FGI FIVE: U.S. Immigration News Summary – Week of March 21, 2025

March 21, 2025

DHS issues interim final rule (IFR) on new online registration process

On March 14, 2025, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued an Interim Final Rule amending to provide for a new online process by which unregistered foreign nationals can comply with the existing registration requirements of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). The regulation is set to take effect on April 11, 2025, but a new online registration form is already available for use at https://www.uscis.gov/g-325r with guidance found at https://www.uscis.gov/alienregistration.

The main categories of foreign nationals who are not considered registered and must do so using the new online G-325R registration process are:

Anyone who has not applied to the Department of State for a visa, been issued one of the documents designated as evidence of registration listed below or has not submitted one of the forms designated below and provided fingerprints (unless waived) is not registered. Aliens who have not registered include:
- Aliens present in the United States without inspection and admission or inspection and parole who have not otherwise registered (that is, aliens who crossed the border illegally);
- Canadian visitors who entered the United States at land ports of entry and were not issued evidence of registration; and
- Aliens who submitted one or more benefit requests to USCIS not listed below, including applications for deferred action or Temporary Protected Status who were not issued evidence of registration listed below.
- All aliens 14 years of age or older who were not registered and fingerprinted (if required) when applying for a visa to enter the United States and who remain in the United States for 30 days or longer. They must apply before the expiration of those 30 days;
- The parents or legal guardians of aliens less than 14 years of age: Parents or legal guardians must apply for the registration of aliens less than 14 years of age who have not been registered and remain in the United States for 30 days or longer, before the expiration of those 30 days; and
- Any alien, whether previously registered or not, who turns 14 years old in the United States, within 30 days after their 14th birthday.
Foreign nationals of any age, including those under 14, who entered the United States unlawfully without undergoing immigration inspection and remain in the United States for 30 days or longer, and who have not been issued any documents that evidence registration, such as an Employment Authorization Document (EAD) or a Notice to Appear for removal proceedings, and who have not applied for adjustment of status or refugee or temporary resident status. This would include individuals who entered without inspection and subsequently applied for DACA, Temporary Protected Status (TPS), or asylum but who either did not apply for or were not eligible for an EAD, or whose EAD application is still pending or has been denied, and who have not been issued any other evidence of registration.

If you have already complied with your duty to register and been fingerprinted (if required) in connection with your current stay in the United States of 30 days or more and have not reached your 14th birthday in the United States since registering, do not submit this form.

Foreign nationals who are already considered to have satisfied the registration requirement and therefore generally will not need to undergo the new registration process detailed in the IFR include:

Individuals who have been issued any of the following documents:
- I-551 permanent resident card (green card);
- Border Crossing Card (BCC);
- I-766 Employment Authorization Document (EAD);
- I-94 or I-94W Arrival-Departure Record for nonimmigrants and parolees (even if now expired);
- A valid, unexpired DHS nonimmigrant admission or parole stamp in a foreign passport;
- Certain crewmen landing permits;
- I-862 Notice to Appear; and
- Certain other documents issued when a foreign national is placed in removal/deportation proceedings.

Individuals who have filed certain application forms, including:
- I-485 adjustment of status application;
- I-590 application for Registration for Classification as a Refugee; and
- Certain applications for temporary residence status.

The following individuals are exempt from the registration requirement and generally will not need to undergo the new registration process detailed in the IFR:

Individuals present in the United States who were issued immigrant or nonimmigrant visas prior to arrival, as such individuals are generally required to be registered at time of visa application.
Officials of foreign governments and international organizations who have been granted A or G visas, who are exempt from registration both at time of visa application and after entry into the United States.
Foreign nationals who are in the United States for less than 30 days.

SOURCES:

USCIS to accept only 01/20/2025 edition of updated forms after grace period

Recently, USCIS released the new, “01/20/2025” editions of the forms without notice and made them effective immediately. The previous edition(s) of the impacted forms that were received by USCIS after the release dates faced the risk of rejection. USCIS announced it would continue to accept the prior versions of the updated forms for a specified period.

The agency issued a grace period on March 8, 2025, for the dozen updated immigration forms it released in February and March 2025 and made effective immediately. These forms include the N-400 for naturalization, I-485 for adjustment of status, and I-131 for travel documents. Applicants may use the previous editions until the specified grace period ends.

USCIS will accept only the 01/20/2025 editions of the following forms starting:

1) March 24, 2025:

Form I-356, Request for Cancellation of Public Charge Bond
Form I-914, Application for T Nonimmigrant Status
Form I-941, Application for Entrepreneur Parole

2) April 3, 2025:

Form I-485 Supplement J, Confirmation of Valid Job Offer or Request for Job Portability Under INA Section 204(j)
Supplement A to Form I-485, Adjustment of Status Under Section 245(i)
Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status
Form G-325A, Biographic Information (for Deferred Action)
Form I-192, Application for Advance Permission to Enter as a Nonimmigrant
Form I-134, Declaration of Financial Support

3) April 4, 2025:

Form N-400, Application for Naturalization
Form I-131, Application for Travel Documents, Parole Documents, and Arrival/Departure Records

4) May 5, 2025:

Form I-918, Petition for U Nonimmigrant Status

Applicants should check the USCIS Forms and Forms Updates pages to ensure they are using the correct edition of an immigration form to avoid delays or rejections.

SOURCE: AILA Practice Alert, March 10, 2025: https://www.aila.org/library/uscis-is-requiring-new-editions-of-forms-i-912-i-134-and-g-325a-effective-immediately

Dept. of State Expands Foreign Affairs Functions Exempted From Public Notice Requirements; Significant Effects on Agency Rulemaking and Adjudications Likely

The Department of State (DOS) published a notice on March 14, 2025, that includes a statement dated February 21, 2025, reiterating that the Department of State’s (DOS) foreign affairs purview includes “all policy related to the protection and travel of U.S. citizens overseas, visa operations and visa issuance, implementation of the Arms Export Control Act, and implementation of the Mutual Educational and Cultural Exchange Act of 1961.”
The notice further declares that “all efforts, conducted by any agency of the federal government, to control the status, entry, and exit of people, and the transfer of goods, services, data, technology, and other items across the borders of the United States, constitute a foreign affairs function of the United States under the Administrative Procedure Act [APA].”
This effectively constitutes an expansion to other federal agencies of the exemption of these “foreign affairs” functions from the APA’s requirements.
Commenters noted that this determination could have significant effects on rulemaking and adjudications of several agencies. For example, agencies such as DOS and the Departments of Homeland Security and Labor could issue new immigration and border-related regulations without notice and comment; make legal challenges based on APA violations more difficult; and potentially reduce transparency in immigration-related adjudications, including removal proceedings.

SOURCE: ABIL Immigration Insider, March 16, 2025, and Federal Register, March 14, 2025: www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2025-03-14/pdf/2025-04116.pdf

Policy memo expands USCIS’s authority to issue Notices to Appear

On February 28, 2025, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued an updated policy memorandum (PM-602-0187) that expands the agency’s authority to issue notice to appear (NTA) to initiate removal (deportation) proceedings against individuals whose immigration benefit requests have been denied and who are not lawfully present or are subject to other grounds of deportability. The new policy memorandum expands and details the circumstances in which USCIS will or may issue an NTA and narrows the parameters for officers to employ prosecutorial discretion not to issue an NTA.
An NTA is a charging document that, among other things, instructs an alien to appear before an Immigration Judge and specifies the nature of the removal proceedings, the legal authority for the proceedings, the factual allegations supporting removal, and the charges against the alien.
Most employment-based beneficiaries are exempt from the policy, but dependent family members are not.
The NTA (Form I-862) notifies the foreign national of the charges being brought against him or her, the grounds for removability, and the requirement to appear before an immigration judge on a future date. Once the NTA is filed with the immigration court, an immigration judge must decide if the individual should be removed from the United States.

USCIS has issued guidance stating that it will issue an NTA if an immigration benefit request is denied, and the noncitizen is no longer in lawful status or is subject to other grounds of removability. This includes situations where the noncitizen was lawfully present at the time the application or petition was submitted to USCIS.
In cases involving fraud or misrepresentation, USCIS will issue an NTA even if the petition or application was denied for reasons other than fraud.
In naturalization cases, USCIS will issue an NTA if it is determined that the applicant was inadmissible at the time of adjustment in or admission to the United States.

SOURCE: US Citizenship and Immigration Services, Policy Memorandum (PM-602-0187), February 28, 2025: https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/document/policy-alerts/NTA_Policy_FINAL_2.28.25_FINAL.pdf

DOL REMINDER: Deletion of records from FLAG

The Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration, Office of Foreign Labor Certification (OFLC), record deletion program will begin at 12:00 mid-night on Thursday, March 20, 2025.

Programs Affected

The following OFLC programs will be impacted by this implementation:

Prevailing Wage Determinations (PWD)
Permanent Labor Certification Applications (PERM)
Temporary Labor Certification Applications (H-2A, H-2B, CW-1 visas)
Temporary Labor Condition Applications (H-1B, H-1B1, and E-3 visas)

If you have cases older than five (5) years from the date of final determination within the FLAG system, please remember to download these cases no later than March 19, 2025.

SOURCE: www.dol.gov/agencies/eta/foreign-labor/news Announcements | U.S. Department of Labor

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.

U.S. Immigration Alerts