The Immigration Answer Man - Ari Sauer

11/17/2021

Our annual Siskind Susser - Immigration Lawyers law firm staff Thanksgiving potluck, at Shelby Farms Park.

11/11/2021

A settlement in the Shergill, et al. v. Mayorkas litigation has resulted in two major developments that will help many H-4 and L-2 spouses suffering from extremely long EAD processing times.

First: H-4 nonimmigrants (spouses of H-1Bs) whose EADs expire before their H-4 status. If they file to renew their EAD before expiration of their current EAD, they will now benefit from an automatic extension of the current EAD while waiting for the new one. This automatic extension will be either for 180 days beyond the current EAD’s expiration, or to the end of their H-4 status, whichever is earlier.

This change does not affect initial H-4 EADs, nor H-4 EAD renewals where the current EAD is already valid until the end of the current H-4 status.

Within 120 days from today, USCIS will amend the receipt notice currently issued to H-4 EAD applicants to detail the EAD auto-extension.

Second, USCIS will issue guidance to confirm that L-2 spouses are employment authorized “incident to status” (in other words, automatically, without the need for an EAD). The Form I-94 will be changed within 120 days from today to specifically indicate an individual is an L-2 spouse, so that the I-94 can be used for I-9 employment verification purposes. Until that occurs, L-2 spouses will also be able to take advantage of a 180-day automatic extension of their L-2 EAD under the same conditions described above for H-4 nonimmigrants.

USCIS will be issuing further guidance to employers and benefit granting agencies to instruct how to complete I-9 employment verification for L-2s without EADs given these new developments.

10/18/2021

The November 2021 DOS Visa Bulletin is available. The November bulletin does not take affect until November 1st.

This bulletin summarizes the availability of immigrant numbers during November for: “Final Action Dates” and “Dates for Filing Applications,” indicating when immigrant visa applicants should be notified to assemble and submit required documentation to the National Visa Center.

11/20/2020

The December 2020 DOS Visa Bulletin has been published.

This bulletin summarizes the availability of immigrant numbers during December for: “Final Action Dates” and “Dates for Filing Applications,” indicating when immigrant visa applicants should be notified to assemble and submit required documentation to the National Visa Center.

09/03/2020

K-1 FIANCE VISAS: The DOS announced this week that, as consular operations resume, posts are authorized to give K visa cases high priority. This is important because the DOS had previously told their consular officers to not treat K-1 cases as a priority. The new guidance issued to the consular officers lets them know that they may revalidate the I-129 petition in four-month increments. For most cases impacted by suspension of visa services, it will not be necessary to file a new I-129 petition.

08/24/2020

TRAVEL RESTRICTIONS AT LAND PORTS OF ENTRY FROM CANADA AND MEXICO: CBP has announced that certain travel restrictions at land ports of entry from Canada and Mexico are being extended through September 21, 2020. While these restrictions are in place, travel through the land ports of entry and ferry terminals along the US border with Canada and Mexico will be limited to “essential travel” which includes, but is not limited to: “• U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents returning to the United States; • Individuals traveling for medical purposes (e.g., to receive medical treatment in the United States); • Individuals traveling to attend educational institutions; • Individuals traveling to work in the United States (e.g., individuals working in the farming or agriculture industry who must travel between the United States and Mexico in furtherance of such work); • Individuals traveling for emergency response and public health purposes (e.g., government officials or emergency responders entering the United States to support federal, state, local, tribal, or territorial government efforts to respond to COVID–19 or other emergencies); • Individuals engaged in lawful crossborder trade (e.g., truck drivers supporting the movement of cargo between the United States and Mexico); • Individuals engaged in official government travel or diplomatic travel; • Members of the U.S. Armed Forces, and the spouses and children of members of the U.S. Armed Forces, returning to the United States; and • Individuals engaged in military related travel or operations.” These restrictions do not apply to air, freight rail, or sea travel between the US and Canada or Mexico. But these restrictions do apply to vehicle and pedestrian travel, as well as passenger rail, passenger ferry travel, and pleasure boat travel between the US and Canada or Mexico.

08/24/2020

DACA: USCIS has issued a new memo with guidance on how they will be treating DACA cases. USCIS will continue accepting DACA applications from applicants who have previously been granted DACA. USCIS will not accept initial applications from applicants who have not previously been granted DACA. If you have already filed an initial DACA application with USCIS which has not already been adjudicated, and you have not had DACA in the past, USCIS will return your application to you, including the filing fee. USCIS will no longer be accepting applications for renewal/extension of DACA that are filed more than 150 days prior to the expiration date of the current DACA status/EAD. USCIS will now only be issuing renewals/extension of DACA status/EAD with one-year validity, instead of a two-year validity. If you have filed an application for DACA advance parole, your application will be returned to you, including the filing fee. It will be possible to apply/reapply for DACA Advance Parole, but the previous standard for DACA advance parole is no longer applicable. USCIS will not be applying a much stricter standard only for "urgent humanitarian reasons or significant public benefit." The memo seems to be saying that DACA Advance Parole will now only be granted in "exceptional circumstances." The memo gives examples of such "exceptional circumstances" including: travel to support the national security interests of the US including military interests; travel in furtherance of US federal law enforcement interests; travel to obtain life-sustaining medical treatment that is not otherwise available to the alien in the US; and travel needed to support the immediate safety, well-being, or care of an immediate relative, particularly minor children of the alien. So it is possible to obtain a DACA AP, but I predict that USCIS approval of applications for DACA AP will be rare.

08/24/2020

FB LIVE Q&A: Tomorrow night (Tuesday 8/25/2020) on our firm's Siskind Susser - Immigration Lawyers FB page, Lily S. Axelrod, Immigration Attorney / Abogada de Inmigración and I will be hosting a live Question and Answer session about the latest immigration news.
Lily's practice focuses on removal (deportation) defense, waivers for people with criminal histories, and humanitarian cases. My practice focuses on employment-based immigration and complex family-based cases.
Have a high priority question? Use this link to sign-up and submit your question in advance.

Sign Up Here!

08/19/2020

VISA BULLETIN: The September 2020 Visa Bulletin is now available for view:

This bulletin summarizes the availability of immigrant numbers during September for: “Final Action Dates” and “Dates for Filing Applications,” indicating when immigrant visa applicants should be notified to assemble and submit required documentation to the National Visa Center.

07/17/2020

DACA and DACA Advance Parole: Great news! The Court has issued an order requiring USCIS to accept DACA applications for all qualified applicants, even if they have not had DACA before. Also the order seems to require them to accept applications for Advance Parole for those with DACA as well. The Administration can still act to cancel DACA again at some point, so applications for DACA and for DACA Advance Parole should be filed ASAP.

07/16/2020

TRAVEL BAN: Some good news! The DOS has issued some additional guidance on who is eligible for exceptions to the travel ban from the June 22, 2020 Presidential Executive Order. Included in the guidance, it says that the spouse and children who are coming to the US to join a J-1, L-1, H-1B or H-2B spouse or parent who is already in the US can be eligible for an exception to the ban so that they can obtain a J-2, L-2, or H-4 visa. You can read the full update on the DOS website here:

Meeting between the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) Department of State Liaison Committee and the Visa Office of the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Consular Affairs