On January 31, 2020, the Trump administration announced via Presidential Proclamation that, effective February 21, 2020 at 12:01 am eastern standard time, the travel ban will now apply to nationals from Burma (Myanmar), Eritrea, Kyrgyzstan, Nigeria, Sudan, and Tanzania.
Update on DHS and DOS Public Charge Rule
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.
USCIS Announces Further Details About H-1B Electronic Registration
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.