On December 7, DHS and USCIS updated their websites to comply with the court ordered reinstatement of DACA. This means that starting December 7, 2020, USCIS is:

• Accepting first-time requests for consideration of deferred action under Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) based on the terms of the DACA policy in effect prior to September 5, 2017, and in accordance with the Court’s December 4, 2020, order;
• Accepting DACA renewal requests based on the terms of the DACA policy in effect prior to September 5, 2017, and in accordance with the Court’s December 4, 2020, order;
• Accepting applications for advance parole documents (travel requests) based on the terms of the DACA policy prior to September 5, 2017, and in accordance with the Court’s December 4, 2020, order;
• Extending one-year grants of deferred action under DACA to two years; and
• Extending one-year employment authorization documents under DACA to two years.

• TPS for El Salvador, Haiti, Honduras, Nepal, Nicaragua and Sudan extended until October 4, 2021
• Look for changes to this program under the new administration.

1. Review of Immigration “Priorities” and 100-day deportation pause effective January 22, 2021. – Text here. 
   1. Orders a 100 day “pause” on certain(not all) deportations
   2. Orders DHS to conduct a review of immigration priorities – does NOT announce a new policy (yet).
2. Protect DACA – Take all actions deemed appropriate, consistent with applicable law, to preserve and fortify DACA.
   1. New DACA applicants may apply if they meet the requirements;
   2. RENEWED DACA Applicants may apply to renew their DACA
3. Liberian Delayed Enforced Departure: Deferring through June 30, 2022, the removal of any Liberian national, or person without nationality who last habitually resided in Liberia, who is present in the United States and who was under a grant of DED as of January 10, 2021, with some exceptions. The memo also allows for continued employment authorization for such individuals through June 30, 2022.
4. End Border Wall Funding – Declared an end to the construction of the border wall.
5. End of 2017 Trump-Era Enforcement Priorities – Order revoking Executive Order 13768 of January 25, 2017, (Enhancing Public Safety in the Interior of the United States), and directing the DOS Secretary, the Attorney General, the DHS Secretary, and other government officials to review any agency actions developed pursuant to Executive Order 13768 and to take action, including issuing revised guidance, as appropriate and consistent with applicable law.
6. End the “Muslim Bans” – President Biden issued a proclamation revoking Executive Order 13780 of March 6, 2017; Proclamation 9645 of September 24, 2017; Proclamation 9723 of April 10, 2018; and Proclamation 9983 of January 31, 2020. The proclamation directs the DOS secretary to direct embassies and consulates, consistent with applicable law and visa processing procedures, including any related to COVID-19, to resume visa processing in a manner consistent with the revocation of the executive order and proclamations specified.
   1. Does NOT change the current (and continuing) limitation on Employment-based visas in effect until March 2021.

Proposed Bill Sent To Congress:

President Biden is sending a bill to Congress on day one to restore humanity and American values to our immigration system. The bill provides hardworking people who enrich our communities every day and who have lived here for years, in some cases for decades, an opportunity to earn citizenship. The legislation modernizes our immigration system, and prioritizes keeping families together, growing our economy, responsibly managing the border with smart investments, addressing the root causes of migration from Central America, and ensuring that the United States remains a refuge for those fleeing persecution.

• Create an earned roadmap to citizenship for undocumented individuals. Individuals may apply for temporary legal status, with the
  ability to apply for green cards after five years if they pass criminal and national
  security background checks and pay their taxes. Dreamers, TPS holders, and
  immigrant farmworkers who meet specific requirements are eligible for green cards immediately under the legislation. After three years, all green card holders who pass additional background checks and demonstrate knowledge of English and U.S. civics can apply to become citizens. Applicants must be physically present in the United States on or before January 1, 2021
• Keep families together. The bill reforms the family-based immigration system by clearing backlogs, recapturing unused visas, eliminating lengthy wait times, and increasing per-country visa caps. It also eliminates the so-called “3 and 10-year bars,” and other provisions that keep families apart. The bill further supports familes by more explicitly including permanent partnerships and eliminating discrimination facing LGBTQ+ families. It also provides protections for orphans, widows, children, and Filipino veterans who fought alongside the United States in World War II. Lastly, the bill allows immigrants with approved family-sponsorship petitions to join family in the United States on a temporary basis while they wait for green cards to become available
• Embrace diversity. The bill includes the NO BAN Act that prohibits  discrimination based on religion and limits presidential authority to issue future bans. The bill also increases Diversity Visas to 80,000 from 55,000.
• Promote immigrant and refugee integration and citizenship. The bill provides new funding to state and local governments, private organizations, educational institutions, community-based organizations, and not-for-profit organizations to expand programs to promote integration and inclusion, increase English-language instruction, and provide assistance to individuals seeking to become citizens.
• Grow our economy. This bill clears employment-based visa backlogs, recaptures unused visas, reduces lengthy wait times, and eliminates per-country visa caps. . The bill provides dependents of H-1B visa holders work authorization, and children are prevented from “aging out” of the system. The bill also creates a pilot program to stimulate regional economic development, gives DHS the authority to adjust green cards based on macroeconomic conditions, and incentivizes higher wages for non-immigrant, high-skilled visas to prevent unfair competition with American workers.
• Protect workers from exploitation and improve the employment verification process. The bill requires that DHS and the Department of Labor establish a commission involving labor, employer, and civil rights organizations to make recommendations for improving the employment verification process.

President Biden has Canceled the Trump-Era Executive Order Blocking Travel:

Last week (on February 25, 2021), President Biden Ended a Trump-Era Travel ban which will now allow issuance of visas to a number of immigrants and non-immigrants outside the U.S. Under this new guidance, the following cases are now eligible to receive visas:

• All Eligible and Current Employment-based sponsorship cases. See the visa bulletin here to determine if your case is ripe.
• Family-based Immigrant Visas including spouses of US Lawful Permanent Residents, Adult Children of US Citizens, and brothers-and-sisters of US Citizens.
• H-1B, H-4, L-1, L-2 nonimmigrants who are currently outside of the US, and do not have valid visa stamps in their passports. They will now be eligible to receive visas.
• H-1B, H-4, L-1, and L-2 nonimmigrants, who are currently outside the US, and who need to apply for a visa stamp renewal to reenter the US, will now be able to reenter the US after receiving a the new visa stamp.
• H-1B, H-4, L-1, and L-2 nonimmigrants currently outside the US, who are applying for their visa stamps for the first time (for example, H-1B Cap cases where the H-1B petition is approved and will be valid after October 1, 2020) will also be impacted. They will now be able to obtain visa stamps .
• The Proclamation also impacts H-1B Cap beneficiaries who have or will have an H-1B Cap-Subject Consular Processing Petition filed on their behalf. In most cases, these H-1B Cap beneficiaries are currently located outside of the US.  Many H1B applicants found themselves trapped outside the US awaiting visa issuance.  Now, beneficiaries will be able to obtain an H-1B  visa stamp to enter the US as soon as visa appointments are available.

PRACTICE ALERT: Some clients report that they have already received emails from their US Consulate indicating they should take additional action.  If you (or a relative) is outside the US and has already had a visa appointment (but has not received a visa yet), reach out to your embassy or consulate to see if you may now obtain your visa

If you have not yet had an interview, look for an email or other communication shortly regarding the next steps to obtaining your visa appointment.

As always, contact our office if you need legal advice relating to your case.

Temporary Protected Status Designated Country: Venezuela

The Supreme Court held that a notice to appear (NTA) sufficient to trigger the IIRIRA’s stop-time rule is a single document containing all the information about an individual’s removal hearing. (Niz-Chavez v. Garland, 4/29/21)

From the decision:

Non-permanent resident aliens ordered removed from the United States under federal immigration law may be eligible for discretionary relief if, among other things, they can establish their continuous presence in the country for at least 10 years. 8 U. S. C. §1229b(b)(1). But the so-called stop-time rule included in the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (IIRIRA) provides that the period of continuous presence “shall be deemed to end . . . when the alien is served a notice to appear” in a removal proceeding under §1229a. §1229b(d)(1). The term “notice to appear” is defined as “written notice . . . specifying” certain information, such as the charges against the alien and the time and place at which the removal proceedings will beheld. §1229(a)(1). A notice that omits any of this statutorily required information does not trigger the stop-time rule. See Pereira v. Sessions, 585 U. S. ___. Here, the government ordered the removal of petitioner Agusto Niz-Chavez and sent him a document containing the charges against him. Two months later, it sent a second document, providing Mr. Niz-Chavez with the time and place of his hearing. The government contends that because the two documents collectively specified all statutorily required information for “a notice to appear,” Mr. Niz-Chavez’s continuous presence in the country stopped when he was served with the second document.

HELD: A notice to appear sufficient to trigger the IIRIRA’s stop-time rule is a single document containing all the information about an individual’s removal hearing specified in §1229(a)(1). Pp. 4–12.

IMPACT: This Decision is extremely helpful to non-citizens who were issued a Notice to Appear (NTA) prior to acquiring 10 years of physical presence in the U.S. For some, this document may have been issued at the time of their arrival in the US, or for others, issued many years after arriving.  Either way, Niz-Chavez may invalidate many of these defective NTA’s if the NTA lacked a specific TIME and PLACE for the upcoming hearing.

If the NTA was defective, it WOULD NOT stop someone from accruing 10 years of physical presence in the U.S. for purposes of Cancellation of Removal for non-permanent residents.

In addition, clients who were ordered removed on the basis of a defective NTA can/should file for a Motion to REOPEN their cases on the grounds that the NTA was not properly served.

Contact our office if you believe your case qualifies.

Immigrant Entrepreneur Program

The Biden administration announced Monday it would resurrect an Obama-era program that would allow more immigrant entrepreneurs to come to the United States and start their businesses.

The International Entrepreneur Rule (IER), first introduced by President Obama in 2017, permits foreign entrepreneurs to stay in the United States for up to five years as long as they own at least 10 percent of a startup and attract at least $250,000 from U.S. investors.

The Trump administration suspended the policy before it took effect, in part due to the rule’s “parole” benefit, which is typically used for humanitarian reasons.

Eligibility

Entrepreneurs applying for parole under this rule must demonstrate that they:

• Possess a substantial ownership interest in a start-up entity created within the past five years in the United States that has substantial potential for rapid growth and job creation.
• Have a central and active role in the start-up entity such that they are well-positioned to substantially assist with the growth and success of the business.
• Will provide a significant public benefit to the United States based on their role as an entrepreneur of the start-up entity by showing that:
  • The start-up entity has received a significant investment of capital from certain qualified U.S. investors with established records of successful investments;
  • The start-up entity has received significant awards or grants for economic development, research and development, or job creation (or other types of grants or awards typically given to start-up entities) from federal, state, or local government entities that regularly provide such awards or grants to start-up entities; or
  • They partially meet either or both of the previous two requirements and provide additional reliable and compelling evidence of the start-up entity’s substantial potential for rapid growth and job creation.

• Otherwise merit a favorable exercise of discretion.

A spouse or child of an entrepreneur applying for parole under this rule must demonstrate that he or she:

• Is independently eligible for parole based on significant public benefit or urgent humanitarian reasons; and
• Merits a favorable exercise of discretion.

How to Apply

Filing Form I-941, Application for Entrepreneur Rule

• You must file Form I-941, Application for Entrepreneur Parole, with the required fees (including biometric services fees), and supporting documentary evidence in accordance with 8 C.F.R. § 212.19 and the Form I-941 instructions. The filing fee for Form I-941 is $1,200 and the biometric services fee is $85.
• Filing and obtaining approval of a Form I-941 application under this rule will not, by itself, constitute a grant of parole. If your Form I-941 application is approved, you must visit a U.S. consulate abroad to obtain travel documentation (e.g., a boarding foil) before appearing at a U.S. port of entry for a final parole determination. A Canadian national traveling directly from Canada to a U.S. port of entry may present an approved I-941 at the U.S. port of entry without first obtaining travel documentation.

Filing Form I-131, Application for Travel Document

• The spouse and children (unmarried, minor child under 21 years of age) of an entrepreneur submitting Form I-941 may file Form I-131, Application for Travel Document, with the required application fee and biometrics services fee, to request parole to accompany or join the entrepreneur. The Form I-131 may be filed concurrently with the Form I-941 or it may be filed separately.

• The filing fee for Form I-131 filed by the spouse or child of an entrepreneur is $575. A biometric services fee of $85 is required for applicants 14 through 79 years of age. For Part 2 Application Type, write “IER” in the margin of Form I-131. You must file Form I-131 with evidence demonstrating that you are the dependent spouse or child of an Entrepreneur Parolee or an Applicant for Entrepreneur Parole.
• Submit all of the following documents:

• A copy of a marriage certificate or birth certificate establishing your relationship to an Entrepreneur Parolee or an Applicant for Entrepreneur Parole.
• Unless filing the Form I-131 concurrently with the entrepreneur’s Form I-941, documentation indicating that the entrepreneur has a pending Form I-941 requesting parole, that such request was granted, or that the entrepreneur is a parolee. Such documentation may include a copy of:
  • Form I-797, Notice of Action, indicating USCIS’ receipt of the entrepreneur’s Form I-941;
  • The entrepreneur’s Form I-512L, Authorization for Parole of an Alien into the United States; or
  • Form I-94, Arrival-Departure Record, indicating that the entrepreneur has been paroled into the United States.

Filing Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization

• If the Form I-131 is approved, and the spouse of the entrepreneur is paroled into the United States, the spouse may then apply for employment authorization by filing Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization. Children of the entrepreneur will not be eligible to apply for employment authorization under this rule. For Item Number 27, Eligibility Category, enter “(C)(34).” File Form I-765 with evidence of your parole status, such as your Form I-94, and evidence you are the spouse of an International Entrepreneur Parolee, such as a copy of the principal’s Form I-94 and a copy of your marriage certificate.
• Note: If a Form I-765 is submitted to USCIS before the spouse has been paroled into the United States, the application may be denied and fees may not be returned.