Adviser's Manual 360 News Feed

On August 15, 2023, the Office of the Citizenship and Immigration Services Ombudsman (CIS Ombudsman) sent the following email to stakeholders to clarify that "premium processing timelines are separate from EAD production timelines," and to repeat USCIS's message that "F-1 EADs May Take One to Two Weeks to Produce After Adjudication," even for premium processing cases.

NAFSA is upgrading its online systems from noon on July 27–August 7, 2023. This upgrade will affect all systems that require a NAFSA login, including access to the NAFSA Adviser’s Manual 360 and parts of the NAFSA website. We thank you for your patience during this time as we work to make these important improvements to better serve international education professionals.

Under normal I-9 rules, an employer must "physically examine" the documents an employee presents to establish identity and employment authorization. Generally, the employer examines these documents in the physical presence of the employee presenting them. Under Optional Alternative 1, effective for hires made on and after August 1, 2023, an E-Verify employer in good standing may choose to examine I-9 identity and employment authorization documents remotely if certain conditions are met.

DHS has added eight new fields in the latest revision to the DHS STEM Designated Degree Program List, effective July 12, 2023. The new fields are: Landscape Architecture (04.0601), Institutional Research (13.0608), Mechatronics, Robotics, and Automation Engineering Technology/Technician (15.0407), Composite Materials Technology/Technician (15.0617), Linguistics and Computer Science (30.4801), Developmental and Adolescent Psychology (42.2710), Geospatial Intelligence (43.0407), and Demography and Population Studies (45.0501). There is an annual deadline of August 1 for interested parties to nominate new CIP codes for the DHS STEM Designated Degree Program List. The next annual deadline is August 1, 2023.

"OFLC's National Prevailing Wage Center will host a two-hour webinar on Tuesday, July 11, 2023, to provide general filing tips and trends for the Prevailing Wage Determination process in the Permanent and Labor Condition Application programs. Please be advised the webinar is available to a maximum of 1000 participants but will be recorded and posted to our website for future reference."

The Spring 2023 regulatory agenda was posted on Reginfo.gov on June 14, 2023. NAFSA has updated it compilation of immigration-related regulatory actions most relevant to institutions that invite international students and scholars to the United States.

USCIS announced on June 12, 2023 the following implementing timeline for applicants seeking a change of status to F-1, F-2, M-1, M-2, J-1, or J-2 nonimmigrant status: "Beginning June 13, USCIS will accept Form I-907 requests, filed via paper form or online, for applicants seeking a change of status to F-1, F-2, M-1, M-2, J-1, or J-2 status, who have a pending Form I-539, Application to Extend/Change Nonimmigrant Status; Beginning June 26, USCIS will accept Form I-907 requests, filed either via paper form or online, for applicants seeking a change of status to F-1, F-2, M-1, M-2, J-1, or J-2 status, when filed together with Form I-539."

USCIS has added basic information on J-1 exchange visitors to the USCIS Policy Manual, in a new Part D, Exchange Visitors (J). According to a USCIS Policy Alert, the new Policy Manual entry: "Provides general information about the exchange visitor (J) visa classification and explains USCIS’ role in adjudicating change of status requests and applications for employment authorization for J-2 family members" and "Explains the INA 212(e) foreign residence requirement and provides information about USCIS’ adjudication of available waivers, including for foreign medical graduates."

A June 9, 2023 BridgeUSA Guidance Directive ends ECA's temporary COVID-19 flexibilities for J-1 exchange programs and participants effective July 1, 2023, but introduces new interpretations on hybrid or virtual work and learning.

On June 5, 2023, USCIS changed the service center filing location for filing Form I-129 TN free trade petitions (for noncitizens from Canada and Mexico), from the Vermont Service Center (VSC) to the Texas Service Center (TSC). USCIS will continue to accept TN Forms I-129 filed at the VSC during a 60-day grace period, but will reject TN I-129 petitions filed at the VSC after the grace period. Despite the grace period, Form I-129 TN filers should begin now filing their petitions at the TSC address listed on the USCIS Form I-129 Direct Filing Addresses page.