USCIS has created a new Lockbox Filing Location Updates page on its website for customers to keep track of updates it makes to lockbox filing locations.

DHS has published an advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPRM) and notice of virtual public listening sessions "to seek broad public feedback on the public charge ground of inadmissibility that will inform its development of a future regulatory proposal." Comments are due by October 22, 2021.

On August 20, 2021, NAFSA and other associations and organizations urged four key agencies to fully include the English language program sector in the Biden administration's renewed commitment to international education. The joint statement was developed by NAFSA, EnglishUSA, TESOL, and UCIEP, with support from ACCET and CEA, and was sent to the Secretaries of the Departments of State, Homeland Security, Education, and Commerce.

USCIS is planning to separate Form I-129, Petition for Nonimmigrant Worker, into several individual forms. Currently, Form I-129 has a main form and various supplements used by the various nonimmigrant categories that utilize the form. The new forms will combine information from the current main Form I-129 with information from the current supplements to create unique forms tailored to specific nonimmigrant classifications. USCIS is accepting comments until October 18, 2021.

On August 10, 2021, U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) led a group of 23 Senators in calling on Secretary of State Antony Blinken and the State Department to address the backlog of visas for international students, which grew significantly during the COVID-19 pandemic.

DHS/ICE will establish Special Student Relief for Haitian F-1 students in a Federal Register notice to be published on August 3, 2021, and effective on the day of publication through February 3, 2023. Benefits under the Haiti notice are not available before the effective date.

On July 29, 2021, USCIS posted an alert on its OPT filing flexibilities web page, to provide a very brief summary of the Consent Order issued by a U.S. District Court that expands the flexibilities for certain applicants filing Form I-765 for OPT. NAFSA has provided some helpful notes on the consent order.

USCIS announced that on July 28, 2021 it conducted a second random selection process on previously submitted electronic H-1B cap registrations that had not been selected in the first lottery. The H-1B petition filing period based on the July 28, 2021 random selection process will begin on August 2 and close on November 3, 2021.

In a Joint Statement of Principles, the Departments of State and Education announced their shared commitment to promoting international education and outlined the benefits of global academic engagement for all Americans. NAFSA Executive Director and CEO, Dr. Esther D. Brimmer, described the Joint Statement of Principles as "a welcome initiative that signals an exciting advancement in rebuilding and restoring U.S. engagement with the world."

On July 22, 2021, NAFSA Executive Director and CEO Esther D. Brimmer, DPhil, asked the Department of Homeland Security's Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) to facilitate a grant of Special Student Relief (SSR) to F-1 students from Haiti.