POLICY & ANALYSIS

Policy updates

Follow U.S. immigration policy, filing changes and official announcements.

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Fees, forms & filing

USCIS Expands myProgress to Form I-485 and Form I-821

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced today that we are expanding myProgress (formerly known as personalized processing times) to Form I-821, Application for Temporary Protected Status, and Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status. myProgress will initially only be available for family-based or Afghan special immigrant I-485 applicants.

Policy update
Fees, forms & filing

USCIS Changes Filing Location for Form I-907 With Form I-140

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services will begin transitioning the filing location for Form I-907, Request for Premium Processing, when filed with Form I-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Workers, from the service centers to the USCIS lockbox on Nov. 13.

Policy update
General policy

Special Immigrant Juvenile Classification Litigation Update on Tolling Provision

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is updating policy guidance in the USCIS Policy Manual to align with Casa Libre/Freedom House v. Mayorkas . The district court in Casa Libre issued a Declaratory Judgment stating that the tolling provisions outlined in DHS regulations are not in accordance with the 180-day timeframe for the adjudication of a special immigrant juvenile (SIJ) petition as required by statute, to the extent that the regulations allow adjudication beyond the 180-day timeframe.

Policy update
General policy

USCIS Potomac Service Center Will No Longer Accept Paper Responses

As of Aug. 21, 2023, the Potomac Service Center (PSC) has begun to move to a new facility in Camp Springs, MD, and can no longer receive paper responses to correspondence such as Notices of Intent to Deny (NOID), Notices of Intent to Revoke (NOIR), Intents to Deny (ITD), Requests for Evidence (RFE) or supporting documentation for filings currently pending at the PSC.

Policy update
General policy

Statelessness

This technical update incorporates the policy guidance that U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced August 1, 2023, to address stateless noncitizens present in the United States. This guidance became effective October 30, 2023.

Policy update
Employment & work visas

EB-5 Regional Center Program Reform

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is updating policy guidance in the USCIS Policy Manual to continue to incorporate statutory reforms of the Regional Center Program as they relate to regional center designation and other requirements for immigrant investors.

Policy update
Employment & work visas

L-1 Petitions for Intracompany Transferees Filed by a Sole Proprietorship

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is issuing policy guidance in the USCIS Policy Manual to clarify that a sole proprietorship may not file an L-1 petition on behalf of its owner because the sole proprietorship does not exist as a distinct legal entity separate and apart from the owner.

Policy update
Employment & work visas

Extension of the Temporary Need Exemption for Certain H-2B Workers on Guam and in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is issuing policy guidance in the USCIS Policy Manual to reflect the extension of the current exemption from the temporary need requirement for petitions for temporary nonagricultural H-2B nonimmigrant workers on Guam and in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), as provided in the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year (FY) 2023.

Policy update
Work authorization & students

Employment Authorization Document Validity Period for Certain Categories

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is updating policy guidance in the USCIS Policy Manual regarding maximum validity periods for Employment Authorization Documents (EADs, Form I-766) issued to refugees and asylees, noncitizens paroled as refugees, noncitizens granted withholding of removal, noncitizens with pending applications for asylum or withholding of removal, noncitizens with pending applications for adjustment of status under INA 245, and noncitizens seeking suspension of deportation or cancellation of removal. USCIS is also clarifying that the Arrival/Departure Record (Form I-94) may be used as evidence of both status and employment authorization for certain EAD categories that are employment authorized incident to status or parole.

Policy update

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