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Welcome back to the Visalawyerblog! We have a very exciting announcement for you this afternoon. The International Entrepreneur Parole Program is back and in full force!

Today, May 10, 2021, USCIS announced that it will no longer pursue Trump era efforts to terminate the International Entrepreneur Parole Program and will instead remain committed to the continuance and implementation of the program to benefit immigrant entrepreneurs.

This decision is all part of the Biden administration’s efforts to restore faith in our legal immigration system, as outlined in Executive Order 14012, requiring DHS to identify and remove agency actions that fail to promote access to the legal immigration system.

What’s been happening with the International Entrepreneur Parole Program?

The International Entrepreneur Parole program was first established during the final days of the Obama administration with a planned implementation date of July 17, 2017. The program was designed to expand the admission of certain entrepreneurs into the United States by granting them temporary permission to enter the United States, (also known as “parole”) for a period of up to five years in order for the entrepreneur to begin a start-up business in the United States. Qualifying businesses include those with a high potential for growth and expansion.

The program did not establish a permanent immigration option, nor did it qualify an entrepreneur for permanent residence. Instead, the program was implemented as an option for eligible entrepreneurs wishing to remain in the United States on a temporary basis. One of the main advantages of the program was that entrepreneurs could take advantage of a much simpler immigration process known as requesting “parole” instead of having to apply for an investor visa at a U.S. Embassy or Consulate abroad.

Sadly, shortly after Donald Trump assumed the Presidency in early 2017, his administration quickly went to work to dismantle and undo the International Entrepreneur Rule before its planned implementation date.

The Trump administration set the stage for the undoing of the program by first issuing a rule in the federal register to delay the program’s implementation date to March 14, 2018, giving the agency more time to terminate the program.

On May 29, 2018, the administration formally moved to terminate the program by publishing a proposed rule to terminate the program altogether. Since then, the program has remained in a state of limbo, with the Trump era proposed rule still sitting idle in the Federal Register.

Today, the Biden administration made clear that the International Entrepreneur Parole Program is here to stay.

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The news we have all been waiting for is finally here. The Democratic controlled House of Representatives has taken a colossal step toward making comprehensive immigration reform a reality. On Thursday evening, members of the House voted along party lines to approve two legislative proposals that would create a pathway to citizenship for an estimated eleven million undocumented immigrants living in the United States, including Dreamers and farmworkers. These proposals are known as (1) the American Dream and Promise Act of 2021 and (2) the Farm Workforce Modernization Act of 2021.

What is the American Dream and Promise Act – H.R. 6?

The American Dream and Promise Act, also known as H.R. 6, creates an earned path to citizenship for more than two million Dreamers who were brought to the United States as children, as well as beneficiaries of certain temporary humanitarian programs including recipients of Deferred Enforced Departure (DED) and Temporary Protected Status (TPS). This proposal consists of

Title I: Dream Act of 2021

Title I of the Act would allow certain long-term residents who entered the United States as children to apply for conditional permanent resident status. Those who would obtain conditional permanent resident status would be considered lawfully admitted for permanent residence under the law.

Requirements

The American Dream and Promise Act would grant Dreamers conditional permanent resident status for 10 years, and cancel removal proceedings if they:

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Welcome back to Visalawerblog! We hope you are having a wonderful start to your week.

In this blog post, we discuss a new update for the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) program for the country of Venezuela.

As luck would have it, on March 8, 2021, the newly sworn Secretary of Homeland Security, Alejandro Mayorkas, announced the designation of Venezuela, as a foreign country qualifying for Temporary Protected Status (TPS), due to conditions in the country that temporarily prevent the safe return of Venezuelan nationals to their country of origin.

The designation will allow Venezuelan nationals (and those without nationality who last resided in Venezuela) to file initial applications for Temporary Protected Status (TPS), provided they meet the eligibility requirements.

What is TPS?

Temporary Protected Status is a temporary immigration status given to certain foreign nationals from certain countries that are experiencing ongoing armed conflict, environment disaster, humanitarian crisis, and other such conditions. TPS allows qualifying applicants to remain in the United States on a temporary lawful basis without fear of deportation, and also allows applicants to apply for a temporary work permit. Only nationals from countries who have been designated as eligible for Temporary Protected Status by the Secretary of Homeland Security are eligible to participate. Countries with such designation include El Salvador, Haiti, Honduras, Nepal, Nicaragua, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Venezuela, and Yemen.

What are the eligibility requirements?

  • To be eligible, applicants must be a national of Venezuela, or be a person without nationality who last habitually resided in Venezuela.
  • Venezuelan nationals must file for TPS during the open initial registration or re-registration period, which falls on March 9, 2021 to September 5, 2021. That means all initial applications must be received within this time frame.
  • Venezuelan nationals must prove they have been continuously physically present in the United States since March 9, 2021, the effective date of Venezuela’s designation date; and
  • Venezuelan nationals must prove that they have been continuously residing in the United States since March 8, 2021.
  • Those who meet the requirements outlined above may obtain TPS benefits for a period of 18 months lasting until September 9, 2022.

How to file

All applicants must submit the necessary forms, supporting documentation, and filing fees with USCIS by filing Form I-821 Application for Temporary Protected Status, as well as Form I-765, Request for Employment Authorization. For information about the forms and supporting documentation required click here.

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Happy Friday! We bring you an exciting new update about the public charge rule. On Thursday, March 11, 2021, the Biden administration formally rescinded the Trump era “public charge rule,” which has been responsible for causing great headaches among adjustment of status and immigrant visa applicants.

The public charge rule was first announced by the Department of Homeland Security on October 10, 2018, bringing with it a new set of regulations that made it more difficult for certain adjustment of status applicants to gain permanent residence in the United States.

Specifically, it was announced that the public charge rule would apply to all adjustment of status (green card) applications postmarked on or after February 24, 2020. In addition, the public charge rule of inadmissibility was applied to:

  • Applicants for an immigrant visa abroad
  • Applicants for a nonimmigrant visa abroad
  • Applicants for admission at the U.S. border who have been granted an immigrant or nonimmigrant visa, and
  • Nonimmigrants applying for an extension or change of status within the United States

Individuals applying for a green card or immigrant visa based on family sponsorship were most affected by this rule.

Further, a slew of special types of immigrants were allowed to be excluded from the rule including asylees, refugees, VAWA, TPS, DACA, Special Immigrant Juveniles, T nonimmigrants, U nonimmigrants, and such special types of immigrant classifications.

As a result of this rule, USCIS introduced a mandatory form to be submitted with all green card applications, known as Form, I-944 Declaration of Self Sufficiency, to determine whether a green card applicant would likely become a public charge on the United States government.

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Happy Thursday! We are back with a brand-new blog post. Today, we continue discussing President Biden’s recent executive actions on immigration. This time we are breaking down Executive Order entitled, “the Establishment of the Interagency Task Force on the Reunification of Families.”

So, what exactly does this executive order mean for you and your family?

This new executive order will prioritize the reunification of children who have been separated from their family members at the United States/Mexico border by establishing an Interagency Task Force on the Reunification of Families.

The heads of several agencies including the Secretary of Homeland Security, Secretary of State, and others will take part in the Task Force and perform the following functions:

  • Identify all children who have been separated from their families at the border between January 20, 2017, and January 20, 2021 Continue reading

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Welcome back to Visalawyerblog! In this post, we continue with our efforts to provide our readers with an overview of President Biden’s recent executive orders on immigration.

Last week, we discussed the major provisions of Executive Order, “Restoring Faith in Our Legal Immigration Systems and Strengthening Integration and Inclusion Efforts for New Americans.”

In today’s blog post, we continue to break down President Biden’s new executive orders focusing specifically on, “Creating a Comprehensive Regional Framework to Address the Causes of Migration, Manage Migration Throughout North and Central America, and to Provide Safe and Orderly Processing of Asylum Seekers at the United States Border,” and what it means for you.

What is this Executive Order all about?

President Biden signed this executive order on February 2, 2021, to create a multi-pronged approach that will help the United States manage and address the root cause of mass migration from North and Central America.

President Biden plans to work with civil society, international organizations, and govenments in the region to create a strategy that will increase opportunities for vulnerable groups of immigrants to apply for asylum protection closer to home. With this order, his administration hopes to streamline the asylum process in these regions by expanding systems and resettlement capacity.

Among its provisions, the order will increase lawful pathways for vulnerable groups of people to immigrate to the United States, while strengthening our asylum system.

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The nation awoke with a new President of the United States, and although President Joe Biden has been in office for less than one day, his administration is already planning sweeping immigration reforms and policy changes that will unfold throughout the coming months.

This is just the start of President Biden’s plan to reverse the numerous damaging policies and executive orders passed by the Trump administration during the past four years.

This morning, the White House issued a press release outlining President Biden’s commitment to modernize the U.S. immigration system by way of a legislative bill that will be introduced before Congress in a matter of days.

The new bill, the U.S. Citizenship Act of 2021, proposes to overhaul the current immigration system to more effectively manage and secure our country’s border.

According to the Biden administration, the purpose of the bill is to “restore humanity and American values to our immigration system….” providing “hardworking people who enrich our communities every day and who have lived here for years, in some cases for decades, an opportunity to earn citizenship.”

The bill will prioritize family reunification, address root causes of mass migration from Central America, and among other things ensure that the United States remains a refuge for those fleeing persecution.

Most importantly is the bill’s commitment to create a path to citizenship for eligible undocumented immigrants, including Dreamers and essential workers who have been on the frontline of the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Happy Monday! Welcome back to Visalawyerblog. We start off the week with some interesting immigration updates.

USCIS Updates – ASC and Interview Appointments Scheduled on January 19th and 20th will be Rescheduled

In anticipation of the Presidential inauguration on January 20, 2021, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has announced the temporary suspension of in-person services at all field offices, asylum offices, and application support centers (ASC biometrics offices) on January 19th and January 20th to ensure the safety of employees and individuals with appointments on these dates.

Accordingly, for individuals who had appointments on these dates (either for biometrics or for an interview) USCIS will be rescheduling these appointments and sending notices with the new appointment dates.

Please keep a look out for these notices in the mail within the next few weeks.

Nationals Eligible to Participate in the H-2A and H-2B Visa Program

In other news, last week the Department of Homeland Security released the list of countries eligible to participate in the H-2A and H-2B visa programs in the Federal Register.

The H-2A and H-2B visa programs allow U.S. employers to bring foreign nationals to the United States to fill temporary agricultural and nonagricultural jobs.

Typically, USCIS approves H-2A and H-2B petitions only for nationals of countries that the secretary of Homeland Security has designated as eligible to participate in the programs.

However, USCIS may approve H-2A and H-2B petitions, including those that were pending as of the date of the Federal Register notice, for nationals of countries not on the list on a case-by-case basis only if doing so is determined to be in the interest of the United States based on the evidence submitted.

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Welcome back to Visalawyerblog! In today’s post, we discuss a newly released final rule announced by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) on January 7, 2021.

The new rule entitled “Modification of Registration Requirement for Petitioners Seeking to File Cap-Subject H-1B Petitions,” will modify the H-1B cap selection process, amend current lottery procedures, and prioritize wages to ensure H-1B visas are awarded only to the most highly skilled foreign workers according to a new wage level selection process.

According to USCIS this new rule will only affect H-1B cap-subject petitions. It will be enforced against both the H-1B regular cap and the H-1B advanced degree exemption beginning March 9, 2021 (its effective date).

The final rule is scheduled to be published on January 8, 2021, however an advance copy has already been posted in the Federal Register for review.

Click here to view the advance copy.

When does the final rule become effective?

The final rule will become effective 60 days after its date of publication in the Federal Register (falling on March 9, 2021).

What are some of the highlights of this new rule?

The USCIS final rule creates a wage-based selection process for H-1B registrations, instead of a randomized computer generated process which is currently in place.

Ranking by Wage Level

DHS will amend regulations governing the process by which USCIS selects H-1B registrations for the filing of H-1B cap-subject petitions by generally first selecting registrations based on the highest Occupational Employment Statistics (OES) prevailing wage level indicated on the petition, where the proffered wage equals or exceeds the relevant Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) code and area(s) of intended employment, beginning with OES wage level IV and proceeding in descending order with OES wage levels III, II, and I.

The proffered wage is the wage that the employer intends to pay the beneficiary.

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We have very exciting news for our DACA community. Yesterday, December 7, 2020, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued the long-awaited public notice we have all been waiting for.

Pursuant to a federal court order issued on November 14, 2020, by Judge Nicholas George Garaufis of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York, which invalidates the July 28, 2020 “Wolf memorandum,” DHS has been ordered to immediately reinstate the DACA program to policies that were in effect prior to September 5, 2017 (the attempted rescission of the program by USCIS).

In order to comply with the federal court order, USCIS has issued an official public notice on its webpage confirming that effective December 7, 2020 the agency will:

  • Accept first-time requests for consideration of deferred action under Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) based on the terms of the DACA policy in effect prior to September 5, 2017, and in accordance with the Court’s December 4, 2020, order;
  • Accept DACA renewal requests based on the terms of the DACA policy in effect prior to September 5, 2017, and in accordance with the Court’s December 4, 2020, order;
  • Accept applications for advance parole documents based on the terms of the DACA policy prior to September 5, 2017, and in accordance with the Court’s December 4, 2020, order;
  • Extend one-year grants of deferred action under DACA to two years; and
  • Extend one-year employment authorization documents (EADs) under DACA to two years.

Additionally, USCIS will take appropriate steps to provide evidence of the one-year extensions of deferred action and employment authorization documents under DACA to individuals who were issued documentation on or after July 28, 2020, with a one-year validity period under the Wolf Memorandum.

With this announcement, DHS will comply with Judge Garaufis’ order while it remains in effect, but the agency has stated they may seek relief from the order. Therefore, you should take advantage and file your initial request for DACA and/or advance parole as soon as possible.

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