U.S. to Restrict Travel From India

 

Starting Tuesday, May 4, following guidance from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), the U.S. will expand the geographical travel bans to include India. The White House press secretary Jen Psaki noted that “The policy will be implemented in light of extraordinarily high COVID-19 caseloads and multiple variants circulating in India.

This announcement follows updates from the Department of State and the CDC upgrading travel advisories last week. On Monday, April 19, 2021, the United States Centers for Disease Control (CDC) released a new travel advisory advising citizens to avoid all travel to India. The update comes as the Department of State announced that it would revise travel advisories to more closely align with guidelines from the CDC. According to the CDC, the new variants of the COVID-19 virus that have been discovered in India merits increased restrictions on travel to and from India. The U.S. State Department stated on Monday that it will boost “Do Not Travel” guidance to almost 80% of countries worldwide due to the “unprecedented risk to travelers.” On Monday, India’s travel advisory was set to Level 2: Exercise Increased Caution, but on Wednesday, the Department of State upgraded the travel advisory to Level 4: Do not travel.

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DOS to Allow Foreign Students into the U.S. This Fall, Despite Geographical Travel Restrictions

DOS to Allow Foreign Students into the U.S. This Fall, Despite Geographical Travel Restrictions

The Department of State announced a change to existing guidance for foreign students. Students will now be able to enter the U.S. from areas subject to COVID-19-related travel restrictions including China, Iran, Brazil, South Africa, the United Kingdom, Ireland, and the Schengen area (Europe), as long as their program begins on or after August 1, 2021. The students do not need to seek an individual National Interest Exception to travel and may enter the U.S. no earlier than 30 days prior to the start of their academic program. Please note: temporary ICE guidance implemented in March 2020 continues to remain in effect for the 2021-2022 academic year. In accordance with the March 2020 guidance, new or Initial F and M students who were not previously enrolled in a program of study on March 9, 2020, will not be able to enter the United States as a nonimmigrant student for the 2021-22 academic year if their course of study is 100 percent online.

Department of State Announcement

National Interest Exceptions for Certain Travelers from China, Iran, Brazil, South Africa, Schengen Area, United Kingdom, and Ireland

Last Updated: April 26, 2021

On April 26, 2021, the Secretary of State made a national interest determination regarding categories of travelers eligible for exceptions under Presidential Proclamations (PPs) 9984, 9992, and 10143 related to the spread of COVID-19.  As a result of this determination, together with national interest determinations already in place, travelers subject to these proclamations, due to their presence in China, Iran, Brazil, South Africa, the Schengen area, the United Kingdom, and Ireland, who are seeking to provide vital support for critical infrastructure; journalists; students and certain academics covered by exchange visitor programs, may now qualify for a National Interest Exception (NIE).  Students and academics subject to these proclamations due to their presence in China, Iran, Brazil, or South Africa, may qualify for an NIE only if their academic program begins August 1, 2021 or later.  Qualified travelers who are applying for or have valid visas or ESTA authorization may travel to the United States following the procedures below, even as PPs 9984, 9992, and 10143 remain in effect.

Students with valid F-1 and M-1 visas intending to begin or continue an academic program commencing August 1, 2021 or later do not need to contact an embassy or consulate to seek an individual NIE to travel.  They may enter the United States no earlier than 30 days before the start of their academic studies.  Students seeking to apply for new F-1 or M-1 visas should check the status of visa services at the nearest embassy or consulate; those applicants who are found to be otherwise qualified for an F-1 or M-1 visa will automatically be considered for an NIE to travel.

Travelers in categories described above who have a valid visa in the appropriate class or who have a valid ESTA authorization for travel under the Visa Waiver Program and seek to travel for purposes consistent with ESTA authorization, should contact the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate before traveling, if they believe they may qualify for a National Interest Exception.  If a National Interest Exception is approved, they may travel on either a valid visa or ESTA authorization, as appropriate.

The Department of State also continues to grant NIEs for qualified travelers seeking to enter the United States for purposes related to humanitarian travel, public health response, and national security.  These travelers and any others who believe their travel to be in the United States’ national interest should also review the website of the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate for instruction on how to contact them.

As with all NIEs for qualified travelers seeking to enter the United States under a Presidential Proclamation, if circumstances warrant, the Secretary of State may revise the national interest determination.

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USCIS Reverts to Pre-Trump Deference Policy for Evaluating Extensions

USCIS reversed a Trump-era policy that directed officers to “thoroughly review the petition and supporting evidence to determine eligibility for the benefit sought,” even for extensions with the same facts remained true. The policy could have been a contributing factor to the long processing times that have become normal over the past few years. The 2017 policy update reversed a “deference” policy memo first implemented in 2004 during George W. Bush’s presidency that allowed officers to defer to prior determinations when adjudicating extensions involving the same parties and facts. This allowed officers to consider past approvals unless there was a material error, material change, or new material facts. The Policy Manual also requires that when not deferring to the original adjudication outcome, “the officer must articulate the reason for not deferring to the previous determination (for example, due to a material error, change in circumstances, or new adverse material information). Officers must provide the petitioner or applicant an opportunity to respond to the new information.”

With the updated guidance, officers can once again defer to prior eligibility determinations for extensions, including H-1B, H-4, L-1, and other nonimmigrant visa types, but does not include petitions where the initial approval is granted to allow the petitioner or beneficiary to prospectively satisfy the requirements, such as implementing a tentative or prospective business plan. For example, the deference policy would not apply to individuals entering under the L-1 new office visa because the individual must satisfy the growth requirements to qualify for an extension. Treaty investors would also not qualify as the petitioner must be actively investing a substantial amount of capital in a bona fide enterprise.

The update was made to Volume 2 of the Policy Manual. 2 USCIS-PM A.4 – Chapter 4 – Extension of Stay, Change of Status, and Extension of Petition Validity.

USCIS Announcement

USCIS is issuing policy guidance in the USCIS Policy Manual instructing officers to give deference to prior determinations when adjudicating extension requests involving the same parties and facts unless there was a material error, material change, or new material facts.

With this update, USCIS is reverting in substance to prior long-standing guidance issued in 2004, which directed officers to generally defer to prior determinations of eligibility when adjudicating extension requests involving the same parties and facts as the initial petition or application. In 2017, USCIS rescinded the 2004 guidance.

This update is in accordance with President Biden’s executive order, Restoring Faith in Our Legal Immigration Systems and Strengthening Integration and Inclusion Efforts for New Americans. The executive order directs the secretary of homeland security to identify barriers that impede access to immigration benefits and fair, efficient adjudications of these benefits. Affording deference to prior approvals involving the same parties promotes efficient and fair adjudication of immigration benefits.

For more information, see the policy guidance.

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Interviews Canceled at Indian Consular Posts

Interviews have been canceled for the coming weeks in New Delhi and Chennai due to the worsening COVID-19 conditions. The announcement was initially limited to the U.S. Embassy in New Delhi, with a note that U.S. Consulates in Chennai, Hyderabad, and Kolkata would continue to offer limited visa services, but could cancel appointments as conditions required. 

  • The U.S. Embassy New Delhi canceled in-person and interview waiver (drop box) appointments from April 26 to May 9, but stated they would make “every attempt to honor scheduled emergency appointments.”
  • The New Delhi VAC can honor emergency biometrics appointments only.
  • Emergency services will continue for U.S. citizens.

Earlier today, the U.S. Consulate Chennai also announced cancellations.

  • All routine nonimmigrant interviews, interview waiver appointments, and routine American Citizen Services appointments are canceled from April 26 to May 15, 2021.
  • Emergency appointments will only continue as local conditions will allow.
  • The Chennai VAC is open for emergency biometrics appointments only.

We will keep you posted on any additional developments.

The Centers for Disease Control and the U.S. Department of State have increased travel advisories for India. Read our recent post: CDC Advises Travelers to Avoid Travel to India.

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Join us on Wednesdays for a live webinar at 12 PM ET on critical immigration updates

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DOS Q & A on May Visa Bulletin

 

This month’s chat with Charlie provided some valuable insight on how the Visa Bulletin will advance throughout the rest of the year. First, we’ll provide the quick highlights, followed by the comprehensive notes on the Q & A session.

Family Highlights

  • No retrogression expected for the family dates this year.
  • There will likely not be much forward movement with the possible exception of the fourth preference category and Philippine family dates.
  • Expect the worldwide and India fourth preference dates to advance in June.
  • Filing Dates are typically 8-12 months out from where Final Actions are expected to be.
  • However, 95% of the family-sponsored numerical limit is processed overseas, which is affected by COVID-19 protocols and conditions.

Employment Highlights

  • Expect aggressive movement of the June employment dates, with the exception of EB-5 China.
  • No retrogression expected for India EB-2 or EB-3.
  • There could be a slow down to the movement in July for EB-3 India.
  • The large number of downgrades in October could impact the movement of the India third preference date.
  • EB-2 for China is expected to advance rapidly, possibly into the summer of 2017.
  • USCIS processed over 95% of the 2020 employment annual limit, despite COVID-19 limitations.
  • This year’s limit is 68% higher than last year’s.
  • There could be tens of thousands of unused numbers.
  • India’s EB-2 number use already exceeds the per-country limit due to spillover from other categories.
  • Expect at least 10,000 numbers that would fall to the first preference category.
  • Since EB-1 is current for all countries, those numbers could then fall down to EB-2, leading to more aggressive movement on the China and India second preference dates.

Diversity Visa Highlights

  • All countries will be current for DV processing in July.
  • Egypt, Nepal, and Iran will be current effective for the month of July.
  • Regional DV ranked cutoffs will be current based on the amount of documentarily-qualified demand.

To view the current and upcoming Visa Bulletins, you can visit these links:

Q & A with Charlie Oppenheim

Please note: Questions and answers have been paraphrased in some cases and should not be interpreted as verbatim quotes.

Charlie Oppenheim has been with the State Department since 1978 and has been the Chief of the Immigrant Visa Control and Reporting division in the Office of Domestic Operations since 1998. The division’s main responsibility is the administration of the annual numerical limitations on immigrants, subdivided by preference category and country as provided by the Immigration and Nationality Act. This division then publishes the Visa Bulletin which summarizes the availability of visa numbers for the coming month, as well as providing other visa-related information.

Q: You have previously mentioned that the FY 2021 employment annual limit is approximately 262,000. Do you expect that all of the numbers will be used?

A:  I’d like to start off by mentioning the fact that the USCIS offices processed over 95% of the 2020 employment annual limit under extremely difficult conditions because of the COVID-19 issues, which shows that they are dedicated to maximizing number use This year’s annual limit is approximately 68% higher than last year’s. Most overseas and domestic operations were already working at peak capacity and the COVID-related issues remain. That’s very important to everyone to remember. Therefore we believe it would be somewhat unrealistic not to expect that there could be tens of thousands of unused numbers despite everyone’s best efforts this year.

Q: When do you expect that the DV ranked cutoff for Egypt might become current?

A: For the month of June, all of the regional DV ranked cutoffs have become current, based on the amount of documentarily qualified demand, which has already been reported to my office through the Kentucky Consular Center. I expect that such status will remain throughout the year and that all countries will be current for DV processing, effective for July. Again, people must be documentarily qualified and reported to my office.

Q: If it were assumed that there will be otherwise unused numbers which can be made available for use in the employment second preference category, why isn’t the India EB-2 date moving at a faster pace?

 A: Although we do expect additional otherwise unused numbers under the annual limit to become available, I must not be too aggressive at this point in terms of providing numbers to the Indian employment second preference category while there is a potential need for those numbers by rest of world applicants. I will continue to move the India EB-2 date aggressively for June and July, but again I want to make sure that we do have plenty of numbers for all other countries under their per-country limits.

Q: Do you expect that the worldwide family preference dates will continue to advance through September?

A: With the possible exception of the family fourth preference and the Philippine family dates, I do not expect any forward movement, and any that occurs through August would be minimal. Based on information that I’ve recently received, we do expect to advance the worldwide and India fourth preference dates to move for the month of June.

Q: Why does USCIS only allow the dates that are listed in the application Filing Dates chart to be used for such a short time each year?

A: This is a question best posed to USCIS, but from my discussions with them, when USCIS is making a determination on whether to allow those dates to be used for filing, they take into consideration issues such as the annual limits, the amount of numbers that have already been used, the amount of cases that have been filed and that are pending action, therefore if they believe that the resulting totals are sufficient to use all available numbers under the annual limits, they may decide that chart B,application filing dates, may no longer be used for filings. I would suggest that everyone monitor the USCIS website very carefully in the coming months to see if the application date use has any type of change. In the Visa Bulletin, we do have the information with a direct link to that site. The Visa Bulletin can be found on Travel.State.Gov

Q: Will Indians get a majority of the employment visa numbers?

A: The INA Immigration and National Act imposes a 7% per-country limit, to avoid any single country from being able to monopolize the vast majority of in the various preference categories, but it is important to remember that for the employment visa categories, §202(a)5 of the INA states that if the total demand of numbers is insufficient to be used in a particular employment category, then those numbers can be made available strictly in priority date order without regard to any normal annual limits. Therefore at this time, for example, in the employment- second preference number, India number use does exceed their per-country limit and will continue to for the year.

Q: If I have submitted all of the required documentation, why hasn’t my case been scheduled for an interview?

A: As I mentioned earlier, as with the case with the operations at USCIS offices in the U.S., the COVID-19-related issues have severely affected our ability at the overseas posts to process cases as they normally would. Therefore the scheduling of cases is largely dependent upon the conditions of each particular post and safety is a primary concern. Individuals should check the travel.state.gov website that has links to all of the U.S. embassies and consulates websites, where you may be able to find information on the particular post that is handling your case and its operational status.

Q: Do you expect that the September Final Action Dates will have surpassed the Application Filing Dates that were listed in the October Visa Bulletin?

 A: With the exception of the China employment fifth Application Filing Date and the India employment third preference date, which was subsequently retrogressed, the answer is yes. By September they will have been exceeded. Many have already been surpassed by the May Final Action Dates dates. It is important to note that the Application Filing Dates which were listed in the October 2020 Visa Bulletin are those where it was expected that the Final Action Dates would be in September. Some of those dates have advanced throughout the year and will advance as we move forward through the summer.

Q:  What are the chances that the June 2017 priority date would move in this fiscal year? Are the dates going to move?

A: With the exception of the family fourth preference category on a worldwide basis and India, there will be only limited movement of the Final Action Dates, except for Philippine family dates, which are expected to move forward. With the exception of the family fourth preference category, the amount of documentarily qualified, which we already have within the established May dates exceeds all of the family preference annual limits and that’s why future movements are likely to be limited. On the employment side, there will be very aggressive movement of the June employment dates, with the exception of China employment fifth preference, although China employment fifth preference can be expected to advance for the month of June.

Q: What are the chances of Final Action Dates reaching what is in the Filing Dates chart by the end of September?

A: If you look back at the application filing dates that were listed in the October 2020 Visa Bulletin, those application dates should be reached by September. Most of them have already been reached or far exceeded. The dates that are listed as application filing dates, any that have changed since October are those that I feel that the Final Action Dates will be in 8-12 months from the time the change was made. If I made a change in the May bulletin, we can expect that application Filing Date to have been reached by Final Action Date 8-12 months in the future.

Q: Do you expect any of the employment-based Final Action Dates for India to retrogress for EB-2/EB-3?

 A: No, the answer is a definite no. The Final Action Dates that are in place at this time will be the minimum going through the month of September. Again, I do believe that all of the dates in the employment categories will continue to move forward through the remainder of the year.

Q: When will Nepal be current?

A: Nepal’s diversity visa rank cutoff category for the month of July, will be current. Currently, all of the DV regional rank cutoffs were current for the month of June. We will be making the remaining the remaining rank cutoffs for Egypt, Nepal, and Iran; applicants will also be current effective for the month of July. This is being done in an effort to be able to maximize diversity visa number use by those applicants who have acted in a very timely manner, submitted all of the required documentation to the Kentucky Consular Center.

Q: Do you expect people born in Hong Kong to be put in the same backlog in the future as mainland  Chinese under Trump’s executive order last July?

 A: I can’t comment on that specific issue, but at this time, for the family and employment-based categories, Hong Kong remains treated as an independent country, as they have been. For the diversity visa program, please refer to the announcement for the DV 2022 registration period for specific information on how the foreign state status for Hong Kong would be applied for that program. For family-sponsored in the numerically-controlled categories and employment-based applicants, Hong Kong remains as it has been for the past several decades.

Q: How many visas will spill over from EB-4/EB-5 to EB-1/EB-2?

A: It is likely that the employment fourth preference limit will have an excellent chance of being reached this year. Any unused numbers would fall up to the employment first, as would any employment fifth preference numbers. I do at this point think that the combination of the two, expect there will be at least 10,000 numbers that would fall up to the employment first preference category.   The employment first preference category is current for all countries now, meaning there are enough numbers for everybody., so if we do not have sufficient demand to use the first preference limit, those unused first preference numbers will then fall down to employment second preference and can be used in that category. That has already started to happen and is part of the reason we have started to make aggressive movement on the China and India second preference dates.

Q: How do you determine how much the dates move for China versus India in EB-2 and EB-3?

A: As I mentioned section §202(a)5 indicates if there will be otherwise unused numbers under the annual limit, those numbers are made available strictly in priority date order. Right now the employment second preference Final Action Date for the month of May for applicants from China is December 1, 2016. The India second preference Final Action Date is August 1, 2010. Therefore, it is safe to say that any unused employment second preference numbers that are otherwise unused will go to the India second preference category.

Q: When do you think family preference priority dates come close to their filing dates?

A: Filing dates are typically 8-12 months out from where I believe the Final Action Dates will be. Because of COVID-19 issues impacting processing overseas, the family dates are not moving as fast as one might normally expect so it may take longer for some of the established family application dates to be reached. It’s important to remember that approximately 95% of the family-sponsored numerical limit is processed overseas, and approximately 85-95% of the employment-based numbers are used for adjustment of status cases by applicants who are already here in the United States You can gauge how things are happening around the world and gauge how processing is affected.

Q: So many people have been downgraded from EB-2 to EB-3 for India. Will the dates still move till January 2014?

A: That is a very good question. The amount of downgrades for second preference applicants who have essentially changed their minds and refiled under the third, to take advantage of the third preference date, will potentially impact the movement of the India employment third preference date. At this time, it is too early to tell. When we did retrogress the India third preference Application Filing Date, that was done in consultation with the USCIS headquarters and the establishment of that 2014 India date was the projected goal for September. Every effort will be made to get it to that point, and the goal is to maximize number use under the annual limits.

Q: Conservatively, how far do you believe EB-2 for China will advance in FY2021? Will you advance EB-2 China priority dates rapidly in the next couple of months.

 A: Yes, the China employment second preference date will be advanced rapidly in the coming months. It will get easily into calendar year 2017. At this moment, if I had to make a guess I would say that it will get to at least the summer of 2017.

Q: What purpose was served by making visa numbers available for over 100,000 DV 2021 selectees, when until now consulates have only issued 20 diversity visas?

A: When we have the registration period for each year’s diversity visa program, we always select enough applicants to help ensure that we can maximize number use under the annual limits. It is important to note that a lot of the people who apply for the diversity visa program, they do not follow through with the registration, even if they are selected, for whatever reason. Sometimes applicants will be refused upon their interview or may not proceed. When we had the DV 2021 registration period and made the selection of applicants, the registration period was pre-pandemic, and the selection was made last spring, but we have to proceed under the assumption that normal processing could return at some point. That allows us to potentially maximize number use under the various annual limits. If we had not registered applicants and miraculously this COVID had suddenly gone away, then we would have been in a situation where we did not have applicants for the numbers that could have been used. It is also important to remember that all of the diversity information on the registration clearly indicates that selection to participate in the program does not guarantee visa availability.

Q: The dates for EB-3 India category have been moved by five months for the May Visa Bulletin. Do you expect similar movement for the June and July bulletins?

A: Yes, I do expect that India third preference Final Action Date will once again be moved aggressively for the month of June. I think all of the June dates will be moved very aggressively, at least at the rate that we moved them for the month of May, potentially at a greater rate. Then it is possible that in July, we may slow down the movement to some extent. At this point, I think that is unlikely though.

Q: How many visa numbers have been used up until now for the EB-2 category for the FY 2021?

A: We do not provide specific number use during the course of the year. I can tell you that every effort is being made to maximize number use in all of the visa categories. USCIS offices are doing a phenomenal job of processing cases they have available to them.

Q: When will I-765V and U visa application dates move? What is the timeline for the U visa movement?

A: The U visa is not covered by the Visa Bulletin.

Q: What do you mean by the ‘documentarily qualified’ with respect to employment-based I-485 applications? At what stage of I-485 application processing, would it become documentarily eligible?

A: For a case to be ‘documentarily qualified,’ all of the required documents must have been submitted and reviewed and been determined that they meet the required criteria: any security type of background checks, medicals, everything required for the processing of the case has to be ready for the person to be considered documentarily qualified. The medical is often the last item. It is not in the documentarily-qualified package, but it is assumed that if somebody submits all of the other required documentation, that they will proceed with the medical and have that at the time of their final interview. Only the amount of applicants that have been reported to our office as being documentarily qualified at the time of the upcoming month’s determination of the Final Action Dates and rank cut offs for DV, those are the only applicants considered for processing for that month.

Q: You previously mentioned that case processing will skyrocket, however, online stats are showing that the number of EB green card processing is still very slow. Do you know why? Are you still optimistic?

A: I am still optimistic that USCIS will maximize number use to the extent of their processing capacity. It is important to remember that there was an extremely large amount of filings in the month of October. Those filings and all subsequent filings must work their way through the process before they reach the final interview status, which would result in the use of a number.  Every effort is being made under the difficult conditions and staffing restraints to maximize number use. Given the fact that the 2021 employment limit is approximately 68% higher than usual, it is unrealistic to expect all of these numbers to be used.

Q: Why have we not received the May interview dates? When will May interviews begin and when will consular posts be at full capacity?

A: Most of the overseas appointments are scheduled for the family and employment categories are scheduled by the National Visa Centers. They must work through the cases once we have made the determination of the May dates and provided that to our National Visa Center. Only then can they begin to review the cases to determine which are eligible for scheduling the visa interview and then they must also work with the various posts to see what their processing capacity may be. That scheduling on the National Visa Center’s part has become much more difficult during this COVID-19 times when there is limited post processing capacity. On the travel.state.gov website, there is information on the types of visas that are being processed based on post capacities.

Q: Why is it so hard to release the bulletin the same day every month?

 A: Our attempt is to make the determination of each upcoming month’s Final Action Dates in the bulletin, on or about the 8th of the month, depending on how that date might fall in relation to a holiday or weekend. Once we have made the determination of the dates and prepared the Visa Bulletin, and another item, which is a cable to our overseas posts announcing not only the Final Action Dates but also other visa-related information. That information has to be cleared by a number of individuals which have extremely busy schedules with other items depending on the workload, it can take some time for the entire clearance process to be completed. Every attempt is always made to get the clearance out as fast as possible and the Visa Bulletin posted quickly. In recent months, the bulletin has been coming out earlier than it had been.

Q: What happens to last year’s FB 122,000 visas that are unused in the EB category due to processing delays?

A: The FY 2020 122,000 approximately unused family numbers were added to this year’s employment limit, resulting in an approximately 262,000 annual limit. If for some reason, all 262,00numbers are not used this year, then those numbers would fall back across for potential use during the determination of the FY2022 family-sponsored annual limit. Based on past experience, we do not believe that the unused fiscal 2021 employment numbers will make any difference in the annual limit for family going into 2022 and that the normal 226,000 would be applied.

Q: Do you expect any retrogression in the DV Visa Bulletin, if the documents processed by Kentucky Consular Center progress enough?

 A: We do not believe that will be the case at this time , based on the applicant response rate to date, which has been very low in most cases compared to previous years.  There is always a chance for a corrective action of some type, retrogression of a date or making a category unavailable if subsequent events make that necessary. At this point, we do not have any reason to believe there will be a need to reimpose any kind of rank cutoffs for the DV 2021 program.

Q: With interviews of family-based not happening at the posts, would family-based F3 retrogress?

A: No, none of the family dates will retrogress this fiscal year.

Q: Do we have any guidance from USCIS on how fast they are processing EB green cards given that there is a surplus of them in this fiscal year?

 A: The information that I have from USCIS offices is that they are aggressively processing all available cases. In terms of their processing issues, you can find that information on USCIS websites. They list information on processing times, etc.

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Join us on Wednesdays for a live webinar at 12 PM ET on critical immigration updates

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Visa Bulletin Q & A with Charles Oppenheim

Charles Oppenheim is the Chief of the Immigrant Visa Control and Reporting Division, the Department of State division responsible for assembling and publishing the Visa Bulletin, as well as other visa-related information. He recently began sharing his monthly updates on the travel.gov YouTube Channel. Questions for Charles Oppenheim can be emailed to VisaBulletin@state.gov ahead of the event with “Chat with Charlie Question” in the subject line. This event is intended to address issues of general interest related to the content of the Visa Bulletin.

If you have any questions about this month’s visa bulletin, or about any other immigration-related questions, you can submit them to Attorney Lakshmi Challa’s weekly Wednesday Webinar, and she will answer them during a live Q&A session or email us at info@challalaw.com.

To view the current and upcoming Visa Bulletins, you can visit these links:

Q & A with Charlie Oppenheim

Please note: Questions and answers have been paraphrased and should not be interpreted as verbatim quotes.

Q: Do you have any general comments on the bulletin?

  • A: Remember that the Visa Bulletin is always published based on contemporary information and sometimes it must be adjusted as new information is reported.

Q: What factors are involved in determining the Final Action Dates? How does processing capacity influence the advancement of the dates?

  • A: I look at the annual limit as a household budget. You get your salary and have to divide up income accordingly. I look at the annual limits for each individual preference category, as well as foreign states, and budget an appropriate number of visas each month. How many remain? What is the annual limit? How many have been used? How many may be needed for emergency cases? What are the future expectations for our needs? How many unused numbers may come back from overseas posts? It’s confusing, it’s a lot of numbers, and there are a lot of other variables at play.

Q: By law, any unused family-sponsored preference numbers from the previous fiscal year are added to the next year’s employment-based annual limit, and vice versa. For the fiscal year 2021, the family-based limit is 226,000, and the employment limit is a record-high 262,000. With the COVID-19 crisis still impacting the processing of numerically controlled immigrant visas, do you have any idea what the 2022 annual limits might be?

  • A: Yes, COVID issues are impacting numbers particularly in our overseas posts. I am not anticipating a lot of family-based numbers to be used this year. I believe that the limits for 2022, based on current INA guidelines, I expect the family annual limit to be at least 226,000, and the employment limit to be at least 275,000. These projections will be updated as the year goes on, because any unused family numbers will of course be added to the employment-based side.

Q: Movement of the dates in the family-sponsored preference categories has been modest, with the exception of F2A, which has remained current. What do you expect will happen with these categories in the coming months?

  • A: Common question. When the dates are moved during fiscal year 2020, enough pending demand was built up to utilize all available numbers for the first quarter of FY 2021. Moving into the second quarter, additional demand needed to be generated, which is why we have seen limited movement in the family sponsored categories. Based on April date movement it is likely that there will be enough numbers for the remainder of the year.

Q: Why have the final action dates for the family fourth preference category moved so slowly in the past two years?

  • A: Several years ago, we had little demand for the family fourth preference category. Letters are sent out based on filing dates and once applicants are documentarily qualified, those numbers are reported to me for the updating of the dates. Unfortunately. the National Visa Center was not seeing timely responses, so the date had to be advanced very rapidly in order to maximize the number use under the limit. Suddenly, about 15 months ago, the fourth preference applicants suddenly began to respond in a more timely manner, which has resulted in a slowdown in the advancement of this category.

Q: Although the family-sponsored family limit is 226,000, often actual number use is much less. Why are not all numbers being used each year?

  • A: Sometimes demand is insufficient to use all numbers (such as family 2A category). Because we haven’t processed many cases since March of last year, demand has not been reached. The primary reason the limits in family 2A have not been reached is because of lack of demand. Important to remember that these numbers are based on speculation regarding many different variables, including return rates, monthly usage estimates, etc.

Q: What is the difference between the dates listed in the final action date chart, and those listed in the app filing date chart?

  • A: The Final Action Dates represent those dates that will govern the processing of the final interviews during that month. The filing date chart is based on when the National Visa Center will contact applicants to instruct them to begin gathering documents. Those dates are where Final Action Dates will be in 8-12 months. Establishing them allows for demand reporting to proceed and get less volatile movement for Final Action Dates. On the employment side, which are mostly AOS dates, I coordinate with immigration services based on information provided based on the number of pending petitions and what they have seen.

Q: Do you have any projections for the movement of the diversity visa cutoff dates in the coming months?

  • A: They will continue to advance and I expect all regional dates to be current no later than June

Q: What has number use in the employment-based categories been like in the recent months? Have they increased? What are your expectations for the coming months?

  • A: There are a lot of new petitions and new filings from October and November. There has been a large increase in number usage in recent weeks. I expect number use totals to skyrocket compared to the first quarter usage.

Q: For, China and India, the employment first preference category became current in April. Do you expect that to change in the coming months?

  • A: No, I believe this will remain current throughout the remainder of the year, barring any extraordinary spikes in demand. Unused first preference numbers will be reallocated to the second preference category.

Q: Has USCIS shared the number of India employment second and third preference applicants that are pending? How much do you expect those Final Action Dates to advance in the coming fiscal year?

  • A: There are monthly meetings where information is shared. I think the minimum movement will be in chart B by the end of the fiscal year. I think dates will start accelerating as they have in the past few months.

Q: The employment fourth preference category Final Action Dates for El Salvador, Guatemala, and Mexico have been advancing steadily since late summer. Do you expect this trend to continue?

  • A: I expect this to continue. There is not as much demand as expected, so these dates are being continually advanced to maximize number use and get as close to limits as possible.

Q: The Final Action Date for the China employment fifth preference category has not changed since October, and the Vietnam preference date has remained slow but steady. Do you see any change in this pattern? How many documentarily qualified applicants are there for China and Vietnam?

  • A: I do not expect the fifth preference date for these countries to advance, likely for the entire fiscal year. Ballpark, we have over 9,000 China employment fifth preference applicants who are ready to go, but we are not able to act on them at this point. With Vietnam that date will continue to advance at a steady pace and there are hundreds of applicants ready to go.

Q: Given the windfall for employment-based visa numbers this year, what efforts are being employed to utilize these numbers?

  • A: Employment Final Action Dates are advancing rapidly, China and India have become current, so that numbers can fall to second preference as early as possible for the expedition of the second preference numbers. I expect to do that in the coming months. I can’t comment on what may be possible in terms of processing in the coming year, but USCIS is doing a great job processing the cases they have now. The rapid movement of the dates could require corrective action later in the year if demand starts to spike in certain categories.

Q: How many employment visas might be unutilized for FY2021 based on COVID-based delays?

  • A: It is not possible to comment on that at this time, but I will say last year, when similar constraints were underway, over 95% of the numbers available were used. Hopefully this pattern will repeat this year and number use will be maximized.

Q: What kind of movement can viewers expect with upcoming visa bulletins in employment categories for EB-2 and EB-3

  • A: For China and India I would expect aggressive movement as much as or more than March and April.

Q: Could visa spillover or waste in family-based categories be reduced for those in the country with granted LPR status?

  • A: Not really, we already use 85-90% of employment numbers, and overseas, 95-96% of numbers are used.

Q: Why can’t the fiscal year for the diversity visa be frozen?

  • A: In terms of the INA, there are certain rules about how certain numbers are used and the limits are based on fiscal year. COVID has impacted processing in FY2020 and has so far this year. It’s a totally unprecedented issue that was not foreseen when the INA was written, which makes this a learn-as-we-go situation. Immigrant visas are normally issuing with a 6-month validity. A visa in October has a 6-month validity, that could potentially be renewed if there are restrictions preventing travel. More info at travel.state.gov. As backlogs are worked through, 2021 applicants should wait to be contacted by their consulate

Q: Any guidance on the advancement of family-based F3s for the year?

  • A: Although there may be some minimal movement, movement of most of the family-based categories for the rest of the year will probably hold for the rest of the summer

Q: How many employment-based numbers do you expect will be available next year?

  • A: Probably at least 275,000 based on current INA guidelines. That total is subject to expansion based on the usage of family numbers.

Q: Tell us about the department’s relationship with USCIS – general comments.

  • A: It’s a good relationship. We have a monthly meeting where lots of important people discuss visa availability, what is to come, and there are general meetings with USCIS offices to coordinate in order to maximize number use. Information is generally easy to acquire and communication is good and goes both ways.

Q: If the consulate in Guangzhou is still closed, is there any possibility for Filing Dates for Chinese employment fifth preference to move forward for applicants in the US?

  • A: No, there is no basis to move a date just for the date of movement. This consulate processes most Chinese employment-based visas, so while the consulate remains closed, there is no reason to advance the date.

Q: If it were decided to reuse roughly 200,000 unused visas from the past few decades, how long would it take to use these visas?

  • A: That would require legislative action. The last time this happened was in 2005. All of our overseas posts are already working at capacity. Providing 200,000 extra numbers to the limit does not mean they’re going to be used in a given year unless they were accompanied by staffing increases.

Q: Why is EB-2 in India moving slower than EB-3?

  • A: There are fewer applicants in the third preference category who are ready to be processed immediately so that date is being moved more quickly to increase demand and to process more people who are ready to be fully adjudicated. This is also happening in China. There was a dramatic movement in India second preference for April and I think this will happen again in May.

Q: What is the reason for the fast pace of the EB-4 movement over the past year? Is a similar movement expected for this year?

  • A: EB-4 is moving quickly for El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras because for those categories the number use has already reached a per-country limit. Movement for those dates is based on otherwise unused numbers for other countries where we can see the worldwide demand will not be met, so we reallocated those numbers to those countries, which is why the date moves quickly.

Q: I heard that 275,000 EB visas in FY2021 are being allocated. How is that number allocated. I’d like a clearer picture of unused family visas.

  • A: Last year there were approximately 122,000 unused family numbers. Employment for a given year is a minimum of 145,000. I added 122,000 to 145,000 to get the 262,000 limit for this year. I believe there will be at least that many unused numbers this year, maybe more, which is why I am estimating a 275,000 limit for next year.

Q: What does it mean to be pre-adjudicated with respect to pending EB cases? How many such cases exist? Why can’t they be immediately approved?

  • A: Applicants for AOS can file with USCIS. Based on what USCIS publishes, they can use published Filing Dates to begin their petition. They can be pre-adjudicated based on that, but they have to wait until Final Action Dates have advanced beyond the priority date for their cases to be finalized.

Q: Is there an update on f4 family priority dates?

  • A: Family Final Action Dates are moving slowly, they may move slowly for May, but are likely to hold for a number of months. They are being moved in an effort to have enough demand to meet the limits of post-reopening case processing.

Q: Can you share approximate EB2/EB3 horizontal and vertical spillover for FY2021?

  • A: What happens is there is an annual limit. Say the employment second preference category limit is 70,000. The Chinese and Indian limits might be (for example) 5,000. Once those countries are subtracted from the 70,000 limit there would be 60,000 remaining. We must estimate how many of those will be used. If we estimate that 40,000 of those numbers will be used, we can reallocate them in strict priority date order to China and India. Those 20,000 extra numbers would go to the 20,000 earliest applicants. Likely in this hypothetical circumstance, it would be mostly Indian applicants who would get to use those numbers first. It would be on a priority date order without regard to the foreign state.

Attorney Challa discussed the Visa Bulletin predictions, along with other factors for processing speeds in a recent webinar: Pursuing Permanent Residence? Strategies for Pending and Future ApplicantsSubscribe to our YouTube channel to be notified of the latest updates!

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CDC Advises Travelers to Avoid Travel to India

CDC Advises Travelers to Avoid Travel to India, UK Issues India Travel Ban, & U.S. State Department to Expand “Do Not Travel” Guidance

 

On Monday, April 19, 2021, the United States Centers for Disease Control (CDC) released a new travel advisory advising citizens to avoid all travel to India. The update comes as the Department of State announced that it would revise travel advisories to more closely align with guidelines from the CDC. According to the CDC, the new variants of the COVID-19 virus that have been discovered in India merits increased restrictions on travel to and from India. The U.S. State Department stated on Monday that it will boost “Do Not Travel” guidance to almost 80% of countries worldwide due to the “unprecedented risk to travelers.” On Monday, India’s travel advisory was set to Level 2: Exercise Increased Caution, but on Wednesday, the Department of State upgraded the travel advisory to Level 4: Do not travel.

The United Kingdom will add India to the country’s travel ban “red list” starting Friday, April 23 as India reports over 200,000 new COVID-19 cases per day in the last week. Anyone who has been in one of the red list countries is banned from traveling to England. UK citizens and residents are exempted from the total ban but still must isolate at select hotels for 10 days. This comes as England’s health secretary estimated 103 cases of the Indian variant and Ireland reported three cases of the variant. The head of Ireland’s national virus laboratory called it a “variant of interest.”

India Variant: “Double Mutation” 

According to the CDC, the COVID-19 variants that are spreading widely within India and elsewhere can have many potential consequences for travelers, including:

  • Ability to spread more quickly
  • Ability to cause more severe disease
  • Decreased susceptibility to common treatments such as monoclonal antibodies
  • Ability to evade natural or vaccine-induced immunity

The CDC cites the COVID-19 level at the highest level: Level 4, or Very High. The CDC also advises travelers to avoid all travel to India. Even fully vaccinated travelers may still be at risk for contracting and transmitting these new variants and should remain vigilant. For essential travel, the CDC advises that travelers be fully vaccinated and should also maintain COVID-19 safety protocols, such as always wearing a mask, avoiding crowds, washing their hands, and keeping a minimum six-foot distance from others.

At the end of March, the Indian health ministry acknowledged that a “double mutant” variant had been identified. The new variant has been minimized in official reports thus far, with the Press Information Bureau stating that the double mutation has been found in “Australia, Belgium, Germany, Ireland, Namibia, New Zealand, Singapore, United Kingdom, USA,” and that “Higher transmissibility of this variant is not established as yet.” 

Forbes reported that Israeli health officials have attested that the Pfizer vaccine is “at least partially effective against the potentially worrisome Indian variant of the coronavirus which has been rapidly spreading in India’s worst-hit Covid-19 hotspots and is being viewed as the likely culprit behind the country’s devastating second wave.” The double mutant variant is reportedly responsible for almost 60% of all positive cases in Maharashtra, India.

United States Travel Bans

While President Biden has let visa-specific bans expire, his administration has extended and further expanded geographical bans on travel due to the COVID-19 pandemic, including restrictions on travel from Europe, China, Brazil, Iran, and South Africa. While the State Department and CDC announcements on increased travel advisories are not binding restrictions, these notices could be indicative of additional restrictions to come on travel from areas with high rates of COVID-19 cases and variants. 

When planning travel, you should also consider that:

  • Embassies and consulates are operating on a limited basis, with some locations only providing services to U.S. citizens.
  • Visa appointments can be canceled with little notice due to COVID-19 conditions in the area.
  • Flights may be canceled if travel restrictions are implemented (whether in your destination country, the United States, or other locations for flight connections).
  • Plan for delays in obtaining visa appointments and avoid all non-essential travel if possible.

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Maintaining Your Permanent Residence Throughout Pandemic Travel Restrictions

Maintaining Your Permanent Residence Throughout Pandemic Travel Restrictions

The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in changing travel restrictions across the globe. Permanent residents considering travel abroad should consider delaying travel except in the most urgent circumstances. If you do have to travel, or have found yourself stuck abroad after traveling, you should keep the below considerations in mind as you plan your return to the U.S.

You Must Maintain a Permanent U.S. Home or Risk Losing Your Status

 

Absence from the United States of less than 180 days = no presumption of abandonment of permanent residence. Absence from the United States of more than 180 days, but less than one year = there is a rebuttable presumption that you may have abandoned permanent residence (meaning the government presumes you have abandoned your residence and the burden is on you to prove otherwise). Absence from the United States of more than one year = automatic loss of LPR status unless appropriate steps were taken prior to departure to preserve status.

 

Preserve LPR Status by Applying for a Reentry Permit

If you know or believe you will be outside the United States for more than a year, you should apply for a reentry permit with USCIS BEFORE you leave. Your immigration attorney can help you with this. You will need to be physically present in the United States when the application is filed. You will also need to be in the United States for biometrics processing, which is usually scheduled anywhere from several weeks to several months after USCIS receives the application, so plan ahead as much as possible.

What if you did not obtain a reentry permit before leaving and remain outside the United States for more than one year?

USCIS has not announced any policy exception regarding this issue. LPRs who have stayed outside of the United States for more than one year, or longer than the validity of their reentry permits, are generally considered to have abandoned their LPR status.

If your situation falls within either of these scenarios and you wish to return to the United States, you will need to obtain an SB-1 Returning Resident visa before traveling to the United States from the U.S. embassy or consulate in the country where you are residing.

Challa Law Group has successfully obtained multiple SB-1 Returning Resident visas for our clients who were delayed abroad due to COVID-19. Please contact us at info@challalaw.com to see if you may be eligible to apply for an SB-1 Returning Resident visa after an absence of over one year from the U.S.

If You Are Unable to Return to the United States Within One Year Due to Pandemic-Related Travel Restrictions, You Should Be Prepared to Provide Evidence of the Following:

  • Timely attempts to travel back to the United States, such as canceled airline travel documents and emails or other correspondence documenting your intent to return to the United States and your inability to travel.
    • If you do not have any of these, be prepared to provide evidence establishing why you could not travel (such as evidence of local lockdowns or government-mandated travel restrictions)
  • Continued ties to the United States, such as continued payment of any mortgages or rent as well as any associated housing costs. Also, be prepared to document your temporary housing arrangement (i.e. that you own no property) in the foreign country.
  • Evidence that you maintained an employment relationship in the United States, such as an employer letter showing you had a leave of absence or you will be rehired upon your return to the United States. Also, provide evidence that you did not work in the foreign country, except possibly for your U.S. employer.
  • If applicable, evidence of illness, either of yourself or a family member, that kept you from traveling.
  • If applicable, evidence that other family members stayed behind in the United States while you were abroad and unable to return.
  • Financial evidence of continued U.S. ties, such as U.S. tax returns, banking records, etc

Seeking U.S. Citizenship After Lengthy Travel

To apply for naturalization, an LPR must have been physically present in the United States for at least half of the required period of continuous residence (i.e., 30 months or 18 months depending on the basis for applying), and must have lived for three (3) months in the state or USCIS district of residence.

The effect of absences of over one year due to the pandemic has not yet been determined by USCIS, but at this time, your naturalization may need to be put on hold if you have a lengthy absence that could affect eligibility. Consult your immigration attorney for possible USCIS policy exceptions due to the large number of LPRs who were unable to return to the United States due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Other Travel Restrictions to Remember

Immigrant and Nonimmigrant Visa Bans Lifted

If you are awaiting entry of a family member, President Biden issued an executive order on February 24, 2021, lifting the immigrant visa ban (Presidential Proclamation 10014), thus allowing family members of U.S. citizens and green card holders to obtain immigrant visas and join their families in the United States. Moreover, on March 31, 2021, the nonimmigrant visa ban (Presidential Proclamation 10052) restricting the entry of temporary workers into the United States was also lifted.

Travel to Other Countries

If you are contemplating other international travel, you should confirm admission requirements and procedures as most countries have implemented travel restrictions for entry, in the form of either: a) Mandatory quarantines; b) Enhanced health screening upon arrival or return; c) Prohibitions on travel for all non-citizens of those countries; and d) Temporary closure of consulates.

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USCIS to Allow F-1 Students to File I-765 Online to Request OPT

USCIS announced that it would now accept the online version of Form I-765 from certain F-1 students applying for pre or post-completion OPT or STEM OPT extensions. This may provide some relief to students who have been subject to delays at USCIS lockboxes. Previously, USCIS announced flexibilities for F-1 students who had been affected by lockbox delays.

USCIS Announcement

WASHINGTON—U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services today announced that F-1 students seeking optional practical training (OPT) can now file Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization, online if they are filing under one of these categories:

  • (c)(3)(A) – Pre-Completion OPT;
  • (c)(3)(B) – Post-Completion OPT; and
  • (c)(3)(C) – 24-Month Extension of OPT for science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) students.

OPT is temporary employment that is directly related to an F-1 student’s major area of study. Eligible students can apply to receive up to 12 months of OPT employment authorization before completing their academic studies (pre-completion) and/or after completing their academic studies (post-completion). Eligible F-1 students who receive STEM degrees may apply for a 24-month extension of their post-completion OPT.

“USCIS remains committed to maximizing our online filing capabilities,” said Senior Official Performing the Duties of USCIS Director Tracy Renaud. “The I-765 online filing option allows eligible students to file forms online in a more user-friendly fashion and increases efficiencies for adjudicators.”

The option to file Form I-765 online is only available to F-1 students filing Form I-765 for OPT. If an applicant submits Form I-765 online to request employment authorization on or after April 15, but is eligible for a different employment authorization category, USCIS will deny the application and retain the fee. As USCIS continues to transition to paperless operations, the agency will work to expand online filing for Form I-765 to additional categories.

Online filing allows applicants to submit forms electronically, check the status of their case anytime from anywhere, and receive notices from USCIS online instead of waiting for them in the mail. USCIS is using innovation and technology to meet the needs of applicants, petitioners, and employees. Regardless of the paper or electronic format of an application or petition, USCIS is committed to ensuring a secure and efficient process for all.

Individuals can file 11 USCIS forms online, which can all be found on the Forms Available to File Online page. To file these forms online, individuals must first create a USCIS online account at https://myaccount.uscis.gov/. This free account allows them to:

  • Submit their forms;
  • Pay their fees;
  • Track the status of their case;
  • Communicate with USCIS through a secure inbox; and
  • Respond to Requests for Evidence.

USCIS continues to accept the latest paper version of these forms by mail.

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USCIS Eliminates Blank Space Policy

Class action litigation in late 2020 resulted in USCIS stating it would stop implementing the rejection policy for asylum applications and U visa petitions starting on December 28, 2020. USCIS confirmed on April 1, 2021, that it would no longer reject I-589, I-612, or I-918 for blank spaces. The rejections were implemented without notice, leading to capricious rejections of humanitarian benefit requests. Many individuals reported filings that were rejected for questions not relevant to their case. AILA provided the example of an individual leaving blank the question asking for an individual’s name in a native alphabet when the native alphabet was the same as English.

USCIS Update

USCIS confirmed that for all forms it has reverted to the form rejection criteria it applied before October 2019 regarding blank responses.

In 2019, USCIS changed the form rejection criteria for:

USCIS has reverted back to the rejection criteria that existed for these forms before October 2019. USCIS will no longer reject Form I-589, Form I-612 or Form I-918 if an applicant leaves a blank space.

However, applicants should be aware that we may reject these forms, or it might create delays in their case, if the applicant:

  • Leaves required spaces blank;
  • Fails to respond to questions related to filing requirements; or
  • Omits any required initial evidence.

For more information about filing requirements and required initial evidence, consult the filing instructions for each form.

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