As of May 1, 2022, employers can no longer accept expired List B documents for Form I-9 Employment Eligibility Verification purposes, and any expired List B documents that were previously accepted must be updated by July 31, 2022. Allowing employees to present these expired documents was a temporary policy instituted by the Department of Homeland... Continue Reading
As of January 31, 2022, spouses entering the United States in L-2 or E status may be able to obtain work authorization at the border by asking Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to give them a “spousal” designation in their I-94 record. Because USCIS has not issued “official” guidance on this yet, requesting the designation... Continue Reading
USCIS has announced that H-1B Cap registration will start on March 1, 2022, at noon (Eastern) and will continue through noon (Eastern) on March 18, 2022. If enough registrations to fill the cap are received by March 18 (which is likely), USCIS will randomly select registrations and send selection notifications through users’ myUSCIS online accounts.... Continue Reading
The Social Security Administration (SSA) has reached an agreement with three of its unions on its COVID-19 re-entry plan. SSA offices have been essentially closed to the public since March 2020. That affected SSA’s ability to resolve E-Verify Tentative Nonconfirmations (TNCs) due to a no-match between a person’s name and Social Security Number. The result... Continue Reading
ICE has announced it will extend I-9 flexibility until April 30, 2022, due to continuing precautions related to COVID-19. The guidance remains the same: Employees who work exclusively in a remote setting due to COVID-19 continue to be temporarily exempt from the in-person requirements associated with Form I-9 Employment Eligibility Verification, until they start working at a... Continue Reading…
ICE has announced it will extend I-9 flexibility until April 30, 2022, due to continuing precautions related to COVID-19. The guidance remains the same: Employees who work exclusively in a remote setting due to COVID-19 continue to be temporarily exempt from the in-person requirements associated with Form I-9 Employment Eligibility Verification, until they start working... Continue Reading
Nonimmigrant spouses of H-1B and L-1 visa holders with long-pending EAD applications have finally received some relief. Based upon a settlement in Shergill v. Mayokas, USCIS is making major policy changes. Going forward, certain H-4 spouses with pending EAD applications will be entitled to 180-day automatic extensions of their EAD cards and L-2 spouses will... Continue Reading
As of 12:01 a.m. ET on November 8, 2021, the United States’ country-specific 14-day COVID-19 travel restrictions that have been so troublesome and disruptive for individuals and businesses will be eliminated. Instead, protecting the country from COVID-19 will focus on vaccination status. President Joe Biden’s “A Proclamation on Advancing the Safe Resumption of Global Travel During... Continue Reading…
As of 12:01 a.m. ET on November 8, 2021, the United States’ country-specific 14-day COVID-19 travel restrictions that have been so troublesome and disruptive for individuals and businesses will be eliminated. Instead, protecting the country from COVID-19 will focus on vaccination status. President Joe Biden’s “A Proclamation on Advancing the Safe Resumption of Global Travel... Continue Reading
The decades-old I-9 Employment Eligibility Verification process may be in for some changes. The Department of Homeland Security is requesting “public input” regarding the document examination process. Employers interested in the permanent continuation of Form I-9 flexibility might be encouraged by the agency’s official announcement on October 26, 2021. While the request is for “information... Continue Reading…
