Adviser's Manual 360 News Feed

The USCIS Form I-765 web page says that a form edition dated 08/25/20 will have to be used for all applications postmarked on or after August 25, 2020 and that before 08/25/20 the 12/26/19 edition must be used. However, the language on the page is ambiguous as to whether the new edition should be used only for asylum-based EADs or all EADs.

On August 18, 2020, the court in the WashTech case challenging OPT further postponed a status conference to December 1, 2020. This is the second delay to the status hearing. The judge's minute order stated: "The Court requiring additional time to consider the pending motions in this case, it is hereby ORDERED that the status conference currently scheduled for September 4, 2020, is CONTINUED to December 1, 2020, at 2:30 p.m."

On August 18, 2020, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) emailed stakeholders reminding them of the importance of updating SEVIS records with OPT employer information.

On July 31, 2020 DHS filed a motion to dismiss its own appeal of the lower court's decision to block enforcement of USCIS's August 2019 unlawful presence memo. However, the Spring Regulatory Agenda shows that the agency continues to work on a proposed rule.

On July 29, 2020, a federal court issued nationwide preliminary injunctions that block implementation and enforcement of the current USCIS and DOS public charge rules and policies during the COVID-19 national emergency. USCIS says applications or petitions postmarked on or after July 29, 2020, should not include Form I-944 or provide information about the receipt of public benefits on Form I-485, Form I-129, or Form I-539/I-539A.

On August 3, 2020, President Trump issued an executive order that focuses on a review of federal contracting and subcontracting practices. The order also includes a broader call to protect U.S. workers from adverse effects on wages and working conditions caused by the employment of H-1B visa holders at job sites, including third-party job sites.

The Department of Labor announced on July 31, 2020 that it entered into a new Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with the Department of Homeland Security, allowing the Departments to provide access and share information about immigrant and nonimmigrant petition records and data contained within the Office of Foreign Labor Certification’s labor certification and labor condition application databases.

USCIS's final fee rule will become effective on October 2, 2020. "Any application, petition, or request postmarked on or after this date must be accompanied with the fees established by this final rule." The rule also makes changes to Form I-129, premium processing, and other fee processing changes.

An SEVP SEVIS Help Hub article explains how to prepare for the 2020 CIP code conversion release in SEVIS tentatively scheduled for August 28, 2020, how SEVIS will convert CIP codes in certain SEVIS student records, and how to complete the conversion for certain records.

The Department of Labor Office of Foreign Labor Certification (OFLC) opened a 60-day public comment period on proposed changes to the ETA 9089 permanent labor certification forms. Comments are due by September 18, 2020. View the Federal Register notice and proposed forms.