SW Law Group, P.C.

The U.S. Department of State (DOS) will begin accepting online registrations for the Fiscal Year (FY) 2022 Diversity Visa lottery beginning on Wednesday, October 7, 2020 at noon Eastern and ending on Tuesday, November 10, 2020 at noon Eastern. http://ow.ly/6i4i50BI9io

The President signed H.R. 8337, the Continuing Appropriations Act 2021 and Other Extensions Act, part of which seeks to address USCIS’s budget shortfall. Part of the act addresses Premium Processing fees. http://ow.ly/ZGJA50BI8kC

Beginning on October 2, 2020, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will implement a new fee schedule as well as several key employment-based immigration forms and changes to the timeframe for premium processing service. http://ow.ly/JBAq50Bozvk

The Department of State (DOS) has issued its September 2020 Visa Bulletin. http://ow.ly/vgFL50BiuUa

USCIS announced that it will avert a furlough of more than 13,000 employees through September 30, 2020. http://ow.ly/Rvih50Bca5q

Employees may present their Form I-797 Notice of Action showing approval of their I-765 application as a list C document for Form I-9 compliance until December 1, 2020. http://ow.ly/pWMq50B5TJM

On August 12, 2020, the U.S. Department of State (DOS) provided further guidance regarding the national interest exception to the Proclamation for which H-1B, L-1, and J-1 visa applicants may qualify. https://swlgpc.com//department-state-guidance-national-in/

On July 31, 2020, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced a final rule that adjusts fees for certain immigration and naturalization benefit requests. The final rule is effective October 2, 2020. http://ow.ly/M15850ANGmZ

The Department of State (DOS) has issued its August 2020 Visa Bulletin. Most notably, nearly all chargeability areas for EB-1, EB-2, and EB-3 have made steady advancement. https://swlgpc.com/eng/august-2020-visa-bulletin/

On July 16, 2020, the U.S. Department of State (DOS) issued two statements addressing exemptions to the Trump Administration’s recent proclamations that restrict immigrant and nonimmigrant entry into the U.S. https://swlgpc.com/eng/exemptions-entry-ban/

F-1 students (as well as M-1 vocational students) attending schools during the Fall 2020 semester that are operating entirely online will not be permitted to take a full online course load and remain in the U.S. http://ow.ly/1UB050AvoI4

After suspending non-emergency services at offices on March 18, 2020 USCIS reopened offices for some face-to-face services on June 4, 2020. http://ow.ly/SykP50AcQZD

The Department of State issues July 2020 Visa Bulletin. http://ow.ly/RqM050AcQU1

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that it will begin resuming premium processing for Form I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker and Form I-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Workers. http://ow.ly/mPd750zTTZU

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has extended the temporary travel restrictions across the U.S-Canada border and the U.S.-Mexico border for an additional 30 days, through June 22, 2020. http://ow.ly/6XFX50zTTUO