USCIS has determined that next month, it will only accept employment-based adjustment of status applications from foreign nationals with a priority date that is current for final action under the State Department’s February Visa Bulletin.
Employment-Based Priority Date Cut-offs for February 2017
To be eligible to file an employment-based adjustment application in February, employer-sponsored foreign nationals must have a priority date that is earlier than the date listed below for their preference category and country.
EB-1
Current for all countries.
EB-2
China: November 15, 2012
India: April 15, 2008
All other countries: Current
EB-3 Professionals and Skilled Workers
China: October 1, 2013
India: March 22, 2005
Philippines: October 15, 2011
All other countries: October 1, 2016
EB-3 Other Workers
China: December 1, 2005
India: March 22, 2005
Philippines: October 15, 2011
All other countries: October 1, 2016
EB-5
China: April 15, 2014
Current for all other countries.
President Donald J. Trump has signed an executive order that reportedly suspends the entry of foreign nationals from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen to the United States for a period of 90 days, or through April 27, 2017. The order also reportedly suspends a worldwide program that exempted certain visa renewal applicants from consular interviews.
Although the order has been signed and is in effect, the Administration has not yet released the final signed text. The following guidance is based on Fragomen’s analysis of a draft. The final published order may differ, and Fragomen will provide updates as necessary when it is released.
President Donald J. Trump is expected to sign an executive order that will suspend the entry of foreign nationals from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen to the United States for a period of 30 days, according to a published draft of the order. The executive order is also expected to suspend a worldwide program that exempted certain visa renewal applicants from consular interviews.
The executive order is expected to be issued Thursday, though it could be delayed. The following information is based on Fragomen’s analysis of the published draft. The final order could differ.
USCIS’s revised edition of the I-9 employment eligibility verification form, dated 11/14/16, will become mandatory for employers on January 22, 2017. Until that date, employers may continue to use the version dated 03/08/13.
The new edition, which was released in November, does not change the key substantive questions on Form I-9 or the list of acceptable identity and work authorization documents, but it contains some format changes that are intended to reduce completion errors when the form is filled out on a computer.
Under a new final regulation published on 17th January 2017, international entrepreneurs who have established a business in the United States, demonstrate significant U.S. funding and show that their business has substantial potential for rapid growth and job creation will be eligible to apply for up to five years of authorization to stay in the United States. The rule is slated to take effect on July 17, 2017.
A new USCIS regulation intended to ease restrictions on job mobility for foreign workers awaiting employment-based permanent residence took effect on 17th January 2017. The new rule also establishes grace periods for non-immigrant workers before and after their employment, and provides automatic work authorization extensions to adjustment applicants and certain other classes of foreign nationals who have timely filed for renewal of an employment authorization document (EAD).
A new decree replaces the current Consular Visa exemption with a new one only for those holding a valid Australian, Canadian, UK or U.S. multiple-entry visa valid for at least one year from the date of entry and used at least once, for stays up to 30 days initially, renewable twice for 30 days each stay through an in-country process. The previous exemption, allowing EU or Schengen country visa holders to qualify for the exemption as well, has been eliminated.
In a proposed rule published today, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services is seeking to make significant changes to the EB-5 immigrant investor program, including higher investment minimums and exclusive federal authority to designate Targeted Employment Area (TEAs), the rural and high-unemployment areas that qualify for EB-5 investment at lower thresholds.
Key provisions of the proposal are summarised below. USCIS is accepting public feedback on the rule through April 11, 2017.
According to the State Department’s February Visa Bulletin, immigrant visa availability dates for final action will advance by one month for EB-2 China, to November 15, 2012, while EB-2 India will remain at April 15, 2008.
The EB-3 subcategory for professionals and skilled workers will advance by three weeks for China, to October 1, 2013; one week for India, to March 22, 2005; nearly three months for the Philippines, to October 15, 2011; and two months for all other countries, to October 1, 2016. The EB-3 other worker subcategory will advance by one week for India, to March 22, 2005; nearly three months for the Philippines, to October 15, 2011;
The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has begun to review a final regulation that, as originally proposed, would allow up to five years of temporary stay, on a case-by-case basis, for qualifying foreign entrepreneurs who establish a U.S. start-up entity that has substantial U.S. investment and the potential for rapid growth and job creation.
The long-awaited international entrepreneur regulation was first announced in November 2014 as part of President Obama's planned executive actions to encourage innovation and support U.S. high-skill businesses and workers and was published in proposal form in August 2016.
USCIS has determined that, next month, it will only accept employment-based adjustment of status applications from foreign nationals with a priority date that is current for final action under the State Department’s February Visa Bulletin.
Employment-Based Priority Date Cut-offs for February 2017
To be eligible to file an employment-based adjustment application in February, employer-sponsored foreign nationals must have a priority date that is earlier than the date listed below for their preference category and country.