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USCIS has updated guidance in the USCIS Policy Manual regarding when students may be eligible for optional practical training (OPT) extensions for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) fields. This guidance, found in Volume 2, Part F, of the Policy Manual, also provides clarifying guidance for F/M nonimmigrant students concerning online study, school transfers, the grace period, and study abroad. The Policy Manual...

The Final Action dates for EB-1, EB-2, and EB-5 will remain unchanged in June. The Final Action date for EB-3 India will advance by one week. USCIS will honor Final Action dates for employment-based categories in June. The State Department projects that the worldwide Final Action dates for EB-2 and EB-3 will most likely retrogress in July. A closer look According to the State Department’s June Visa Bulletin, Final Action cutoff dates...

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) strictly enforces the requirement to file the optional practical training (OPT) application within 30 days of the date the designated school official (DSO) enters the OPT recommendation into the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS) record, and within 60 days of the date the DSO enters the recommendation for the STEM OPT extension into the SEVIS record. F-1 students...

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has announced that any Form I-693, Report of Immigration Medical Examination and Vaccination Record, that was properly completed and signed by a civil surgeon on or after November 1, 2023, does not expire and can be used indefinitely as evidence to show that the applicant is not inadmissible on health-related grounds. USCIS made this determination in consultation with the Centers for Disease...

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced changes to the automatic extension period for certain employment authorization documents (EADs), saving nearly 800,000 EAD renewal applicants from a lapse in work authorization. Automatic extensions will now go up to 540 days, a significant improvement from the previous 180-day period. USCIS estimates that approximately 60,000 to 80,000 employers across the U.S. would have been...

WASHINGTON — Building on extensive modernization efforts that have streamlined and improved access to work permits for eligible noncitizens, USCIS today announced a temporary final rule (TFR) to increase the automatic extension period for certain employment authorization documents (EADs) from up to 180 days to up to 540 days. This announcement follows improvements that have reduced processing times for EADs significantly over the past year....

A new lawsuit seeks to stop USCIS fee increases scheduled to go into effect April 1, 2024. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) recently announced substantial fee increases covering a wide range of petitions and applications seeking US visa benefits in a Final Rule issued on January 31, 2024. In a number of cases, USCIS fee increases exceeded 100% of the fees currently in effect. These USCIS fee increases are set to go into...

USCIS is updating guidance in the USCIS Policy Manual to clarify how we consider expedite requests related to government interests and requests related to emergencies or urgent humanitarian situations, including travel-related requests. This update also clarifies how to make an expedite request and explains how we process expedite requests. Government Interests This update clarifies that we may expedite cases identified as urgent by...

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) released their final rule on Jan. 31, 2024, adjusting the price for certain immigration and naturalization fees. Every two years, the USCIS conducts a fee review. In the most recent biennial review, they determined that the “fees do not recover the full cost of providing adjudication and naturalization services.” In tandem with USCIS, DHS adjusted...