Dated January 15, 2021

On January 8, 2021, the USCIS lockbox issued an alert notifying stakeholders of the current state of lockbox operations, specifically delays in the issuance of receipt notices filed at USCIS lockbox facilities, brought on by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, and steps being taken to mitigate the issues at hand. USCIS states that stakeholders may experience delays of four to six weeks in receiving receipt notices after proper submission with a USCIS lockbox. Given that AILA is receiving reports from members experiencing receipt notice delays of 10+ weeks or more, AILA interprets USCIS’s recent announcement to mean that receipt notice delays are delayed four to six weeks beyond the “normal” 30-day time frame for receipt notices that the lockbox indicated in its December 15, 2020 announcement, however, AILA has reached out to USCIS to confirm this interpretation.

USCIS has also indicated that significant delays are possible if filing non-family-based Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status, or Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization, based on eligibility categories described in 8 C.F.R. 274a.12(c)(3), relating to F-1 students. The lockbox workforce is currently working extra hours and redistributing its workload to minimize these delays.

10/23/2018

USCIS’ Suspension of Premium Processing for H-1B Processing

On March 20, 2018, two weeks in advance of accepting H-1B petitions for the Fiscal Year 2019 cap, USCIS announced that it would be temporarily suspending premium processing for Fiscal Year 2019 cap-subject petitions. In this announcement, USCIS predicted that it would lift the suspension by September 10, 2018.

However, on August 28, 2018, USCIS announced that the initial suspension would be extended to February 19, 2019, and also advised that beginning September 11, 2018, it was expanding the suspension of its premium processing option to all H-1B petitions filed at the Vermont and California Service Centers, with the exception of petitions filed by qualifying cap-exempt institutions, or affiliated entities.

So, currently premium processing is not available for all H-1B petitions with above exception.

04/27/2018

On April 24, 2018, a Washington, D.C., district court issued an order vacating the Trump administration's decision to rescind the DACA program, requiring DHS to accept and process both new and renewal DACA applications.

However, the court's decision is on hold for 90 days to give the government a chance to respond. In the interim, the government has the chance to better explain its decision to rescind the program. That means that the court may reconsider its decision before the 90 days is over, and before its decision to allow new applications would go into effect.

As a result of the decision being on hold for 90 days, there are no new changes to the program as of now. CIS continues to receive renewal DACA applications, but not new DACA applications.

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