USCIS Offers Temporary Flexibility for Applicants and Petitioners Affected by Lockbox Delays

On June 10, 2021, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced [link] that it began offering filing flexibility for certain applicants and petitioners impacted by delays at a USCIS lockbox.

The temporary flexibilities will be in effect from June 10, 2021, through August 9, 2021. They apply only to benefit requests submitted to a USCIS lockbox. They do not apply to benefit requests submitted to a USCIS service center or field office.

Below, we quote from the USCIS news release regarding the temporary flexibilities:

• If you submitted a benefit request to a USCIS lockbox between Oct. 1, 2020, and April 1, 2021, and that request was rejected during that timeframe solely due to a filing fee payment that expired while the benefit request was awaiting processing, you may resubmit the request with a new fee payment. If USCIS concurs that it has rejected the benefit request because of the delay, USCIS will deem the request to have been received on the initial filing date it was first received and waive the $30 dishonored check fee.
• USCIS will allow applicants and petitioners to submit documentation with a benefit request resubmission demonstrating that because of the time that elapsed between when a benefit request was originally submitted to a USCIS lockbox and when USCIS rejected it, an applicant, co-applicant, beneficiary or derivative has reached an age that makes them no longer eligible to file for the benefit requested. If USCIS agrees that the delayed rejection caused the person to be ineligible due to age, USCIS will accept the request and deem it to have been received on the date the initial benefit request was received. This flexibility does not apply to Form N-600K, Application for Citizenship and Issuance of Certificate Under Section 322.

The flexibilities have benefits in two cases. The first case involves situations wherein the petitioner's or applicant's filing fee payment expired due to USCIS processing delays. The second case involves situations wherein a benefit request was denied due to the amount of time that elapsed between the petitioner's or beneficiary's submitting the request and its processing. The latter flexibility does not apply to the Form N-600K, Application for Citizenship and Issuance of Certificate Under Section 322.

The USCIS news release advises applicants and beneficiaries who believe that they may be eligible to benefit from the flexibilities to contact the agency in order “to verify previously filed benefit requests have not been rejected in error.”

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Additional 22,000 H2B Visas Made Available for FY-2021 For Certain Employers In Need

On May 21, 2021, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Department of Labor (DOL) published a join-temporary rule making available an additional 22,000 H2B temporary nonagricultural guest worker visas for FY-2021 [link]. The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services' (USCIS) press release [link] on the news explains that these additional H2B visas will be available only to “employers who are likely to suffer irreparable harm without these additional workers.” Furthermore, 6,000 of the 22,000 supplemental H2B visas are being reserved for beneficiaries who are nationals of Honduras, El Salvador, and Guatemala.

Beginning on May 25, 2021, employers that have completed a test of the U.S. labor market to verify that there are no willing, qualified, and able U.S. workers for a position that falls within the ambient of the H2B program may file a Form I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker, to seek additional H2B workers. Consistent with the purpose of the newly available H2B visas, the employer must also “submit an attestation with their petition to demonstrate their business is likely to suffer irreparable harm without a supplemental workforce.”

The attestation must be submitted on the DOL Form ETA 9142-B-CAA-4 [link]. It is important to note that the attestation is filed under penalty of perjury, meaning that employers must be honest about their need for additional workers. Furthermore, the employer must attest that he or she is seeking to employ returning workers only, unless it is seeking to employ a worker who is eligible under the 6,000 H2B visa allotment for nationals of Honduras, El Salvador, and Guatemala.

Employers who hope to take advantage of the additional H2B visa allotment should prepare to file their Forms I-129 expeditiously, and may consult an experienced immigration attorney in the area of nonimmigrant work visas [see category] for case-specific guidance.

Please visit the nyc immigration lawyers website for further information. The Law Offices of Grinberg & Segal, PLLC focuses vast segment of its practice on immigration law. This steadfast dedication has resulted in thousands of immigrants throughout the United States.

Lawyer website: http://myattorneyusa.com

DHS Withdraws Efforts to Rescind the International Entrepreneur Parole Program

On May 10, 2021, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced [link] that it is rescinding a 2018 notice of proposed rulemaking [see blog] to withdraw The International Entrepreneur parole program, which had been instituted by a a final rule published on January 17, 2017. The rule had been previously allowed to take effect [see article] due to an injunction against an initial effort to end the program in 2017.

Please visit the nyc immigration lawyers website for further information. The Law Offices of Grinberg & Segal, PLLC focuses vast segment of its practice on immigration law. This steadfast dedication has resulted in thousands of immigrants throughout the United States.

Lawyer website: http://myattorneyusa.com