Immigration law is at the forefront of public dialogue these days. Womble Bond Dickinson’s Immigration Solutions team helps employers navigate high-stakes, constantly shifting immigration challenges to avoid potential problems and secure the talent they need to make their companies thrive. The following newsletter, drafted by Womble Bond Dickinson Immigration Solutions attorneys, covers some of the recent and most important developments in immigration law.

11/22/2022    USCIS announced that it is extending and expanding a prior policy for filing fee exemptions and expedited application processing for certain Afghan nationals. The intent is to help Afghan nationals resettle, and in many cases reunite with family, in the United States by enabling USCIS to process their requests for work authorization, long-term status, status for immediate relatives, and associated services more quickly. 

11/21/2022    USCIS announced that Ukrainian and Afghan parolees, and their qualifying family members, with certain classes of admission are considered employment authorized incident to parole.  

11/21/2022    CBP announced updates to the enhanced public health screening for flights carrying travelers with nexus to Uganda due to the Ebola outbreak in that country.  The update relates to a few instances of airline non-compliance resulting in passengers arriving at airports that are not designated for the enhanced screenings. Penalties will now be pursued against the carrier for each flight arriving at an undesignated airport.  The designated airports are JFK, EWR, IAD, ATL, and ORD.

11/17/2022    USCIS determined that for adjustment of status applications for the month of December 2022, all family-sponsored preference categories and all employment-based preference categories must use the “Dates for Filing” chart in the December 2022 visa bulletin.

11/14/2022    DHS published a Federal Register Notice to announce continued Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for beneficiaries of TPS designations that are subject to the court orders in the Ramos et al. v. Nielsen and Bhattarai et al. v. Nielsen et al. lawsuits.

11/10/2022    DOS published the visa bulletin for December 2022.

11/10/2022    DHS published a Federal Register Notice to announce the 86 countries whose citizens are permitted to participate in the H-2A program and the 87 countries whose citizens are permitted to participate in the H-2B program, effective 11/10/2022. 87 Fed. Reg. 67930 (Nov. 10, 2022).

11/10/2022    DOS announced that the U.S. Embassy in Havana will continue to process immigrant visa applications starting January 4, 2023.

11/9/2022    USCIS announced the availability of online filing for certain affirmative asylum applicants.

11/3/2022    DHS has begun limited implementation of DACA based on its final rule to preserve and fortify DACA. Based on the final rule, USCIS will continue to accept and process applications for deferred action, advance parole and employment authorization for DACA recipients.