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.

12/30/2021    U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced it is extending the flexibilities it announced on March 30, 2020 providing an additional 60 calendar days to respond to certain Requests for Evidence, Continuations to Request Evidence, Notices of Intent to Deny, Notices of Intent to Revoke, Notices of Intent to Rescind, Notices of Intent to Terminate regional centers, and Motions to Reopen an N-400 pursuant to 8 CFR section 335.5. This flexibility applies to notices issued by USCIS between March 1, 2020 and March 26, 2022.

12/28/2021    The White House announced the revocation of Presidential Proclamation 10315 effective December 31, 2021, rescinding travel restrictions on Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe.

12/28/2021    USCIS issued guidance on healthcare workers’ eligibility to request expedited renewal of their employment authorization documents (EAD).  

12/27/2021    U.S. Department of State (DOS) has authorized consular officers to waive the in-person interview requirement for certain nonimmigrant visa applicants through the end of 2022. This authorization applies to temporary workers who are applying for H-1, H-3, H-4, L, O, P and Q visas who meet specific criteria, including that they are applying for a visa in their country of nationality or residence. This authorization applies to individual petition-based H-1, H-3, H-4, L, O, P and Q visa applications who have been issued any type of visa previously and who have not been refused a visa unless the refusal was waived or overcome, and who are not ineligible for a visa; or initial individual petition-based H-1, H-3, H-4, L, O, P and Q visa applicants who are nationals or citizens of a country that participates in the Visa Waiver Program (VWP) as long as they are not ineligible and have traveled to the United States using ESTA previously. 

12/23/2021    Temporary travel restrictions in effect for non-essential travel by fully vaccinated travelers with proof of COVID vaccination status entering the U.S. by land ports and ferry from Mexico were lifted effective 11/8/2021. (86 FR 72843, 12/23/21).

12/23/2021    Temporary travel restrictions in effect for non-essential travel by fully vaccinated travelers with proof of COVID vaccination status entering the U.S. by land ports and ferry from Canada have been lifted effective 11/8/2021. (86 FR 72842, 12/23/21).

12/20/2021    U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) announced a joint temporary final rule to supplement the H-2B temporary nonagricultural worker visa cap with 20,000 additional visas for fiscal year 2022.  

12/17/2021    F2A applicants may use the Final Action Dates chart for January 2022 in determining priority date status for purposes of filing applications for adjustment of status.  

12/16/2021    DOS published the visa bulletin for January 2022.

12/15/2021    ICE and DHS announced that flexibility for employers’ I-9 compliance will be extended to April 30, 2022.  The original announcement was made in March 2020 and expanded in April 2021 and again in August 2021, and was set to expire on December 31, 2021. The flexibility applies in cases of new employees who work exclusively in a remote setting due to COVID-19-related precautions.  Those cases are temporarily exempt from the physical inspection of documents requirements associated with the Employment Eligibility Verification (Form I-9) until they undertake non-remote employment on a regular, consistent, or predictable basis, or the extension of the flexibilities related to such requirements is terminated, whichever is earlier. 

12/13/2021    DOS announced a temporary rule providing flexibility for consular officers to waive the personal appearance and in-person oath requirement of certain repeat immigrant visa applicants.  This new temporary rule would benefit the reported 11,000+ people who were issued an immigrant visa on or after August 4, 2019 and did not seek admission to the U.S. before their immigrant visa expired. This flexibility will be effective 12/13/2021 through 12/13/2023. 86 FR 70735, 12/13/21. Federal Register :: Waiver of Personal Appearance and In-Person Oath Requirement for Certain Immigrant Visa Applicants Due to COVID-19

12/9/2021    USCIS is temporarily waiving the requirement that the civil surgeon’s signature on the Form I-693 Report of Medical Examination and Vaccination Record be dated no more than 60 days before filing an application for an immigration benefit.  All medical examinations will now temporarily be considered valid for two years from the date of the civil surgeon’s signature, regardless of when it is ultimately submitted to USCIS. This temporary waiver of the “60-day rule” is effective 12/9/2021 until 9/30/2022 and applies to all medical examinations regardless of when the application was submitted.  

12/6/2021    CDC’s amended order became effective requiring all travelers to the United States to have a negative pre-departure COVID-19 test within one calendar day before departure.  This order amends the prior requirement that travelers have a negative COVID-19 test 72-hours before departure.  Travelers may alternatively show documentation of recovery from COVID-19 in the past 90 days.  86 FR 69256, 12/7/21.