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Update on DHS and DOS Public Charge Rule

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Update:

USCIS announced on January 31, 2020 that it will implement the rule changes for filings received on or after February 24, 2020. New forms are to be released the week of February 3, 2020.

Original post:

As discussed in a prior post, the administration’s “public charge” rule changes the standard by which a foreign national is determined to be “likely at any time to become a public charge” (and consequently inadmissible to the U.S.). While litigation has delayed the implementation of the rule, on Monday, January 27, 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court granted the administration’s request for a stay of the nationwide injunction against the rule, which clears a path for the Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”) to implement the public charge rule within the United States, except for Illinois, which has a statewide injunction that remains in place.

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USCIS Announces Further Details About H-1B Electronic Registration

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As discussed in our previous blog posts, USCIS is taking steps to implement an electronic registration to be used in the upcoming H-1B cap lottery for Fiscal Year 2021. A few further implementation details have now been released in a Federal Register posting dated January 9, 2020, and in a press release dated January 10, 2020. USCIS noted the following details:

  • The initial registration period will open from March 1 through March 20, 2020.

  • H-1B cap-subject petitioners, including those seeking Master’s cap H-1Bs, will be required to first register electronically with USCIS and pay the associated $10 H-1B registration fee for each submission.

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Update on L-1 Intracompany Transferee Filings at the U.S.-Canada Border

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This is a brief update on L-1 “intracompany transferee” visa processes for Canadian citizens, because those processes began changing in April 2018.  As background, the L-1 intracompany transferee visa, in most cases, requires that the employer first file and obtain USCIS approval of an L-1 petition, and that the prospective L-1 employee (the beneficiary) then apply in person to a U.S. Consulate in their home country for a physical L-1 visa.  Canadian citizens are usually “visa-exempt,” meaning they are not required to get a physical visa from a U.S. Consulate.  Moreover, for L-1 visas, the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) allows for eligible Canadian citizens to submit their U.S. employer’s L-1 petition directly at a “Class A” port of entry (POE) for on-the-spot adjudication by U.S. Customs & Border Protection (CBP) at the same time the individual is asking CBP for admission to the U.S. 

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DHS Proposes Numerous Fee Adjustments

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On November 14, 2019, DHS published a new rule containing numerous adjustments to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ (USCIS) filing fee schedule. These proposed adjustments are in addition to other recently finalized fee rules increasing the Premium Processing Service fee by $30 and adding a $10 fee for each electronic H-1B cap registration. In this new rule, DHS is planning on an upward adjustment of USCIS fees “by a weighted average of 21 percent” among other changes.

AILA has published a searchable table of fee adjustments, located here, which shows upwards adjustments to filing fees for many commonly used forms such as N-400 for naturalization, I-485 for Adjustment of Status, I-140 for immigrant visa petitions, and I-129 for nonimmigrant visa petitions.

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USCIS Announces H-1B Electronic Registration Period

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As discussed in prior posts, on January 30, 2019, USCIS announced a final rule regarding changes to the annual H-1B cap lottery system, requiring an electronic registration for each cap-subject petition. While the electronic registration requirement was suspended for the lottery in April 2019, USCIS is taking steps to implement it for the lottery in April 2020, including the collection of a $10 fee for each electronic registration submitted. 

Now further implementation details have been released: USCIS announced on Friday, December 6, that electronic registration will be required for the upcoming filing season in April 2020, that the agency has “completed a successful pilot testing phase,” and that the initial registration period will run from March 1, 2020 to March 20, 2020.

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Citizens of Poland Eligible for Visa Waiver Program from November 11

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As of November 11, 2019, Poland becomes the 39th member of the Visa Waiver Program (VWP). Citizens of member countries of the Visa Waiver Program may enter the United States for business or tourism for up to 90 days without a visa. In return, U.S. citizens may enter member countries under the same conditions. Beginning on November 11th, Polish citizens may apply online for authorization to travel to the U.S. through the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA). 

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Premium Processing Service Fee to Increase on December 2, 2019

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On October 31, 2019, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) published a rule to adjust the premium processing service (PPS) fee from $1,410 to $1,440. Under this new rule, all requests for PPS postmarked on or after December 2, 2019, must include the new fee.

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Presidential Proclamation on Health Insurance for New Immigrants

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Update: This Presidential Proclamation is the subject of litigation. As of Saturday, November 2, 2019, there is a nationwide temporary restraining order against the enforcement of the Proclamation.

Original post:

On Friday, October 4, 2019, President Trump issued a Presidential Proclamation entitled Presidential Proclamation on the Suspension of Entry of Immigrants Who Will Financially Burden the United States Healthcare System, which imposes a health care insurance requirement on new immigrants. Specifically, it requires applicants for immigrant visas to show the ability to purchase unsubsidized commercial health insurance within 30 days of U.S. entry.

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Social Security Administration Resumes Sending No-Match Letters to U.S. Employers

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In March of 2019 the Social Security Administration (SSA) resumed sending “no-match” letters (formally known as Employer Correction Request Notices) to U.S. employers whose 2018 W-2 wage reports contained non-matching combinations of names and Social Security Numbers (SSNs). According to SHRM, about 575,000 such letters have been issued to employers so far this year. 

By way of background, a no-match letter is simply a notification from SSA to an employer that a certain number of wage reports prepared by an employer contained name and SSN combinations that do not match SSA records.  No-matches can arise from benign reasons, such as typos or hyphenated names.

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USCIS Proposes Fee for H-1B Cap Registrations

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As discussed in prior posts, on January 30, 2019, USCIS announced a final rule regarding changes to the annual H-1B cap lottery system, requiring an electronic registration process for each cap-subject petition.  While the electronic registration requirement was suspended for the most recent lottery in April 2019, USCIS is taking steps to implement it going forward.  On September 3, 2019, USCIS announced that it was seeking to collect a $10 fee for each electronic registration submitted to USCIS.