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Immigration News Briefs

Provided by Humera Subhani

February 2018

Looking for a solution on DACA
In September, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) rescinded the program, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, and said it would stop accepting applications from people covered under the act to renew their two-year DACA permits. The administration said the repeal of DACA would take effect in March 2018.

However, a Federal Judge temporarily blocked Trump’s decision to end DACA. Partly granting a request from the University of California, U.S. District Judge William Alsup issued a preliminary injunction in San Francisco ordering DHS to resume accepting renewal applications from people who are already protected under DACA while challenges to the September order work their way through the courts. But DHS does not have to accept new applications, he ruled.

After this ruling, USCIS published these instructions for DACA applicants:
• Until further notice, USCIS has resumed accepting requests to renew a grant of deferred action under DACA. To request renewal, individuals must file Form I-821D (PDF), Form I-765 (PDF), and Form I-765 Worksheet (PDF), with the appropriate fee. USCIS is not accepting requests from individuals who have never before been granted deferred action under DACA. USCIS will not accept or approve advance parole requests from DACA recipients.
• If you previously received DACA and your DACA expired on or after Sept. 5, 2016, you may still file your DACA request as a renewal request.
• However, if your DACA expired before Sept. 5, 2016, or your DACA was previously terminated, you cannot request DACA as a renewal (since renewal requests should be submitted within one year of the expiration date of your last period of deferred action approved under DACA), but you may file a new initial DACA request per Form I-821D and Form I-765 instructions. For this type of new DACA request, list the date your prior DACA expired or was terminated on Part 1 of Form I-821D.

H1B extensions unchanged for now
The USCIS has been reported as stating that it is not considering a change to the H-1B extension rules, including its interpretation of section 104(c) of the American Competitiveness in the Twenty-First Century Act (AC21), which provides for H-1B extensions beyond the six-year limit for workers who have reached certain milestones in the green card process. USCIS noted that “such a change would not likely result in these H-1B holders having to leave the United States because employers could request extensions in one-year increments under section 106(a)-(b) of AC21 instead.” USCIS did, however, indicate that the agency is considering a number of policy and regulatory changes to carry out the President’s “Buy American, Hire American” executive order, including conducting a “thorough review” of employment-based visa programs.

APPLICATION FINAL ACTION DATES FOR February 2018

FAMILY	India	Pakistan/Bangladesh
1st	15Mar11	15Mar11
2A	01Mar16	01Mar16
2B	15Jan11	15Jan11
3rd	15Nov05	15Nov05
4th	08Jan04	22Jul04

EMPLOYMENT	India	Pakistan/Bangladesh
1st	Current	Current
2nd	08Dec08	Current
3rd	01Dec06	Current
Other	01Dec06	Current
4th	Current	Current
5th	Current	Current1B

DATES FOR FILING VISA APPLICATIONS - February 2018

FAMILY	India	Pakistan/Bangladesh
1st	01Jan12	01Jan12
2A	01Nov16	01Nov16
2B	01Sep11	01Sep11
3rd	01Dec05	01Dec05
4th	22Jun04	15Nov04

EMPLOYMENT	India	Pakistan/Bangladesh
1st	Current	Current
2nd	08Feb09	Current
3rd	01Jan08	Current
Other	01Jan08	Current
4th	Current	Current
5th	Current	Current1B