USCIS Updates Policy Guidance Regarding Temporary Protected Status and Eligibility for Adjustment of Status

USCIS today issued policy guidance in the USCIS Policy Manual clarifying whether temporary protected status (TPS) beneficiaries are eligible for adjustment of status under section 245(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). INA 245(a) requires an alien to have been inspected and admitted or inspected and paroled into the United States, unless exempt from this requirement.

The updated guidance reaffirms USCIS' long-standing interpretation that an alien who enters the United States without having been inspected and admitted or inspected and paroled, and who is subsequently granted TPS, generally does not meet that requirement.

The updated guidance also incorporates Matter of Z-

USCIS Issues Policy Guidance Regarding Inadmissibility Based on Membership in a Totalitarian Party

On Oct. 2, USCIS issued policy guidance in the USCIS Policy Manual to address inadmissibility based on membership in or affiliation with the Communist Party or any other totalitarian party. Membership in or affiliation with the Communist Party or any other totalitarian party is inconsistent and incompatible with the Naturalization Oath of Allegiance to the United States of America, which includes pledging to "support and defend the Constitution and laws of the United States."

The new policy manual section provides guidance on how to adjudicate inadmissibility due to membership in the Communist Party or any other totalitarian party in the context of adjustment of status applications.

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DHS Proposes Rule to Strengthen Affidavit of Support Process

Proposal enforces long-standing law and protects American taxpayers

WASHINGTON—The Department of Homeland Security today announced it will publish a notice of proposed rulemaking (PDF) that would increase the integrity of the nation's lawful immigration system, make it easier to hold immigrant sponsors accountable for failing to meet the obligations of contracts they sign with the federal government, and align agency policy in accordance with the May 2019 Presidential Memorandum o

Visa Bulletin Predictions November 2020 to January 2021

For latest Visa Bulletin and Analysis, please click here: https://www.mygcvisa.com/visa-bulletin/

USCIS/DOS has added their Visa bulletin prediction from November 2020 to January 2021.

Family-sponsored: Final Action Dates movement during the past six months focused on two goals: 1) to allow number use to be maximized should it become possible to return to normal visa processing levels at some point prior to the end of the fiscal year, and 2) to encourage applicants to continue acting on their cases in a timely manner to support long-term recovery from the suspension of routine services. This movement ensured sufficient demand would be available for adjudication throughout FY 2021 under a resumption of full operational status. 

VO learned during October 2020 date determination, that movement of final action dates in the previous six months combined with the global suspension of routine visa services resulted in enough accumulated demand to fully utilize the numbers normally made available during the first quarter of the fiscal year. Therefore, no date movement is required at this time. VO will closely monitor the situation in the early months of the fiscal year. 

Trump Administration Announces Overhaul of H-1B Visa Program

The Trump administration announced significant changes on Tuesday to the H-1B visa program for high-skilled workers, substantially raising the wages that U.S. companies must pay foreign hires and narrowing eligibility criteria for applicants.

The new rules are expected to reduce the pool of skilled labor and raise costs for tech companies and other employers. Critics say that could force companies to move some operations outside the U.S.

Department of Homeland Security acting deputy secretary Ken Cuccinelli said a third of applicants would be denied under the new rules.

EB Category To Receive 121,500 Additional Visas From FB Category

Section 201 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) sets an annual minimum family-sponsored preference limit of 226,000. The worldwide level for annual employment-based preference immigrants is at least 140,000.

Section 202 prescribes that the per-country limit for preference immigrants is set at 7% of the total annual family-sponsored and employment-based preference limits, i.e., 25,620. The dependent area limit is set at 2%, or 7,320.

For fiscal year 2019 (which ended on September 30, 2019), only around 104,500 visas were allotted to family based visa petitions; instead of 226,000. This means about 121,500 visas were unused in the family based category.

According to law, any unused visas from family category will flow to employment based category. This means EB category will be getting an additional 121,500 visas in fiscal year 2020 (October 2020 to September 2021). This is almost double the annual visa allotment for EB Categories.

USCIS Response to Preliminary Injunction of Fee Rule

WASHINGTON-U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Deputy Director of Policy Joseph Edlow issued the following statement in response to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California issuing a nationwide preliminary injunction enjoining fee increases for citizenship and other immigration benefits.

"This unfortunate decision leaves USCIS underfunded by millions of dollars each business day the fee rule is enjoined.  Unlike most government agencies, USCIS is fee funded.  As required by federal law, USCIS conducted a comprehensive biennial fee review and determined that current fees do not recover the cost of providing adjudication and naturalization services.  This is nothing new or abnormal.  In fact, the fee rule is two years behind schedule, and is a smaller percentage increase than the previous.  In a fee-funded agency such as USCIS, this