U.S. Immigration Updates- Week of September 19, 2022
USCIS Implements Next Phase of Premium Processing for Certain Previously Filed EB-1 and EB-2 Immigrant Petitions
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced on September 15, 2022, that it is starting the next phase of the premium processing expansion for certain petitioners who have a pending Form I-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Workers, under the EB-1 and EB-2 classifications.
This phase only applies to previously filed Form I-140 petitions under an E13 multinational executive and manager classification or E21 classification as a member of professions with advanced degrees or outstanding ability seeking a national interest waiver (NIW).
USCIS is now accepting Form I-907, Request for Premium Processing Service, requests for:
· E13 multinational executive and manager petitions received on or before January 1, 2022; and
· E21 NIW petitions received on or before February 1, 2022.
USCIS has 45 days to take adjudicative action on cases that request premium processing for these newly included Form I-140 classifications.
Details: · USCIS alert, https://www.uscis.gov/newsroom/alerts/uscis-to-implement-next-phase-of-premium-processing-for-certain-previously-filed-eb-1-and-eb-2-form
Witnesses Testify at Senate Hearing on Importance of Immigrant Workers to the U.S. Health Care System
On September 14, 2022, multiple witnesses testified at a hearing held by the Senate Subcommittee on Immigration, Citizenship, and Border Safety, “Flatlining Care: Why Immigrants Are Crucial to Bolstering Our Health Care.” Among them were Sarah K. Peterson, Principal Attorney, SPS Immigration PLLC, who testified about “smart immigration reform” to allow International Medical Graduates (IMGs,) international nurses, and other healthcare professionals to help address the United States’ “ongoing shortage of access to medical care, ensuring that all Americans are able to access basic, primary medical care regardless of where they live in the United States.”
Additionally, Peterson requested Congress to pass two pending bills: the Conrad State 30 and Physician Access Reauthorization Act, S. 1810 (H.R. 3541), and the Healthcare Workforce Resilience Act, S. 1024 (H.R. 2255). She explained that the passage of these bills would broaden access to medical care and bring aid to underserved populations, as well as to J-1 physicians and international nurses.
The Conrad bill would provide “cap-gap” relief for J-1 trainees, like that provided to F-1 students working in Optional Practical Training status, whose work visa expires before October 1 and whose employers have filed a cap-subject H-1B petition selected in the registration period. “Expanding this relief to physicians would provide employers with quicker access to necessary health care and allow these foreign national physicians to change status in the United States, without having to depart the United States, obtain a visa, and only be permitted to re-enter the U.S. months later. Cap gap work-authorization for U.S.-trained physicians would add a quarter of a year or more of badly needed physician coverage and is smart immigration reform,” Peterson said.
Details: · Hearing video and testimony, https://www.judiciary.senate.gov/meetings/flatlining-care-why-immigrants-are-crucial-to-bolstering-our-health-care-workforce