U.S. Alert – USCIS Sends Letter On B-1/B-2 Upcoming Proposed Regulation (Video)
USCIS Sends Letter on B-1/B-2 Upcoming Proposed Regulation
On May 30, 2018, L. Francis Cissna, Director of U.S. Citizenship
and Immigration Services (USCIS), sent a letter to Rep. Paul
Mitchell (R-Mich.), who had hosted a May 16, 2018, roundtable on
B-1 visa issues.
The letter notes that USCIS is reviewing existing regulations,
policies, and programs and developing a combination of rulemaking,
policy memoranda, and operational changes to implement President
Trump’s “Buy American and Hire American” executive
order. Among other things, the letter states:
One area of focus is the B visa program. As noted in the Spring
2018 Unified Agenda, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is
working on a proposed regulation pertaining to nonimmigrants
admitted to the United States as temporary visitors for business
(B-1) or pleasure (B-2). The proposed regulatory revisions will
clarify the criteria for according B-1 or B-2 nonimmigrant
classification to applicants for admission to the United
States.
As stated in the Unified Agenda, “Such clarification is
necessary to ensure fair and consistent adjudication and
enforcement, as well as to make the criteria more
transparent.”
The letter states that this rulemaking is a “priority”
and that USCIS is “taking a lead role in drafting the proposed
regulation,” which will include an opportunity for public
comment.
The letter also references discussion of “B-1 in lieu of
H” issues during the roundtable:
As explained, USCIS adjudicates applications from individuals who
are already here and wish to extend a stay in B status or change to
another nonimmigrant status (that is, change either to or from B
status). USCIS also adjudicates employer petitions in H
nonimmigrant visa classifications. As part of the above-described
regulatory process, we are, in coordination with the Department of
State and other immigration components within DHS, reviewing
existing policy with respect to “B-1 in lieu of H-1,” as
well as “B-1 in lieu of H-3.”
Director Cissna’s letter, copied to six Republicans and two
Democrats, refers to a meeting “in the near future” with
Rep. Mitchell to “discuss our efforts to improve the B visa
program, as well as our other regulatory initiatives and statutory
suggestions.”
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