The USCIS announced their priority dates for October and the EB1 category jumped significantly. The priority date for both India and China changed from Septembers priority date of March 1, 2018 to Sept. 1, 2020.

The EB2 and EB3 categories also moved.

The EB2 changed from July 8, 2009 to May 15, 2011 for India and changed only slightly for China, moving from January 15, 2016 to October 1, 2016

The EB3 for India made the biggest move changing from October 1, 2009 to January 1, 2015 which is a jump of almost 6 years. The EB3 for China also moved from February 15, 2017 to June 1, 2018.

With the number of I-485 applications we expect to filed this month, we are concerned that the window of opportunity to file an I-485 based on the “Dates For Filing” chart for October 2020 will possibly change and retrogress in November.

If your priority date is now current, we highly recommend filing in October. Late October we will know if the dates are going to continue to progress or if they will retrogress for November 2020.

Interviews and Appointments

USCIS is officially scheduled to reopen its offices on June 4 and USCIS will begin resuming interviews and biometric appointments. USCIS will first send out notices to applicants and petitioners with previously scheduled appointments and interviews.

As USCIS begins to reopen, the number of available appointments and interviews that they are scheduling will be reduced. As such we anticipate that, with prior scheduled interviews taking priority, a slight backlog and delay for newly scheduled interviews can be expected. Appointment notices will contain information on safety precautions that visitors to USCIS facilities must follow.

Guidelines for Entering USCIS Facilities

• Visitors may not enter a USCIS facility if they:
  • Have any symptoms of COVID-19, including cough, fever or difficulty breathing;
  • Have been in close contact with anyone known or suspected to have COVID-19 in the last 14 days; or
  • Have been individually directed to self-quarantine or self-isolate by a health care provider or public health official within the last 14 days.
• Visitors may not enter the facility more than 15 minutes prior to their appointment (30 minutes for naturalization ceremonies).
• Hand sanitizer will be provided for visitors at entry points. 
• Members of the public must wear facial coverings that cover both the mouth and nose when entering facilities. Visitors may be directed to briefly remove their face covering to confirm identity or take their photograph. There will be markings and physical barriers in the facility; visitors should pay close attention to these signs to ensure they follow social distancing guidelines.
• Individuals are encouraged to bring their own black or blue ink pens.

More information on visiting USCIS facilities can be found at uscis.gov/visitorpolicy.

UPDATE April 22, 2020 President Trump this evening signed an executive order banning the issuance of green cards to foreign nationals who are outside of the country. The order is effective as of 11:59 p.m. eastern daylight time on April 23, 2020. The order excludes persons in the U.S. who are adjusting their status. If you have filed or are filing an adjustment of status, then you are exempt from the ban. The order also does not restrict the filing of NIW, OPR or EB1 petitions. Although the ban targets individuals who are out of the country, the ban excluded those who are seeking to enter through the National Interest or those who are medical professionals or are seeking to perform medical research. Trump indicated that he may modify the order in the future so we will monitor the situation closely and update again if there are any changes. BOTTOM LINE: THE EXECUTIVE ORDER WILL HAVE NO EFFECT ON ANY OF OUR CLIENTS.

Here is a list of the exceptions to the ban:

(i) any lawful permanent resident of the United States;
(ii) any alien seeking to enter the United States on an immigrant visa as a physician, nurse, or other healthcare professional; to perform medical research or other research intended to combat the spread of COVID-19; or to perform work essential to combating, recovering from, or otherwise alleviating the effects of the COVID-19 outbreak, as determined by the Secretary of State, the Secretary of Homeland Security, or their respective designees; and any spouse and unmarried children under 21 years old of any such alien who are accompanying or following to join the alien;
(iii) any alien applying for a visa to enter the United States pursuant to the EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program;
(iv) any alien who is the spouse of a United States citizen;
(v) any alien who is under 21 years old and is the child of a United States citizen, or who is a prospective adoptee seeking to enter the United States pursuant to the IR-4 or IH-4 visa classifications;
(vi) any alien whose entry would further important United States law enforcement objectives, as determined by the Secretary of State, the Secretary of Homeland Security, or their respective designees, based on a recommendation of the Attorney General or his designee;
(vii) any member of the United States Armed Forces and any spouse and children of a member of the United States Armed Forces;
(viii) any alien seeking to enter the United States pursuant to a Special Immigrant Visa in the SI or SQ classification, subject to such conditions as the Secretary of State may impose, and any spouse and children of any such individual; or
(ix) any alien whose entry would be in the national interest, as determined by the Secretary of State, the Secretary of Homeland Security, or their respective designees.

UPDATE: April 21, 2020 President Trump walked back the extent of the ban suggested by his prior tweet. President Trump stated in his briefing that the immigration ban would only be for 60 days and would only target green card applications. From what we can tell, the green card applications that he is referring to would be limited to people residing outside of the U.S. We will update again once we learn more.

Late on April 20, 2020, President Trump tweeted, “In light of the attack from the Invisible Enemy, as well as the need to protect the jobs of our GREAT American Citizens, I will be signing an Executive Order to temporarily suspend immigration into the United States!”

As of this morning, Whitehouse officials were working on a draft of an executive order, with the expectation that it would be ready for Trump’s signature by the end of the week. Right now, it is just speculation as to what the order will state and what restrictions will be put in place. However, the order is expected to be temporary.

While the executive order is likely to issue a temporary ban on the issuance of new visas, it most likely will not prohibit the submission of new applications within the United States or the processing of NIW, OPR or EB1A petitions. We are continuing to work hard to prepare and file our client’s cases with the USCIS. We are hopeful that the Adjustment of Status cases already on file prior to the executive order will continue to be processed.

We will update this blog as more news becomes available.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced that it is implementing the registration process in the next H-1B lottery. Employers seeking to file H-1B cap-subject petitions for the fiscal year 2021 cap, including those eligible for the advanced degree exemption, must first electronically register and pay the associated $10 H-1B registration fee.

Employers seeking H-1B workers subject to the cap will now be required to complete a registration process. USCIS will open an initial registration period from March 1 through March 20, 2020. The H-1B random selection process, if needed, will then be run on those electronic registrations. Only those with selected registrations will be eligible to file H-1B cap-subject petitions.

“By streamlining the H-1B cap selection process with a new electronic registration system, USCIS is creating cost savings and efficiencies for petitioners and the agency, as only those selected will now be required to submit a full petition,” said USCIS Deputy Director Mark Koumans. “The agency completed a successful pilot testing phase, which included sessions with industry representatives, and implementation of the registration system will further the goal of modernizing USCIS from a paper-based to an online-filing agency.” 

USCIS will post step-by-step instructions on how to complete the registration process on its website along with key dates and timelines. USCIS may determine it is necessary to continue accepting registrations, or open an additional registration period, if it does not receive enough registrations and subsequent petitions projected to reach the numerical allocations.

The $10 H1-B registration fee established under the final rule is effective on Dec. 9, 2019, and will apply to registrations submitted during the initial and future registration periods.

The Visa Bulletin for November was just released and the priority dates have not changed from October. For EB1 petitioners the priority date for China is September 1, 2017 and remains March 15, 2017 for India. All other countries are still July 1, 2019. For EB2 all countries except China and India remain “Current” and China is still August 1, 2016, while India remains July 1, 2009.