Adviser's Manual 360 News Feed

On February 15, 2024, the Department of Labor (DOL) extended until May 13, 2024 the comment period on its Request for Information (RFI) on "Modernizing Schedule A to Include Consideration of Additional Occupations in STEM and Non-STEM Occupations." Comments were originally due by February 20, 2024.

On February 14, 2024, President Biden signed a "Memorandum on the Deferred Enforced Departure for Certain Palestinians" to establish the Deferred Enforced Departure (DED) benefit for Palestinians in the United States who meet the conditions listed in the memorandum. The memo also directs the Secretary of Homeland Security "to consider suspending regulatory requirements with respect to F-1 nonimmigrant students who are Palestinians as the Secretary of Homeland Security determines to be appropriate." The latter would be in the form of Special Student Relief (SSR) for Palestinian F-1 students, but DHS would have to publish an SSR notice in the Federal Register to activate that benefit.

USCIS has published a final fee rule with an April 1, 2024 effective date. Any benefit request postmarked on or after April 1, 2024 must be accompanied by the new fees. On February 22, 2024, DHS will hold a webinar to discuss the changes made in this final rule. You may submit questions to USCIS in advance of the webinar by emailing USCIS public engagement no later than 4 pm eastern on February 8, 2024. Webinar registration information, question submission instructions, and a summary of key parts of the rule can be found on NAFSA's page.

On January 29, 2024, DHS published a notice in the Federal Register extending eligibility for Special Student Relief (SSR) benefits to certain F-1 students from Syria. The prior notice published in 2022 expires on April 1, 2024.

on January 12, 2024, DHS sent for OMB review its final rule titled "Modernizing H-1B Requirements, Providing Flexibility in the F-1 Program, and Program Improvements Affecting Other Nonimmigrant Workers." The proposed rule published in October sought to add flexibility to F-1 to H-1B "cap-gap" and to redefine the term "specialty occupation" for H-1B purposes. Read a summary of the proposed rule and NAFSA's comment letter on NAFSA's page.

USCIS plans to launch two new online functionalities for H-1B petitions: Online organizational accounts and online filing of H-1B Forms I-129 and I-907. The agency plans to host two national engagements on the new organizational accounts on January 23 and 24, 2024.

The U.S. for Success Coalition, of which NAFSA is a founding and steering committee member, recently provided the Department of Homeland Security with a set of recommendations that would make the U.S. a more welcoming destination for international students. These solutions are focused on pressing issues, including lengthy and unpredictable processing times, duplicative and burdensome paperwork, and lack of inter- and intra-agency coordination.

The Department of State announced a revised visa interview waiver policy that is broader in some respects and more limiting in others than the policy expiring December 31, 2023. Read a summary on the NAFSA web site.

On December 21, 2023, the Department of Labor (DOL) published a Request for Information (RFI) on "Modernizing Schedule A to Include Consideration of Additional Occupations in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) and Non-STEM Occupations." Public comments are due by February 20, 2024.

From January 29, 2024, to April 1, 2024, the Department of State will run a pilot program to resume domestic visa renewal for individuals who are renewing an H-1B visa that was issued by Mission Canada (with an issuance date from January 1, 2020, through April 1, 2023) or Mission India (with an issuance date of February 1, 2021, through September 30, 2021), and who meet all other conditions specified by the pilot program notice to be published in the Federal Register on December 21, 2023.