U.S. Immigration Updates– Week of January 16, 2023
USCIS to Expand Premium Processing for EB-1 and EB-2 petitions and for Certain Students and Exchange Visitors
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced on January 12, 2023, that it is implementing the final phase of the Premium Processing expansion for Form I-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Workers, under the EB-1 and EB-2 classifications.
Also, in March, USCIS will expand Premium Processing to certain F-1 students seeking Optional Practical Training (OPT) and F-1 students seeking STEM OPT extensions who have a pending Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization. In April, USCIS will expand premium processing to F-1 students seeking OPT and F-1 students seeking STEM OPT extensions who are filing an initial Form I-765.
Petitioners who wish to request Premium Processing must file Form I-907, Request for Premium Processing Service. Beginning January 30, 2023, USCIS will accept Form I-907 requests for:
· All pending E13 multinational executive and manager petitions and E21 National Interest Waiver (NIW) petitions; and
· All initial E13 multinational executive and manager petitions and E21 NIW petitions.
USCIS said it will announce specific dates for each F-1 student group in February. USCIS anticipates expanding Premium Processing in May for certain student and exchange visitors with pending Form I-539 applications to extend or change nonimmigrant status, and in June for certain student and exchange visitors who are filing initial Form I-539 applications.
SOURCE: ABIL Immigration Insider, January 15, 2023, and https://www.uscis.gov/newsroom/alerts/uscis-announces-final-phase-of-premium-processing-expansion-for-eb-1-and-eb-2-form-i-140-petitions
U.S. Supreme Court Decline to Resurrect Public Charge Rule
After the Trump administration’s 2019 public charge rule was invalidated nationwide following a court battle and the Biden administration’s dropping of its defense of the rule, Texas and 13 other states attempted to intervene and bring back the rule through litigation. The Biden administration also issued a new public charge rule, which those states challenged. On January 10, 2023, the Supreme Court declined to review the case,
Cook County, Illinois v. Mayorkas.
Texas filed a new lawsuit on January 5, 2023, once again challenging the invalidation of the 2019 rule and the Biden administration’s new rule, so it appears that the legal battles are not over.
SOURCE: ABIL Immigration Insider, January 15, 2023, and https://www.icirr.org/News/Trump-era-public-charge-lawsuit-comes-to-an-end
Department of Homeland Security Makes Corrections to Proposed Fee Rule
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) published two corrections to its proposed rule to raise fees for certain immigration and naturalization benefit requests. For Form I-129CW and I-129, Petition for a CNMI Nonimmigrant Worker (with biometric services fee), the proposed fee is $1,015 (rather than $1,055). For Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization – Online (with biometric services), the proposed fee is $555 (rather than $650).
DHS explained that the typographical errors were corrected in the advance copy posted for public inspection, but that printing was too far along to correct them in the official publication in the Federal Register on January 4, 2023.
SOURCE: ABIL Immigration Insider, January 15, 2023, and https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2023-01-09/pdf/2023-00274.pdf