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Immigration Guide - November 2021

Dear Clients, Friends and Colleagues:

I hope you all had a wonderful, meaningful Thanksgiving with your loved ones. This is such a special time for us to show our gratitude and be thankful for the gift of life amid the pandemic and everything else happening around us.

In this edition of the newsletter, we take a look at the power of choice and reflect on what U.S. immigration policy should be. We also give you updates on immigration reforms and how the Biden Administration is ironing out bumps from the previous term. 

We also offer you a video on Diversity Immigration Visa Program, which is one of the easiest pathways to getting a Green Card. There's a wealth of videos and other resources available on our media page – do have a look. Please contact the Polutan Law Group if you have any questions, or if you have any topics you would like us to feature in our next video.

Best,
Verna
What should U.S. immigration
policy be?
Few issues spark debate more than immigration, because people connect it to so many aspects of society: from economics and culture, to law and resources, as well as to what one believes about people who are immigrating in the first place.
Democrats get hopeful sign from Parliamentarian on immigration
Democrats got a hopeful sign from the Senate rules referee in their effort to include provisions for undocumented immigrants in the $1.75 trillion "human" infrastructure bill they hope to pass through the partisan reconciliation process.
90 House Dems call on Senate to return path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants
A group of 90 Democrats in the House of Representatives sent a letter to the Senate on Monday requesting a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants be written into President Joe Biden's Build Back Better bill.
Paid leave, immigration: What's likely to change as Senate weighs Build Back Better Act
The House bill would grant provisional work permits to about 6.5 million undocumented people in the U.S., under a process known as parole, at a cost of more than $100 billion over a decade, as estimated by the Congressional Budget Office.
Families separated at border under Trump suffering severe trauma – study
Children and parents forcibly separated at the US-Mexican border under Donald Trump’s policy of “zero tolerance” are showing signs of severe psychological trauma and mental health disorders that have endured even after they were reunited, a new study has found.
Could U.S. immigration help solve need to recruit 1 million new truck drivers over next decade?
It is no secret that there is a supply chain problem that is delaying the delivery of goods to customers all over the country, particularly for the upcoming Christmas season. While things have been improving in recent days, more has to be done to resolve this long term problem and one area that should be addressed is truck driver shortages.
December 2021 Visa Bulletin
The EB-1 category is current. There is slight movement forward for China and India in the EB-2 category, while there is no movement for both countries in the EB-3 category. China-mainland born EB-5 direct visa categories have become current for December. 
Visa Services
0perating status update

As worldwide restrictions due to the Covid-19 pandemic begin to ease, 
and in line with the President’s proclamation regarding the safe resumption of international travel, the Bureau of Consular Affairs will focus on reducing wait times for all consular services at our embassies and consulates overseas while also protecting health and safety of our staff and applicants. Although local conditions and restrictions at individual consular posts may continue to fluctuate, the guidance to posts for the prioritization of consular services during the pandemic issued in November 2020 has been rescinded. Embassies and consulates have broad discretion to determine how to prioritize visa appointments among the range of visa classes as safely as possible, subject to local conditions and restrictions.

Employment authorization for certain H-4 dependent spouses

Certain H-4 dependent spouses of H-1B nonimmigrants can file Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization, if the H-1B nonimmigrant:
  • Is the principal beneficiary of an approved Form I-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker; or
  • Has been granted H-1B status under sections 106(a) and (b) of the American Competitiveness in the Twenty-first Century Act of 2000 as amended by the 21st Century Department of Justice Appropriations Authorization Act (AC21).

U.S. businesses use the H-1B program to employ foreign workers in specialty occupations that require a bachelor’s or higher degree in a specific specialty that is directly related to the H-1B position. In addition to specialty occupation workers, the H-1B classification applies to individuals performing services related to a Department of Defense cooperative research and development project or coproduction project, and to individuals performing services of distinguished merit and ability in the field of fashion modeling.
All Temporary Protected Status (TPS) applicants may now file
Forms I-821 and I-765 online
As of November 29, all applicants eligible to file for TPS under one of the current designations may file Form I-821, Application for Temporary Protected Status, and Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization, online. The following countries are currently designated for TPS: Burma (Myanmar), El Salvador, Haiti, Honduras, Nepal, Nicaragua, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Venezuela and Yemen.

First-time TPS applicants and TPS beneficiaries who are re-registering may apply for TPS online. Applicants can request an Employment Authorization Document (EAD) by submitting a completed Form I-765 with their Form I-821, or may submit their Form I-765 separately later. However, filing both forms together may help applicants receive their EAD more promptly.

To file Form I-821 online, eligible TPS applicants should visit myUSCIS page to log into or create a USCIS online account.

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