On April 12, 2024, USCIS issued a Federal Register notice establishing procedures for Palestinians eligible for Deferred Enforced Departure (DED) to apply for Employment Authorization Documents (EADs) valid through Aug. 13, 2025. President Joe Biden had announced in February 2024 DED for up to 18 months through Aug. 13, 2025, for Palestinians who had been present in the United States since Feb. 14, 2024. There is no application for obtaining DED classification. Palestinians are covered by DED if they meet the eligibility requirements set out in President Biden’s directive and the Federal Regis ..read more

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has extended and redesignated Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Ethiopia until Dec. 12, 2025. The decision to renew and redesignate is based on the ongoing armed conflict in the Amhara Region and violence in other regions of the country that includes human rights abuses and indiscriminate attacks, as well as drought, flood, and disease conditions. The extension affects about 2,300 individuals while the redesignation will allow around 12,800 individuals who are otherwise eligible to apply for TPS. Applications for re-registration and employment autho ..read more

Good news for those applying for or with pending Employment Authorization Document (EAD) renewals. DHS is temporarily reinstituting its 540-day automatic extension of work authorization for eligible individuals. Although DHS has streamlined its EAD process and extended EAD validity periods for certain applicants from two years to five years, the government still struggles to timely process EAD applications that has resulted in processing times that are still too long. Up to 800,000 employees were in danger of employment gaps. Accordingly, DHS resumed the 540-day automatic extension for qualify ..read more

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has published instructions on how to apply for the extended and redesignated Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Burma (Myanmar). On March 25, 2024, DHS extended and redesignated TPS for Burma until Nov. 25, 2025. Applications for re-registration and employment authorization document (EAD) renewals should be made during the re-registration period: March 25, 2024–May 24, 2024. Those with current EADs with expiration dates of May 25, 2024, or Nov. 25, 2022, will be granted automatic extensions of EADs until May 25, 2025, while they wait for their new EA ..read more

Chinese students make up the majority of international students in the United States. However, the number of Chinese students in U.S. universities has dropped from a high of 370,000 in 2019 to about 290,000 today. Part of the drop has been attributed to the Trump Administration’s 2020 executive order suspending entry of certain students and researchers from the People’s Republic of China (PRC). That proclamation applies to Chinese nationals in F or J status (other than undergraduates) who were associated with an entity in the PRC that implements or supports the PRC’s “military-civil fusion str ..read more

The Department of Justice (DOJ) has issued a new Employer Fact Sheet alerting employers about avoiding unlawful discrimination and other Form I-9 violations when using commercial or proprietary programs to electronically complete I-9s and participate in E-Verify. It is a comprehensive, though not exhaustive, explanation. DOJ states: Ensure the software program allows employers and employees to follow I-9 requirements: Are all the forms and instructions current? Can fields be left blank where permitted? Does the system allow employees to enter only one name and enter “unknown” in the othe ..read more

Students studying in the United States in F or M visa status must have a foreign residence that they have no intention of abandoning. A new USCIS policy manual update has clarified that being the beneficiary of a PERM application or an immigrant visa petition does not mean the student cannot demonstrate their intention to depart after their temporary stay in the United States. This was a particularly thorny issue before this clarification. For instance, students might be working in OPT or STEM OPT status for an employer that offers to sponsor them for a green card. Students would like to start ..read more

Washington, D.C. joins a growing group of states requiring employers to include projected salary ranges in job postings and to restrict the use of pay history in setting pay. On Jan. 12, 2024, the mayor of D.C. signed the Wage Transparency Omnibus Amendment Act, which, among other things, requires private employers, regardless of size, to disclose pay ranges in all job postings and advertisements. Because the D.C. budget is controlled by Congress, the Amendment was sent to Congress for a 30-day review on Jan. 22, 2024, with a projected law date of March 9, 2024. The new law is scheduled to go ..read more

President Joe Biden announced Deferred Enforced Departure (DED) for up to 18 months for Palestinians currently residing in the United States. The president took this action due to the terrorist attacks on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, the military response, and the humanitarian conditions in the Palestinian territories, particularly Gaza. Individuals do not need to apply for DED if they meet the eligibility conditions. But an application is required if they desire work authorization. It is believed that the grant of DED will affect approximately 6,000 Palestinians who have been present in the United ..read more

The U.S. government has adjusted export control regulations in an effort to protect U.S. national security interests. The revisions primarily affect export of electronic computing items and semiconductors to prevent foreign powers from obtaining critical technologies that may threaten national security. As manufacturers are facing increased demand for their products and critical labor shortages, they may find themselves seeking to hire foreign national talent and navigating U.S. export control and immigration and anti-discrimination laws. Please see our full article co-authored by our immigrat ..read more