U.S. Immigration Alerts

FGI FIVE: U.S. Immigration News Summary – Week of April 09, 2025

FGI to host webinar on US-Canada business immigration on April 15

• FGI will be hosting a webinar on Tuesday, April 15, 2025, 10 a.m. EST, called, “Tensions and Talent: US-Canada Business Immigration in a Shifting Trade Climate.” 
• FGI Attorneys Sylvia Wiegel and Phil Tremblay will discuss border-crossing and the immigration implications of the trade war between the US and Canada. 
• They will cover the potential ripple effects of the new US tariffs, what employers with workers in both countries need to know, and how to prepare for shifts in cross-border mobility. 
• Registration is free! Please sign up at https://lnkd.in/gQWAbT9Z.

US Embassy Canada offers guidance on alien registration requirement

• On April 08, 2025, the US Embassy in Canada posted guidance on the alien registration requirement for Canadian citizens. 
• The updated requirement is an interim final rule (IFR) that amends Department of Homeland Security regulations to designate a new registration form for certain noncitizens to comply with statutory registration and fingerprinting provisions as part of implementation of an executive order issued by President Trump in January. The IFR is open for public comment until April 11, 2025. See: Federal Register :: Alien Registration Form and Evidence of Registration
• While individual circumstances will vary, the US Embassy offers the following general guidance for Canadian citizens.
  • No Additional Action Needed: Absent unusual circumstance, Canadian citizens in the following categories are exempt or already registered by the nature of how they entered the country or are otherwise exempt.
    • A dual citizen of the United States or U.S. Lawful Permanent Resident (LPR).
    • Arrived into the United States by air.
    • Issued Form I-94 when being admitted at a land Port of Entry.
    • Issued a U.S. immigrant or nonimmigrant visa and requested admission to the United States based on that visa.
    • Issued a U.S. Employment Authorization Document.
    • An American Indian born in Canada who entered the United States under Section 289 of the INA (8 U.S.C. 1359).
  • Need to Register: Canadian citizens who entered the United States visa exempt at land ports of entry and were not issued Form I-94 will need to be registered if they intend to stay in the United States for at least 30 days in a single visit. These Canadian citizens primarily comprise those admitted as nonimmigrants in B-1/B-2 status (temporary visitors for business or pleasure), including so-called “snowbirds,” who did not ask to be issued a Form I-94 at a U.S. land port of entry.
• Please note: Canadian citizens admitted to the United States for purposes of employment or study in other nonimmigrant categories (including F, H-1b and TN) normally are issued a Form I-94 at the port of entry. As stated above in “No Additional Action Needed,” Canadian citizens who were issued a Form I-94 do not need to use the new registration process.

SOURCE: US Embassy and Consulates in Canada: Alien Registration Requirement – U.S. Embassy & Consulates in Canada

USCIS: New Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification, Issued

• USCIS has introduced a new edition of Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification. The new form is dated 01/20/2025 and has an expiration date of 05/31/2027. 
• Key updates include: 

• • Renaming the fourth checkbox in Section 1 to “An alien authorized to work” 
  • Revising the descriptions of two List B documents in the Lists of Acceptable Documents 
  • Adding appropriate statutory language and a revised DHS Privacy Notice to the instructions.
• Starting April 3, 2025, E-Verify and E-Verify+ will have updated the Citizenship Status selection during case creation to reflect this statutory language. The selection “A noncitizen authorized to work” will be updated to “An alien authorized to work.” 
• Employers should note:
• • If an employee attests on Form I-9 as “A noncitizen authorized to work,” the employer must select “An alien authorized to work” in E-Verify. 
  • E-Verify cases will display “An alien authorized to work,” while employees and employers may continue to see “A noncitizen authorized to work” on Form I-9, depending on the form edition being used. 
  • E-Verify+ participants will see the updated 01/20/25 edition date and 05/31/2027 expiration date reflected in Form I-9NG. 
• Additionally, E-Verify users creating cases through Web Services applications will see the employee status attestation automatically updated to “An alien authorized to work”—even if the WS application submits “A noncitizen authorized to work” if the employee selected citizenship status number four on Form I-9. 
• This change does not affect the current Interface Control Agreement (ICA) version 31.1, which already provides the necessary guidance for Web Services developers. WS developers should update their platforms to transmit “An alien authorized to work” instead of “A noncitizen authorized to work” as soon as possible.

SOURCE: USCIS.gov, April 2, 2024:  www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/form-i-9-related-news/minor-changes-to-form-i-9-and-e-verify-updates

USCIS updates policy to recognize two biological sexes

• U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is updating the USCIS Policy Manual to clarify that it only recognizes two biological sexes, male and female.
• Consistent with the Jan. 20, 2025, executive order, Defending Women From Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government, USCIS is returning to its historical policy of recognizing two biological sexes.
• Under this guidance, USCIS considers a person’s sex as that which is generally evidenced on the birth certificate issued at or nearest to the time of birth. If the birth certificate issued at or nearest to the time of birth indicates a sex other than male or female, USCIS will base the determination of sex on secondary evidence. 
• USCIS will not deny benefits solely because the benefit requestor did not properly indicate his or her sex. However, USCIS does not issue documents with a blank sex field, and does not issue documents with a sex different than the sex as generally evidenced on a birth certificate issued at the time of birth (or issued nearest to the time of birth). Therefore, if a benefit requestor does not indicate his or her sex or indicates a sex different from the sex on his or her birth certificate issued at the time of birth (or issued nearest to the time of birth), there may be delays in adjudication. 
• USCIS may provide notice to benefit requestors if it issues a USCIS document reflecting a sex different than that indicated by the benefit requestor on the request. 
• This guidance is effective immediately and applies to benefit requests pending or filed on or after April 2, 2025. The guidance contained in the Policy Manual is controlling and supersedes any related prior guidance. 

SOURCE: USCIS Newsroom, April 2, 2025: USCIS Updates Policy to Recognize Two Biological Sexes | USCIS

DHS to begin screening foreign nationals’ social media activity

• Beginning April 9, 2025, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will begin considering aliens’ antisemitic activity on social media and the physical harassment of Jewish individuals as grounds for denying immigration benefit requests. This will immediately affect aliens applying for lawful permanent resident status, foreign students and aliens affiliated with educational institutions linked to antisemitic activity.
• Consistent with President Trump’s executive orders on Combatting Anti-Semitism, Additional Measures to Combat Anti-Semitism and Protecting the United States from Foreign Terrorists and Other National Security and Public Safety Threats, DHS will enforce all relevant immigration laws to the maximum degree, to protect the homeland from extremists and terrorist aliens, including those who support antisemitic terrorism, violent antisemitic ideologies and antisemitic terrorist organizations such as Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, Hezbollah, or Ansar Allah aka: “the Houthis.”
• Under this guidance, USCIS will consider social media content that indicates an alien endorsing, espousing, promoting, or supporting antisemitic terrorism, antisemitic terrorist organizations, or other antisemitic activity as a negative factor in any USCIS discretionary analysis when adjudicating immigration benefit requests. This guidance is effective immediately.

SOURCE: USCIS Newsroom, April 9, 2025: DHS to Begin Screening Aliens’ Social Media Activity for Antisemitism | USCIS

The content of this article is intended only to provide a general guide to the subject matter. It should not be construed as legal advice. Please contact FGI at info@employmentimmigration.com or (+1) 248.643.4900 for guidance if you have specific questions.