The Department of State's Visa Bulletin for December 2022 includes a variety of updates: The estimated employment-based annual limit will be 197,000 for fiscal year (FY) 2023. Establishment of final action dates and application filing dates for China and India will be...
Topic: Immigration Updates
Title 42 Policy Blocked Effective December 21
On November 15, 2022, U.S. District Court Judge Emmet Sullivan blocked the Title 42 policy that has resulted in more than a million migrants being turned away at the southern U.S. border. The same night, the Department of Justice filed a motion to stay the order for...
President Biden Accepts Resignation of CBP Commissioner
On November 12, 2022, President Joe Biden accepted the resignation of Chris Magnus, U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner. He had initially refused to step down after Alejandro Mayorkas, Secretary of Homeland Security, reportedly told Mr. Magnus on November...
State Dept. Announces Full Resumption of Interviews for All Immigrant Visa Categories in Havana in January 2023
The Department of State (DOS) announced on November 10, 2022, that the U.S. Embassy in Havana, Cuba, will resume full immigrant visa processing beginning on January 4, 2023. The U.S. Embassy Georgetown in Guyana will continue to process Cuban immigrant visa applicants...
CIS Ombudsman Introduces Revised Form for Requesting Case Assistance
The Citizenship and Immigration Services (CIS) Ombudsman released an updated Form 7001, Request for Case Assistance. The updated form, which expires on September 30, 2025, includes embedded instructions with questions, expanded and reorganized sections, detailed...
E-Verify Issues Reminder to Employers and Program Administrators on Terminating User Accounts
E-Verify recently reminded employers and program administrators that an E-Verify user's access "must be promptly terminated upon separation from your organization." A good practice, E-Verify said, is to review and update existing users whenever staffing changes occur...
DHS Continues TPS and Related Documentation for El Salvador, Haiti, Nicaragua, Sudan, Honduras, and Nepal
To ensure its continued compliance with several court orders, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is automatically extending the validity of certain temporary protected status (TPS)-related documentation for beneficiaries under the TPS designations for El...
DHS Releases List of Countries Eligible for H-2A and H-2B Programs, Adds Eswatini
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), in consultation with the Department of State, announced the lists of countries whose nationals are eligible to participate in the H-2A and H-2B visa programs in the next year. Effective November 10, 2022, DHS added the...
Miller Mayer’s Steve Yale-Loehr Quoted re Afghan Asylum Seekers
Miller Mayer immigration attorney Steve Yale-Loehr was quoted by the Wall Street Journal in "Afghan Evacuees in Limbo While Seeking Permanent Legal Status in the U.S." He said, "While some members of the public think everyone from Afghanistan should get asylum, our...
Accrediting Agency’s Loss of Recognition May Affect Certain Foreign Students Applying for English-Language Study and 24-Month STEM OPT Extension Programs, As Well As H-1B and I-140 Applicants
A Department of Education (DOE) decision to no longer recognize the Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools (ACICS) as an accrediting agency immediately affects two immigration-related student programs, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services...
