Immigration Updates & Headlines
USCIS Issues Clarifying Guidance for Individuals Authorized to Work Under Special Student Relief Provisions
The update, from February 22, clarifies that in cases of severe economic hardship due to emergent circumstances, USCIS may grant off-campus SSR employment authorization to an F-1 nonimmigrant student
for the duration of the Federal Register notice validity period. This employment authorization may not extend past the student’s academic program end date. This update notes that we may issue employment authorization documents for the duration of the Federal Register notice, which is typically an 18-month validity period, as permitted by the relevant SSR Federal Register notice.
State Dept. Plans Pilot to Allow Visa Renewals in the United States for H and L WorkersAccording to
reports, the Department of State (DOS) plans to launch a pilot program later this year to allow visa renewals in the United States for H and L nonimmigrant workers who currently must leave the country to renew their visas at consular offices abroad. The program could expand eventually. Practitioners say such a policy, which was in place until 2004, would help to relieve backlogs and lengthy wait times abroad and reduce the burden on consular offices and visa holders. The program is expected to benefit tens of thousands of foreign tech professionals in the United States on H-1B visas, among others.
41K+ Individuals Denied Visas Under Trump-Era Travel Ban Can Reapply Without Paying a Fee, Court SaysA district court has
ordered the U.S. government to provide relief to approximately 41,000 nonimmigrant visa applicants who were denied a waiver during the Trump administration’s travel ban and who have not subsequently been granted a visa. The court said that the government will notify these 41,000+ individuals directly through the Consular Electronic Application Center and indirectly through the Department of State’s website, and will advise them that they may reapply for a nonimmigrant visa without paying a second fee.
Biden Administration Announces New Border CrackdownThe proposed rule, which has been opened for 30 days of public comment before taking effect, would presume that migrants are ineligible for asylum if they entered the country unlawfully, a significant rollback in the country’s traditional policy toward those fleeing persecution in other countries.
It would allow rapid deportation of anyone who had failed to request protection from another country while en route to the United States or who did not notify border authorities through a mobile app of their plans to seek asylum.
Administration officials said the policy would take effect on May 11 with the expected termination that day of Title 42, a Trump-era health emergency rule that has allowed border authorities to swiftly expel migrants back to Mexico. The new rule would then remain in place for two years.
