Adviser's Manual 360 News Feed

A proposed rule to be published in the Federal Register on September 11, 2020 would change the way DHS defines, collects, and uses biometrics.

On August 28, 2020 SEVP sent DSOs a Broadcast Message informing them of its plan to mail notices to OPT students "who have not reported employer information and have exceeded 90 days of unemployment." The notice gives students 15 days from the date of the notice to update their SEVIS record with employer information or their records will be terminated.

On August 25, 2020, USCIS announced that it "will avert an administrative furlough of more than 13,000 employees" that was scheduled to begin August 30, 2020. But the agency warns that averting the furloughs "comes at a severe operational cost that will increase backlogs and wait times across the board, with no guarantee we can avoid future furloughs" without congressional intervention.

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.