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.

04/22/2023    The U.S. Embassy in Khartoum, Sudan suspended its operations, and cancelled all scheduled immigrant and diversity visa interviews until further notice. Nonimmigrant visa applicants may apply in any country in which they are physically present and where there are appointments available.

04/21/2023    The Office of Foreign Labor Certifications (“OFLC”) announced it will begin accepting the revised Form ETA-9089, Applications for Permanent Employment Certification in the Foreign Labor Application Gateway (FLAG) system on May 16, 2023. Filers may begin creating and staging applications in the FLAG system on April 24, 2023. OFLC will cease to accept new applications submitted via the legacy PERM Online System after May 15, 2023, at 6:59 pm eastern standard time. 

04/14/2023    U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) determined that for adjustment of status applications for the month of May 2023, all family-sponsored preference categories must use the “Dates for Filing” chart and all employment-based preference categories must use the “Final Action Dates” chart in the May 2023 Visa Bulletin.

04/11/2023    USCIS and the U.S. Department of State (“DOS”) published notice of enhancements to the Central American Minors Program by, among other things, updating certain eligibility criteria for program access. This notice is effective immediately.  Implementations will be realized as operational updates are made to comply with the enhanced program, which include revisions to the DS-7699, Affidavit of Relationship for Minors Who are Nationals of El Salvador, Guatemala, or Honduras.  

04/10/2023    USCIS announced that as of April 13, 2023 it will begin accepting petitions under the H-2B supplemental cap temporary final rule for workers for the late second half of fiscal year (“FY”) 2023 requesting employment start dates from May 15, 2023, to Sept. 30, 2023. The 10,000 visas made available under this allocation are limited to returning workers who were issued H-2B visas or held H-2B status in fiscal years 2020, 2021, or 2022, regardless of country of nationality. These supplemental visas are available only to U.S. businesses that are suffering irreparable harm or will suffer impending irreparable harm without the ability to employ all the H-2B workers requested in their petition, as attested by the employer on a new attestation form. 

04/07/2023    DOS published the visa bulletin for May 2023 and added notes on potential retrogression in the near future for the EB-1 and EB-2 employment-based preference categories.

04/04/2023    USCIS issued policy guidance in its Policy Manual, effective immediately, to clarify the types of venues USCIS may use for administrative naturalization ceremonies and considerations for accepting offers to donate use of facilities.  

03/31/2023    USCIS announced that it has received enough petitions to reach the cap for the additional 16,500 H-2B visas made available for returning workers for the early second half of FY 2023 with start dates from 4/1/23 to 5/14/23. Any petitions received after 3/30/23 will be rejected.

03/31/2023    USCIS made effective its policy that applicants may select their gender on USCIS forms (or change a prior gender selection) without the need to provide supporting documentation. Currently, the only gender markers available are “Male” (M) or “Female” (F). DHS is working on options to include an additional gender marker for another or unspecified gender identity and will update its policy as it develops.