USCIS recently updated its Policy Manual to provide important guidance on evidence that can be used to support O-1A petitions which focuses on nonimmigrants of extraordinary ability in STEM fields (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics). USCIS states that “Being named on a competitive government grant for STEM research can be a positive factor toward demonstrating that a beneficiary is at…
USCIS announced that it is extending flexibilities previously announced on March 30, 2020, to assist applicants and petitioners who are responding to certain agency requests in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. This flexibility applies if the issuance date listed on the request, notice, or decision is between March 1, 2020, and October 23, 2022. This includes Requests for Evidence, Notice…
On March 30, 2022, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) published a final rule entitled, Implementation of the Emergency Stopgap USCIS Stabilization Act.2. In this final rule, USCIS codifies multiple changes to the premium processing benefit and clarifies when USCIS is to implement premium processing updates. On May 24, 2022, USCIS announced that it will begin accepting Form I-907 (Premium Processing…
I-907 is a form that petitioners use to expedite the processing of form I-129, Petition for a non-immigrant worker, and I-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Workers. According to this notice, starting May 31, 2022, USCIS will not accept a single, combined fee payment when an applicant or petitioner files Form I-907 with another form. The Form I-907 fee must be…
In 2017, USCIS implemented a regulation facilitating an automatic, 180-day extension of EADs for certain categories of EAD holders, which took effect with the provision that the individual filed a timely request for EAD extension. The increased challenges faced by USCIS due to the COVID-19 pandemic caused a massive backlog and a 180-day extension was no longer sufficient to solve…
USCIS establishes a program that permits eligible Ukrainian citizens and certain immediate family members who have been displaced by Russian aggression to be sponsored online for humanitarian parole to the United States by an eligible U.S.-based sponsor. To be eligible for humanitarian parole under Uniting for Ukraine, applicants will need to: Resided in Ukraine immediately before the Russian invasion (through Feb.…
