On Saturday, August 22, 2020, House lawmakers unanimously passed a bill to provide emergency funding to USCIS, which is planning to furlough around 70% of its employees at the end of this month. In a written statement, Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D., Calif.), the bill's sponsor, said the legislation should encourage the administration to delay its planned furloughs, which would affect about 13,400 employees. Lawmakers have asked the agency's leadership and the DHS, to delay the furloughs in light of its improving budget outlook. Unlike nearly all other federal agencies, USCIS funds itself through the fees it charges for citizenship and other immigration applications.
On August 14, USCIS announced the results of a second H-1B cap lottery. The agency selected an additional number of H-1B registrations from the original submissions which occurred during the registration period from March 1 to March 20, 2020. According to reports, USCIS experienced an unexpected decline in H-1B filings and therefore is selecting additional H-1B lottery winners. Those who applied for the H-1B lottery in the spring are being advised by practitioners to log in to their USCIS online accounts now to check status for new H-1B selections. For more information and other current immigration issues check out our Williams Global Law Newsletter! LINK HERE:https://lnkd.in/dM3Wwdy
A federal court ordered the Trump administration to begin accepting new Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) applications. The administration has so far refused to accept new applications despite the Supreme Court holding that President Trump’s 2017 rescission of DACA was invalid because it lacked an adequate justification. U.S. District Judge Paul W. Grimm of the District of Maryland said his order “fully restores the DACA policy to its pre-September 5, 2017 status,” a reference to the day the Trump administration announced the president would rescind the program. The USCIS says it is reviewing the ruling. However, the agency`s last statement on their website was after the Supreme
On August 3, 2020, President Donald Trump issued an Executive Order framed as “Aligning Federal Contracting and Hiring Practices with the Interest of American Workers.” The Order requires agencies to review internally their contracting practices to ensure that only U.S. citizens and nationals are working on federal contracts. The administration has indicated that this Executive Order is a continuation of other efforts undertaken during the COVID-19 pandemic to limit immigration and protect American workers.
ICE announced an extension of the flexibilities in rules related to Form I-9 compliance that was granted earlier this year. Due to the continued precautions related to COVID-19, the DHS has decided to once again extend this policy for an additional 30 days. The expiration date for these accommodations is now August 19, 2020. On March 20, 2020 DHS announced that it would defer for a 60 day period the physical presence requirement to review the employee’s identity and employment authorization documents in order to complete Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification, for Employers and Workplaces that were working remotely due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Taking effect Oct. 2, USCIS has published a final rule significantly increasing its fees for most immigration and work applications. The applications for interim work and travel authorization are no longer free as before, for a net increase of $1,000 for adults. Asylum applications, previously free, now cost $50, and a work card for asylum applicant costs $550. Naturalization applications have increased $500 to $1,170. According to the USCIS announcement, the new fees, which are assessed by law every two years, are unrelated to the agency’s current budget shortfall. The naturalization fee will represent the full cost to process the application, the agency says, plus a proportional share of o
