The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has reached a settlement agreement in Shergill, et al. v. Mayorkas that provides structural changes for H-4 and L-2 spouses suffering from long-delayed processing times for employment authorization applications.

The litigation successfully reversed the USCIS policy that prohibited H-4 spouses from benefiting from an automatic extension of their employment authorization beyond the expiration of their Employment Authorization Document (EAD). For those spouses whose H-4 status extends beyond their current EAD, filing a renewal of the EAD will automatically extend work authorization. The automatic extension ends when the I-94 reflecting H-4 status expires, the EAD is approved/denied, or 180 days have passed from the EAD expiration date. This means spouses of long-delayed green card applicants granted employment authorization in H-4 status will be able to continue their careers without the disruption caused by USCIS processing delays.

In addition,  USCIS will now recognize that L-2 spouses are employment authorized incident to L-2 status. This means spouses of transferred executives and managers will no longer have to apply for employment authorization prior to working or starting a business in the US.

The Office of the Citizenship and Immigration Services Ombudsman (CIS Ombudsman) is sharing the below tips for filing benefit requests at a U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Lockbox facility.

• Check USCIS’ website for the correct Lockbox mailing address when you are ready to file. USCIS Lockbox filing locations may change periodically to help balance workloads. You can avoid unnecessary delays or even a rejection of your filing by verifying you are using the most up to date mailing address.
  • You can find the mailing address and formatting instructions on USCIS’ website in the “Where to File” section of the form you are filing.
  • You can subscribe to USCIS’ Forms Updates distribution list to receive an email each time USCIS updates a filing location.
• Label your envelope correctly. Before mailing your completed forms, including resubmitted applications and petitions, or a response to a notice, such as a request for evidence (RFE), to USCIS:
  • Make sure your envelope displays the correct mailing address for the form type you are filing with USCIS.
  • If responding to an RFE or other notice, make sure the mailing label reflects the USCIS address listed on the notice.
  • Use the address format recommended by USCIS. This may include an attention line and a designated “zip code plus four” for your form type. For example: 75266-0864.
• Mail your forms or responses as early as possible. This is especially important if a deadline applies to your filing.
  • The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) recently announced changes to its first-class mail service standards starting October 1, 2021, which means delivery will be slower and may take 5 business days.
  • With these slower delivery times in mind, plan to mail your forms to USCIS as early as possible to avoid missing filing deadlines.
  • In addition to USPS, you may also submit your forms through FedEx, DHL, or UPS.

For more information on Lockbox filing locations, please visit USCIS’ Lockbox Filing Location Updates web page.

The CIS Ombudsman is committed to meeting with stakeholders and USCIS to address concerns related to filings at USCIS Lockbox facilities. Additional updates on this topic will be shared by the CIS Ombudsman as appropriate. For more information on our office, please visit our website.

The Diversity Visa (DV) Lottery provides an unusual and generally available way for someone to obtain a green card without relying on family or employers to file petitions. DV applications may only be submitted electronically over the Internet. Paper entries are not accepted. Natives of only certain countries are allowed to participate. It is called a "diversity" lottery because the goal is to encourage immigration from countries and areas that may have sent few immigrants in the past. For example citizens of China, India, Canada, the U.K. and several other countries cannot participate because those countries already send large numbers of immigrants through other means every year. The exact countries change a little each year due to a very complicated calculation that Congress requires that the Department of State do to determine from where we need diversity applicants.

Release Date

09/24/2021

In response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services is extending the flexibilities it announced on March 30, 2020, to assist applicants, petitioners and requestors who are responding to certain:

• Requests for Evidence;
• Continuations to Request Evidence (N-14);
• Notices of Intent to Deny;
• Notices of Intent to Revoke;
• Notices of Intent to Rescind;
• Notices of Intent to Terminate regional centers; and
• Motions to Reopen an N-400 Pursuant to 8 CFR 335.5, Receipt of Derogatory Information After Grant.

In addition, USCIS will consider a Form I-290B, Notice of Appeal or Motion, or Form N-336, Request for a Hearing on a Decision in Naturalization Proceedings (Under Section 336 of the INA), if:

• The form was filed up to 60 calendar days from the issuance of a decision we made; and
• We made that decision anytime from March 1, 2020, through Jan. 15, 2022

Notice/Request/Decision Issuance Date:

This flexibility applies to the above documents if the issuance date listed on the request, notice or decision is between March 1, 2020, and Jan. 15, 2022, inclusive.

Response Due Date:

USCIS will consider a response to the above requests and notices received within 60 calendar days after the response due date set in the request or notice before taking any action. Additionally, we will consider a Form N-336 or Form I-290B received up to 60 calendar days from the date of the decision before we take any action.

Please visit uscis.gov/coronavirus for USCIS updates.

The Department of Homeland Security today published a Federal Register notice (FRN) announcing that it is automatically extending the validity of TPS-related documentation for beneficiaries under the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) designations for El Salvador, Haiti, Honduras, Nepal, Nicaragua, and Sudan through Dec. 31, 2022. For the most current information related to TPS, visit USCIS' TPS webpage.

USCIS announced today that Temporary Protected Status (TPS) applicants who are eligible nationals of Burma, Somalia, Syria, Venezuela or Yemen, or individuals without nationality who last habitually resided in one of those countries, can now file Form I-821, Application for Temporary Protected Status, online, if they are applying for TPS for the first time.

At this time, the option to file Form I-821 online is only available to initial TPS applicants from these five countries. USCIS is starting with these countries because they are either new designations or recently announced re-designations. When filing an initial TPS application, applicants can also request an Employment Authorization Document by submitting a completed Form I-765, Request for Employment Authorization, with their Form I-821. These applications will be the first forms available for concurrent filing online.

All other TPS applicants and current beneficiaries who are re-registering under the extension of a TPS designation must continue to file a paper Form I-821. If an initial TPS applicant from a country other than Burma, Syria, Venezuela, or Yemen or a re-registrant files Form I-821 online, USCIS will deny the application and retain the fee. USCIS is working to make online filing available for re-registrants and initial applicants for all TPS designations in the future.

The Department of Homeland Security today published a Federal Register notice (FRN) extending and re-designating Yemen for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for 18 months, from Sept. 4, 2021, through March 3, 2023. The extension and re-designation of Yemen for TPS is due to ongoing armed conflict and extraordinary and temporary conditions that prevent Yemeni nationals (or individuals having no nationality who last habitually resided in Yemen) from safely returning.

www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2021-05-25/pdf/...

See www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2021-05-25/pdf/... for details.

Effective May 17, 2021, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services will temporarily suspend the biometrics submission requirement for certain applicants filing Form I-539, Application To Extend/Change Nonimmigrant Status, requesting an extension of stay in or change of status to H-4, L-2, and E nonimmigrant status. USCIS will allow adjudications for those specific categories to proceed based on biographic information and related background checks, without capturing fingerprints and a photograph. This suspension will apply through May 17, 2023, subject to affirmative extension or revocation of the suspension period by the USCIS director.

The Department of State updated its “COVID-19 Restrictions on U.S. Visas and Entry” page on April 06, 2021 (temporarily unavailable, but eventually at https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/News/visas-news/phased-resumption-routine-visa-services.html).  In the update, DOS acknowledges that “restrictions have reduced appointment capacity during the pandemic, which has created a significant backlog of both immigrant and nonimmigrant visa applicants awaiting a visa interview” and that “The State Department is working to reduce this backlog while ensuring the safety of our staff and applicants and protecting our national security.”

Insofar as visa services are concerned, the DOS notes, “All of our missions are continuing to provide emergency and mission-critical visa services.  As post-specific conditions permit, and after meeting demand for services to U.S. citizens, our missions are phasing in processing some routine immigrant and nonimmigrant visa cases.  Posts that process immigrant visa applications are prioritizing Immediate Relative family members of U.S. citizens, including intercountry adoptions, fiancé(e)s of U.S. citizens, and certain Special Immigrant Visa applications.  Posts processing nonimmigrant visa applications will continue to prioritize travelers with urgent travel needs, foreign diplomats, and certain mission critical categories of travelers such as those coming to assist with the U.S. response to the pandemic, followed by students and exchange visitors (F-1, M-1, and J-1) and temporary employment visas.  Posts that process both immigrant and nonimmigrant visas will prioritize immigrant visas while still providing some nonimmigrant services.  The volume and type of visa cases each post will process depends on local circumstances.  An embassy or consulate will resume adjudicating all routine immigrant and nonimmigrant visa cases only when adequate resources are available, and it is safe to do so.”

NAFSA provides a summary and an FAQ at https://www.nafsa.org/regulatory-information/covid-19-restrictions-us-visas-and-entry#generalsuspension.

Re-Designation Allows Additional Eligible Syrians to Apply

WASHINGTON—The Department of Homeland Security today published a Federal Register notice (FRN) extending and re-designating Syria for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for 18 months, effective March 31, 2021, through Sept. 30, 2022. The extension and re-designation were announced on January 29 and were based upon ongoing armed conflict and extraordinary and temporary conditions in Syria that prevent safe return.

The extension allows approximately 6,700 current beneficiaries to re-register and retain TPS through Sept. 30, 2022, so long as they otherwise continue to meet the TPS eligibility requirements. The re-designation of Syria allows an estimated 1,800 additional individuals who have been continuously residing in the United States since March 19, 2021, and continuously physically present in the United States since March 31, 2021, to file initial applications to obtain TPS, if they are otherwise eligible.

Current beneficiaries under Syria’s TPS designation will be eligible to re-register for an extension of their status and have employment authorization through Sept. 30, 2022. The 60-day re-registration period runs from March 19, 2021, through May 18, 2021.

USCIS is automatically extending the validity of employment authorization documents (EADs) previously issued under the TPS designation of Syria for 180 days, through Sept. 27, 2021. USCIS will issue new EADs with a Sept. 30, 2022, expiration date to eligible Syrian TPS beneficiaries who timely re-register and apply for EADs during the 60-day re-registration period.

Under the re-designation of Syria for TPS, Syrian nationals (or individuals having no nationality who last habitually resided in Syria) who entered the United States before March 19, 2021, and continuously resided here since that date and who currently do not have TPS may submit an application during the 180-day initial registration period that runs from March 19, 2021, through Sept. 15, 2021. They must also meet the requirement for continuous physical presence from March 31, 2021, and other TPS eligibility requirements. The FRN explains the procedures necessary to submit an initial registration application under the re-designation and apply for an EAD.

For more information on USCIS and its programs, please visit uscis.gov or follow us on Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, Facebook and LinkedIn.

Venezuela received a new 18-month designation of Temporary Protected Status, or TPS, designation from March 9, 2021, through Sept. 9, 2022.

USCIS estimates that approximately 323,000 individuals are eligible to file applications for TPS under the designation of Venezuela.

The Federal Register Notice also contains information about the implementation of Deferred Enforced Departure, or DED, for Venezuela, which was designated by the prior administration and extends through at least July 20, 2022.

Announced today at: travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/News/visas-news/...

Expansion of Interview Waiver Eligibility

Last Updated: March 11, 2021

Secretary Blinken, in consultation with the Department of Homeland Security, has temporarily expanded the ability of consular officers to waive the in-person interview requirement for individuals applying for a nonimmigrant visa in the same classification.  Previously, only those applicants whose nonimmigrant visa expired within 24 months were eligible for an interview waiver.  The Secretary has temporarily extended the expiration period to 48 months.  This policy is in effect until December 31, 2021.  This change will allow consular officers to continue processing certain nonimmigrant visa applications while limiting the number of applicants who must appear at a consular section, thereby reducing the risk of COVID-19 transmission to other applicants and consular staff.  Travelers are encouraged to review the website of the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate for detailed information on what services are currently available as well as eligibility information and instructions on applying for a visa without an interview.