USCIS EXPANDS PREMIUM PROCESSING FOR CHANGE OF STATUS APPLICATIONS TO F, M, OR J NONIMMIGRANT STATUS

USCIS announced that applicants filing Form I-539 seeking a change of status to F-1, F-2, M-1, M-2, J-1, or J-2 nonimmigrant status can now request premium processing on Form I-907 based on the following schedule:

• Effective June 13, USCIS now accepts I-907 requests filed via paper form or online for F, M, or J applicants with a pending I-539;
• Starting June 26, USCIS will accept I-907 requests filed together with I-539 applications seeking F, M, or J status;

This expanded premium processing is only available for change of status requests.  The I-907 request must be submitted in the same manner as the I-539 application, either online or snail mail.  The premium processing clock will start only once all I-539 applicants have completed biometrics.

The premium processing fee for F, M, and J change of status applicants is $1,750 and the processing time is 30 days.

USCIS GUIDANCE: EMPLOYMENT AUTHORIZATION DOCUMENTS BASED ON COMPELLING CIRCUMSTANCES

USCIS has issued a policy alert and has updated its policy manual to provide additional guidance on the compelling circumstances that may warrant the issuance of certain Employment Authorization Documents (EADs).

Under the current regulation, USCIS may, in its discretion, issue EADs to certain I-140 beneficiaries who, at the time of filing Form I-765: (1) hold E-3, H-1B, H-1B1, O-1, or L-1 nonimmigrant status; (2) have an I-140 priority date that is not current according to the visa bulletin; and (3) can demonstrate compelling circumstances that justify the issuance of employment authorization.

An individual with a valid compelling circumstances-based EAD is considered by USCIS to be in a period of authorized stay, and therefore will not accrue unlawful presence.

In its updated policy manual, USCIS provides a non-exhaustive list of situations that could lead to a finding that compelling circumstances exist, including:

• serious illness and disability,
• employer dispute or retaliation,
• other substantial harm to the applicant, or
• significant disruption to the employer.

The updated policy manual also provides guidance on evidence an applicant could submit to demonstrate compelling circumstances such as:

• school or higher education enrollment records,
• mortgage records, or
• long-term lease records

Finally, USCIS confirms in its policy manual that a compelling circumstances-based EAD will be granted for a validity period of up to 1 year, with the possibility of subsequent renewal(s).

JULY 2023 VISA BULLETIN: ANALYSIS AND EXPECTATIONS

The Department of State just issued the July 2023 Visa Bulletin. This blog post analyzes this month's Visa Bulletin.

Visa Bulletin

Table A: Final Action Dates -- Applications with these dates may be approved for their Green Card (Permanent Residency card) or Immigrant Visa appointment.

EB	All Other	CHINA	INDIA	PHILIPPINES
EB-1	C	01FEB22	01FEB22	C
EB-2	15FEB22	08JUN19	01JAN11	15FEB22
EB-3	01FEB22	01APR19	01JAN09	01FEB22
Other workers	01JAN20	01SEP15	01JAN09	01JAN20

USCIS

The USCIS is expected to use Table A: Final Action Dates chart for I-485 employment-based filings. A Beneficiary must be current on the above Table A chart to file their I-485, Adjustment of Status applications. See: USCIS Visa Bulletin Dates

MU Law Analysis

This Visa Bulletin shows that the DOS has almost exhausted all employment-based visas for FY 2023.  All categories remained the same or retrogressed.

The two categories that retrogressed were EB-3 for All Other Countries, including the Philippines.  The date was moved back to Feb 1, 2022, from June 1, 2022, a four-month retrogression.   India EB-3 dropped back to January 1, 2009, which is a significant retrogression. 

These EB-3 retrogressions mean that the USCIS and DOS overplayed their progression earlier in the year and did not see the demand for the visa numbers that were clearly there. 

MU’s expectation is that we will see any more progression throughout FY23, through September 30, 2023.

The Visa Bulletin included these notes about the two retrogressed categories.

E. RETROGRESSION IN THE EMPLOYMENT-BASED THIRD PREFERENCE (EB-3) FOR REST OF WORLD COUNTRIES, MEXICO, AND PHILIPPINES

In the May 2023 Visa Bulletin, the EB-3 final action dates for Rest of World, Mexico, and the Philippines were established to keep number use within the FY 2023 annual limit. This was in part due to higher than expected demand from applicants with priority dates earlier than the established final action dates.  The Department and USCIS continue to see increased demand from these applicants, necessitating retrogression.  As a result, the Rest of World, Mexico, and Philippines EB-3 final action dates have retrogressed to 01FEB22. This situation will be continually monitored, and any necessary adjustments will be made accordingly.

F. RETROGRESSION IN THE EMPLOYMENT-BASED THIRD PREFERENCE (EB-3) FOR INDIA

As readers were informed was possible in Item E of the June 2023 Visa Bulletin, it has become necessary to retrogress the EB-3 final action date for India effective in July. India’s EB-3 number use has been consistently robust throughout the fiscal year, and it is estimated that applicants chargeable to India will use all EB-3 numbers made available to them during this fiscal year, taking into account INA 202(a)(5) and INA 202(e), by the end of June. Thus, applicants from India are subject to a final action date of 01JAN09. This situation will be continually monitored, and any necessary adjustments will be made accordingly.

TIME OPINION: TO SOLVE THE U.S. NURSING SHORTAGE CRISIS, THE COUNTRY MUST CHANGE ITS IMMIGRATION POLICIES

The United States is about to learn the hard way what happens when an entire generation of nurses retires without enough new clinicians to fill their shoes at the bedside.  That is how an opinion piece in Time magazine presents the US nursing crisis.  The opinion piece co-authored by HHS Secretaries Kathleen Sebelius (Obama) and Alex Azar (Trump) urges Congress to recapture unused visas for qualified international nurses to address the growing US nursing shortage.

The Secretaries plainly argue that,

“This is a whole-of-America crisis and we need a whole-of-government response, including a sensible loosening of licensing requirements, prioritize positive patient outcomes by modernizing the responsibilities and standards of nursing, supporting expanded educational opportunities, and enabling lawful employment-based immigration.”

The Congress would do well to heed the Secretaries warnings and solutions.