USCIS to Conduct Second Random Selection for FY 2024 H-1B Cap Cases
On July 27, 2023, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) made a significant announcement, stating that it will conduct a second random selection from the pool of previously submitted FY 2024 H-1B cap registrations. This decision was necessitated by the agency’s determination that additional selections were required to meet the FY 2024 numerical allocations. USCIS plans to select additional registrations from the previously submitted electronic registrations using its random selection process, and will provide updates once this second selection process is completed.
The announcement of a second lottery selection seems to be related to wide-spread concerns about the potential for multiple employers submitting H-1B registrations on behalf of a single beneficiary. The record-breaking 780,000 H-1B lottery registrations this year, with a strikingly low selection rate of approximately 14.6%, was largely due to duplicate applications. The USCIS reported that more than half the registrations, nearly 409,000, were for potential beneficiaries whose names were submitted multiple times. The increase in registrations this year from individuals whose names were submitted only once was much smaller — 350,000, up from 309,000 last year. While not explicitly illegal, this practice has raised substantial concerns within the USCIS that certain entities may have collaborated to submit multiple registrations for the same beneficiary, in an attempt to manipulate the system and unjustly inflate the chances of a beneficiary’s selection in the lottery. Investigations into these concerns had been initiated by USCIS, resulting in the denial and revocation of certain petitions, as well as its instituting referrals for potential criminal prosecution. The USCIS’s announcements and the media’s reports on this matter appear to have led to the intended “chilling effect” on the number of actual H-1B petitions filed from those that were selected in the initial lottery.
The implementation of a second lottery selection, while offering a glimmer of hope for many U.S. educated professionals, starkly illuminates the inherent flaws of the current H-1B cap registration process, specifically the recently introduced digital lottery process. The lack of any real safeguards within this system led to its foreseeable exploitation. Further, the exceedingly low annual H-1B quota allocation continues to hamper U.S. business and education. Ultimately, to secure an intelligent and truly merit-based immigration system, and to ensure that the U.S. continues to attract top talent globally, the registration process must be redressed, and the annual H-1B cap and the 7% cap on per country green card issuance must be significantly increased.
Canada’s Tech Talent Strategy: A Model for Reform in the U.S. Immigration System
In an effort to augment its technological sector, the Canadian government, under the banner of its Tech Talent Strategy, is launching an exclusive open work permit stream for U.S. H-1B specialty occupation visa holders. This initiative, slated to commence on July 16, 2023, promises to offer up to 10,000 of these highly-skilled professionals a flexible work permit to work in Canada, for up to three years. Spouses and dependents of the principal applicants would not be counted towards the 10,000 number, and would also eligible to apply for temporary Canadian resident visas, including work or study permits, as required.
The Tech Talent Strategy, while a significant step forward, still lacks key details and presents certain restrictions. The program is currently set to run for a year or until it hits the ceiling of only 10,000 applications. A noteworthy omission in the Canadian strategy is the non-inclusion of F-1 OPT STEM workers in this initiative. This demographic, a significant number of whom have earned their STEM Master’s degrees from U.S. institutions – could have been a substantial asset to the Canadian tech sector. The integration of these innovative, committed professionals could have presented Canada with the opportunity not only to tap into a significant reservoir of young and motivated individuals but also to potentially secure their lifelong loyalty, as many have been consistently overlooked for H-1B visas due to the fraud-riddled quagmire that the Fiscal Year H-1B Cap lottery process has devolved into, thanks to its ill-conceived “digital” transition under the outgoing Trump Administration.
The unveiling of Canada’s Tech Talent Strategy highlights the shortcomings of the U.S.’s immigration policy, especially regarding the attraction and retention of highly skilled tech professionals. Our own policy continues to be entangled in a web of bureaucratic complexities as well as archaic measures and quotas, leading to insufficient H-1B quota numbers and prolonged green card waiting periods, which disproportionately impact Indian nationals.
Our own purported “merit-based” immigration policy, amounting to a mere 15% of all U.S. green cards issued annually, is woefully inadequate, allocating a meager 2,000 or 2,500 green cards to Indian professionals each year, including their spouses and children under 21. Meanwhile, a staggering backlog of approximately 900,000 other Indian applicants remains in agonizing limbo, condemned to endure a wait that is projected to extend for decades.
These extensive processing times, particularly for the very individuals who make monumental contributions to the U.S. Tech Sector’s triumph, not only repel talent but also serve as an unequivocal testament to a system in dire need of comprehensive reform. The stark disparity between our policy and those implemented by other nations underscores the pressing urgency for immigration reform in the U.S.
USCIS Provides Guidance on Employment Authorization Documents Based on Compelling Circumstances
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) recently unveiled policy guidance concerning the eligibility criteria for initial and renewal applications for Employment Authorization Documents (EADs) in cases involving compelling circumstances. The guidance clarifies the existing regulatory requirements under 8 CFR 204.5(p).
For an applicant to be eligible for an EAD based on compelling circumstances, several prerequisites must be met:
- The principal applicant is the principal beneficiary of an approved Form I-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Workers, in either the 1st, 2nd, or 3rd employment-based preference category;
- The principal applicant is in valid E-3, H-1B, H-1B1, O-1, or L-1 nonimmigrant status or authorized grace period when they file the Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization;
- The principal applicant has not filed an adjustment of status application;
- An immigrant visa is not available to the principal applicant based on the applicant’s priority date according to the relevant Final Action Date in the U.S. Department of State’s Visa Bulletin in effect when they file Form I-765;
- The applicant and their dependents provide biometrics as required;
- The applicant and their dependents have not been convicted of a felony or two or more misdemeanors; and
- USCIS determines, as a matter of discretion, that the principal applicant demonstrates compelling circumstances that justify the issuance of employment authorization.
Applicants may strengthen their claims of compelling circumstances by providing a range of evidence. For example, a primary applicant who has an approved immigrant visa petition in a highly subscribed visa category, and has resided in the United States for a considerable time, might choose to present proof such as records of school or university enrollment, mortgage documents, or long-term lease agreements.
Furthermore, compelling circumstances may also include situations where a family, due to a loss of employment, faces the prospect of selling their home at a loss, removing their children from school, and moving back to their home country. Such circumstances may highlight the seriousness and scope of the situations considered under this policy.
The recent policy guidance issued by USCIS clarifies a much-needed option for certain nonimmigrants facing challenging situations. It enables them to maintain their employment and legal status within the United States. However, it is important to acknowledge the discretionary nature of USCIS’s decision-making process in such cases and the significance of thoroughly establishing the existence of compelling circumstances, supported by relevant and persuasive evidence. Despite the inherent challenges involved in this process, USCIS’s clarification regarding this pathway is a highly welcomed development.
Implications of USCIS’s Updated CSPA Guidance to Extend Age-Out Protections for Adjustment Applicants
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) had recently issued revised guidance on the Child Status Protection Act (CSPA) age calculation, resolving an inconsistency in the previous guidance that left certain adjustment applicants without guaranteed CSPA protection. The CSPA aims to protect certain noncitizens from losing eligibility as a child for immigrant visa and adjustment of status purposes due to aging during the immigration process.
The updated guidance, effective February 14, 2023, aligns visa availability for CSPA age calculations with that for accepting and processing AOS applications. When USCIS announces that applicants may use the Dates for Filing chart for filing AOS applications, it will also use that chart for calculating the applicant’s CSPA age, and vice versa with the Final Action Dates chart.
Previously, USCIS only considered a visa available for CSPA age calculation based on the Final Action Dates chart, creating a discrepancy for adjustment of status (AOS) applicants filing based on the Dates for Filing chart. As a result, applicants could have a visa “immediately available” for filing purposes but not for CSPA age calculation.
This updated guidance generally expands the number of children who can benefit from CSPA protection. However, there remains some uncertainty regarding its implementation. It is unclear how USCIS will view individuals who had been current for more than one year under the Dates for Filing chart but not under the Final Action Date chart. USCIS may not grant CSPA protection in such cases, although it is hoped that they will exercise discretion given the policy change.
Noncitizens whose applications were denied under the prior policy can file a motion to reopen their previously denied AOS using Form I-290B. USCIS may exercise discretion to excuse untimely filing for reasonable delays and factors beyond their control.
The new CSPA guidance is a welcome expansion of the grounds under which a child can benefit from the CSPA and will potentially allow more families to remain together in the United States as the CSPA intended.
Ashwin Sharma interviewed by News4Jax’s I-TEAM on on the Legality of the Biden Admin’s Decision to Land “Migrant Flights” in Jacksonville, FL
“With such a divide in opinions, mostly along party lines, News4Jax looked at the legal grounds with immigration attorney Ashwin Sharma.
“The facilities in Texas and these other border states are substantially overwhelmed. So I assume that that’s why they’re having to go to non-border states like Florida,” attorney Ashwin Sharma said.
Sharma said Florida, like other states, must follow immigration law which is federal law and President Joe Biden’s border policy is to relocate unaccompanied minors to a safe shelter while their cases are being adjudicated.
Leaders and interpretations have changed from President Donald Trump to President Biden, but he says immigration law has for the most part stayed the same.
“I’m not sure that there’s an all-expenses-paid bus that brings people in the US, but the simple fact is that they are here,” Sharma said. “They are at the border. They are coming past the border and at this point you know our policy, our immigration policy, to an extent has to adjudicate the merit of each individual’s claims.”
Sharma said some of the migrants have the potential to be legal American citizens.
“Every case is unique, if their claims are legitimate then they qualify under our laws,” Sharma said.”
(Via AILA.org) Major Settlement Changes How USCIS Adjudicates Work Permits for [H-4 and L-2 ] Nonimmigrant Spouses
Via AILA.org
AILA and its litigation partners entered into a settlement agreement with DHS that provides structural changes for H-4 and L-2 spouses suffering from long delayed processing times for the processing of applications for employment authorization. (Shergill, et al. v. Mayorkas, 11/10/21)
For H-4s:
Within 120 days of the Effective Date, USCIS will amend the receipt notice currently issued to applicants to detail the EAD auto-extension eligibility for those holding H-4 status based on the validity period provided on a Form I-94 in combination with a facially expired EAD and the Form I-797C receipt notice for a timely-filed I-765 EAD renewal application.
For L-2s:
USCIS will issue policy guidance that states that L-2 spouses are employment authorized incident to status and, in cooperation with CBP, change the Form I-94, within 120 days of the Effective Date, to indicate that the bearer is an L-2 spouse so that it can be used as a List C document for Form I-9 purposes.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, November 10, 2021
Washington, DC – The American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) and its litigation partners Wasden Banias and Steven Brown, celebrate the historic settlement with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in Shergill, et al. v. Mayorkas, which provides structural changes for nonimmigrant H-4 and L-2 spouses suffering from long delayed processing times for the processing of applications for employment authorization. The litigation successfully achieved the reversal of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) policy that prohibited H-4 spouses from benefiting from automatic extension of their employment authorization during the pendency of standalone employment authorization document (EAD) applications. Although this is a giant achievement, the parties’ agreement will further result in a massive change in position for USCIS, which now recognizes that L-2 spouses enjoy automatic work authorization incident to status, meaning these spouses of executive and managers will no longer have to apply for employment authorization prior to working in the United States.
Jesse Bless, AILA Director of Federal Litigation stated, “Today marks a historic change for L-2 spouses who will now enjoy work authorization incident to status. AILA’s membership has long advocated for the correct statutory interpretation and we’re delighted to have reached this agreement, which includes relief for H-4 spouses, through our litigation efforts with Wasden Banias and Steven Brown. It is gratifying that the administration saw that settling the litigation for nonimmigrant spouses was something that should be done, and done quickly.”
Jon Wasden stated, “After years of outreach to the agency, it became clear that litigation was unfortunately necessary. Despite the plain statutory language, USCIS failed to grant employment authorization incident to status for L-2s. The other issue relates to H-4s whose work permits expire prior to their H-4 status; this is a group that always met the regulatory test for automatic extension of EADs, but the agency previously prohibited them from that benefit and forced them to wait for reauthorization. People were suffering. They were losing their high-paying jobs for absolutely no legitimate reason causing harm to them and U.S. businesses. So, while I’m glad the agency finally followed the law, it is frankly frustrating that an easily fixable issue took this long to address.”
See this op-ed from Forbes for more information
Read the Decision: Shergill, et al. v. Mayorkas, 11/10/21 [PDF]
DHS confirms it is currently enjoined from implementing or enforcing any part of the USCIS Fee Schedule and Changes to Certain Other Immigration Benefit Request Requirements rule
VIA USCIS.gov
“On Sept. 29, 2020, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, in Immigration Legal Resource Center et al., v. Wolf, et al., 20-cv-05883-JWS, preliminarily enjoined DHS from implementing or enforcing any part of the USCIS Fee Schedule and Changes to Certain Other Immigration Benefit Request Requirements rule.
While the rule is preliminarily enjoined, we will continue to:
Updated Again: For October 2020 Visa Bulletin USCIS Previously Indicated that it would accept EB AOS Applications based on “Final Action Dates” but now the same website indicates it will accept “Dates for Filing”
DOS has posted the October 2020 visa bulletin. In addition to final action dates and dates for filing for family and employment-based petitions, it contains notes on the DV category, the DV category rank cut-offs which will apply in November, movement of the October final action and application filing dates, visa availability in the coming months, and the scheduled expiration of two employment categories, including the employment fourth preference certain religious workers (SR) and employment fifth preference categories (I5 and R5). The FY2021 annual limit for employment-based visas is approximately 261,500.
For EB India in particular, the October 2020 visa bulletin notes the following advancements:
Final Action Dates:
EB1 India: June 1, 2018
EB2 India: September 1, 2009
EB3 India: January 15, 2010
Filing Dates:
EB1 India: September 1, 2020
EB2 India: May 15, 2011
EB3 India: January 1, 2015
At present, this material change remains unexplained and is generating significant confusion. It goes without saying that the delivery of accurate and consistent information by USCIS is extremely critical, particularly in this case, where “Dates for Filing” = 5+ years less wait time for EB3 India.
Indian Nationals File Lawsuit Challenging Presidential Proclamation 10052’s H-1B/H-4 Visa Ban
A group of 174 Indian nationals, including seven minor children, filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia challenging Presidential Proclamation 10052, which took effect on June 24, 2020, and temporarily suspends entry of certain H, J, and L nonimmigrants into the United States. The plaintiffs seek an order declaring Proclamation 10052 to be unlawful, compelling DHS to issue decisions on their pending requests for H-1B and H-4 visas, and enjoining DHS from refusing entry into the United States based on the proclamation, among other relief.
(Panda, et al. v. Wolf, et al., 7/14/20)
Trump Administration rescinds rule requiring International Students to transfer or leave the country if their schools held classes entirely online because of the Coronavirus Pandemic
Good news for international students: DHS just did another one of its 180 degree pirouettes. Facing several federal lawsuits as well as vigorous opposition from hundreds of universities, the Trump Administration today rescinded a rule that would have required international students to transfer or leave the country if their schools held classes entirely online because of the coronavirus pandemic. DHS has agreed to fully rescind the July 6, 2020, ICE guidance and July 7, 2020, Frequently Asked Questions, and rescind all implementing guidance. The status quo based upon the agency’s March 13, 2020, guidance will remain in force.
Ashwin Sharma quoted by the Times of India on USCIS’s latest Policy Memo, a Major Victory for H-1B Consulting Firms/Employees
I was quoted today in a Times of India article on USCIS’s issuance of a game-changing new policy memorandum yesterday in which it rescinds and replaces two previous policy memoranda (2010, 2018) regarding the adjudication of H-1B petitions for professionals assigned to third-party job sites.
Among its other directives, the memo instructs USCIS officers to stop requiring H-1B employers to provide job itineraries for H-1B candidates as well as private contractual documentation between third-party client/vendor companies. The memo advises USCIS officers to refrain from issuing ridiculously short approval durations in these cases (as little as 1-2 months). The memo also makes it easier for an H-1B employer to demonstrate an eligible Employer-Employee relationship with its H-1B employee.
In summary: though USCIS still maintains arrows in its quiver to target the H-1B program, the new guidance represents extremely positive news for H-1B stakeholders, particularly those within the consulting industry. The policy guidance is effective immediately, and applies to any pending or new requests for H-1B classification, including motions on and appeals of revocations and denials of H-1B classification.
Supreme Court Upholds DACA
The U.S. Supreme Court today ruled that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS)’s decision to rescind the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals Program, also known as DACA, was arbitrary and capricious under the Administrative Procedure Act. As a result, the Trump administration may not immediately proceed with its plan to end a program protecting about 700,000 young immigrants known as Dreamers from deportation.
See DHS v. Regents of the University of California (Link to PDF)
The U.S. Immigration Law Blog by Ashwin Sharma 
Quoted in CBC article on Canada’s Successful Tech Strategy in which it Outsmarted the U.S. by Poaching 10,000 STEM H-1B Visa Holders in Less Than 48 Hours
“At the very least, Canadians have brought to light the fact that there are other, smarter countries with better immigration policies that actually value science, technology, engineering and math,” said immigration lawyer Ashwin Sharma of the Sharma Law Office in Jacksonville, Fla.
“Perhaps the U.S. will start doing the same.”
Sharma also acknowledged that the open nature of the Canadian work permit, coupled with the higher salaries generally on offer in U.S. tech industries, may mean that not all applicants are looking to move to Canada on a long-term basis.
“It could be that the H1-B workers are coming over for a short period of time to perhaps kill off some unemployment period of time,” he said.
“It remains to be seen how many will remain in Canada.”
Continue to CBC Article