On December 31, 2020, the Trump Administration extended presidential proclamations 10014, suspending the entry of immigrants, and 10052, suspending entry of nonimmigrant visa holders including their dependent family members, who are in H-1B, H-2B, J and L categories. Both proclamations, which would have otherwise…
Monthly Archives: December 2020
I-9 Compliance Flexibility Requirements Now Extended Through January 31, 2021
The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced today that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) will once again extend the current I-9 compliance flexibility requirements in place, which was set to expire next Thursday, December 31, 2020. The new expiration date…
USCIS Extends Flexible Deadlines for RFEs and Other Requests
On December 18, 2020, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that it is extending its flexibility measures in response to COVID-19, that allows applicants and petitioners to submit responses to certain USCIS requests up to sixty (60) days…
USCIS Extends Validity of I-797 Approval Notices for I-9 Compliance Due to Continued EAD Delays
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) extended the validity of certain Forms I-797 Notice of Action (I-765 approval notices), for use as List C #7 document for Form I-9 verification compliance, from December 1, 2020 to February 1, 2021. Important Notes…
Another District Court Sets Aside DOL’s New Wage Rule and Orders DOL to Reissue Prevailing Wage Determinations
On December 14, 2020, another district court ruled against the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) Strengthening Wage Protections for the Temporary and Permanent Employment of Certain Aliens in the United States interim final rule (“Wage Rule”), issued on October 8, 2020, that changed the…
USCIS Accepting New DACA Requests Again
On December 7, 2020, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced that the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is accepting new applications for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals also known as “DACA,” among other things. The announcement was made following a December…
DOL Rolls Back Wage Rule; USCIS’ Extreme H-1B Rule Will Not Take Effect
On Friday, December 4, 2020, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that it will not implement its Strengthening the H–1B Nonimmigrant Visa Classification Program interim final rule (“H-1B Rule”) that was scheduled to take effect on December 7, 2020. Similarly, on December…
Federal Judge: DHS H-1B and DOL Wage Rules Violate Administrative Procedures Act
On Tuesday, December 1, 2020, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California set aside both the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Strengthening the H–1B Nonimmigrant Visa Classification Program interim final rule (“H-1B rule”) and U.S. Department…
