Health Care Blog

MU Law will behosting a FREE webinar for our clients and friends on Tuesday,February 7, 2023 at 2PM Eastern (1PM Central).

Join us for this FREEwebinar to learn more about:

• H-1B Cap Basics, RegistrationProcess, and Projections
• What is a Specialty Occupation?
• H-1B Dependency
• Special Issues for StaffingCompanies, Third Party Placements
• Employer-Employee relationships,end-client documentation
• Cap-gap for F-1s as well as CPT/OPTmaintenance
• Alternatives to an H-1B
• Top 10 things H-1B employers can doto stay compliant

PLEASE JOIN US!

As of January 25,2023, The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has reverted to itsoriginal practice of bundling the adjudication of  Form I-539, Application to Extend/ChangeNonimmigrant Status, and Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorizationfor H-4 and L-2 Derivatives when accompanied by the Principal Beneficiary’sproperly filed Form I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker.

As a result, adependent’s filing will be processed within the same timeframe as the PrincipalBeneficiary’s properly and concurrently filed Form I-129, regardless of whetherthe forms are filed under standard or premium processing. The policy will remainin place for at least two years. 

The welcomed changein policy is due to the settlement agreement reached by the USCIS and spousesof H-1B and L-1 Visa Holders in the Lawsuit, Edakunni v. Mayorkas. Priorto this change, spouses of H-1B and L-1 Visa holders experienced lengthyprocessing times in the adjudication of Form I-539, Application toExtend/Change Nonimmigrant Status and Form I-765, Application for EmploymentAuthorization due to the “decoupling” of these forms from the Principal’s H-1Bor L-1 application. These lengthy processing times often led to delays in obtainingproper status and employment authorization documents. 

The USCIS isexpected to make an announcement addressing the settlement agreement soon. Ouroffice will be monitoring any further developments and provide updates.

U.S. Citizenship and ImmigrationServices (USCIS) announced the registration period for FY 2024 H-1B Cap willopen on Wednesday, March 1, 2023, at noon Eastern and will end on Friday, March17, 2023, at noon Eastern. USCIS intends to notify selected registrants byMarch 31, 2023.

During the registration window, employersmust register prospective H-1B beneficiaries online for the beneficiaries to beconsidered in the selection process. Registration requires minimal biographicalinformation about each beneficiary and whether the beneficiary is eligible forthe U.S. advanced degree cap.

Employers new to the H-1B Capelectronic registration process can create an H-1B Registrant account on myUSCISbeginning at noon Eastern on February 21. Employers who have an account forprevious H-1B Cap electronic registration periods may use their existingaccount for the upcoming registration period. Each beneficiary registered willincur a nominal $10 fee due to USCIS.

Under U.S. immigration law, USCIS mustselect 65,000 H-1B workers for the regular cap and 20,000 H-1B workers for theadvanced degree exemption (the master’s cap).

MU Law will be hosting a FREE webinar all about the H-1B Cap forour clients and friends on Tuesday, February 7, 2023, at 2PM Eastern. Learnmore here.

MU Law will be hosting a FREE webinar for ourclients and friends on Tuesday, February 7, 2023 at 2PM Eastern (1PM Central).

Join us for this FREE webinar to learn more about:

·        H-1BCap Basics, Registration Process, and Projections

·        Whatis a Specialty Occupation?

·        H-1BDependency

·        SpecialIssues for Staffing Companies, Third Party Placements

·        Employer-Employeerelationships, end-client documentation

·        Cap-gapfor F-1s as well as CPT/OPT maintenance

·        Alternativesto an H-1B

·        Top10 things H-1B employers can do to stay compliant

PLEASE JOIN US!

Continuing its initiative to expand premium processing eligibility, on January 12, 2023, USCIS issued a news alert that its premium processing program will be expanded again to include initial I-140 petitions filed under the EB-1 and EB-2 categories, as well as applications for OPT and STEM OPT applications.

EB-1 and EB-2 I-140 Petitions

MU previously published blogs on the first phase, second phase, third phase of the initiative.

Beginning Jan. 30, 2023, USCIS will accept Form I-907 requests for:

    •    All pending E13 multinational executive and manager petitions and E21 NIW petitions; and

    •    All initial E13 multinational executive and manager petitions and E21 NIW petitions.

USCIS has 45 days to issue an RFE, approval, or denial on cases that request premium processing for these newly included Form I-140 classifications. USCIS will reject any premium processing requests for the classifications above that are filed before the appropriate start date.  

OPT and STEM OPT Applications

In March 2023, USCIS will accept Premium Processing upgrade requests for pending OPT and STEM OPT applications.

In April 2023, USCIS will accept Premium Processing requests for initial OPT and STEM OPT applications.

USCIS will announce the specific dates for each category in February 2023. 

USCIS also anticipates expanding Premium Processing for certain student and exchange visitors who have filed Forms I-539 in May 2023 and June 2023; an announcement from USCIS on this expansion is forthcoming.

USCIS has 30 days to issue an RFE, approval, or denial on cases that request premium processing for Form I-765 and I-539 classifications.

The Department of State has recently issued the February 2023 Visa Bulletin. This blog post analyzes this month’s Visa Bulletin. 

Visa Bulletin

Table A:  Final Action Dates — Applications withthese dates may be approved for their Green Card (Permanent Residency card) orImmigrant Visa appointment.

Table B: Dates of Filing

The USCIS is using the Table B Dates of Filing chart for I-485employment-based filings. See: USCIS Visa Bulletin Dates

MU Law Analysis

This was anuneventful Visa Bulletin.  Most datesremained the same as in the January2022 Visa Bulletin. 

TheWW and Philippine EB-3 remain current. We expect these categoriesto be current through much of the current fiscal year. 

EB-3 Other Workers, which is the category for occupationssuch as Nurse Aides, remains retrogressed. It reverted to January 2020 because of continued higher usage thanexpected by the State Department. 

We remind allreaders that the FY 2023employment-based immigrant visa limit is 197,000, as compared with 281,507 inFY 2022.  These quotas are greater thanthe usual 140,000 employment-based limit because of spillovers of unusedfamily-based immigrant visas in the prior fiscal year. Slowdowns related toCOVID caused the allocation of family-based visas to be short of the limit.  It is expected that the employment-basedquota will return to 140,000 in FY 2024, which starts October 1, 2023.

On January 3,2023,the USCIS publisheda proposed rule that will increase DHS (USCIS) government filing fees .  The proposed fees for most businessimmigration filings are in the table, below.  The above-link will lead the reader to thefull list of proposed increases.  DHS will accept public comments on theproposed rule for 60 days following publication of the proposed rule in the Federal Register. DHS will thencarefully review and consider each comment before drafting and publishing afinal rule to implement a new fee schedule.

USCIS lastraised their fees in 2016, and before that in 2010. USCIS fees pay for much ofthe USCIS budget.  Very little of theUSCIS’ budget comes from federal tax dollars.

Proposed fees

The U.S. Citizenship and ImmigrationServices (USCIS) announced it will conduct a nationwide trial of proposedchanges to certain portions of the naturalization test.  Currently, the naturalization test consists offour components: reading, writing, civics, and the ability to speak English.The USCIS subject matter experts reviewed the current format and suggestedredesigning the civics and speaking components of the test. The trial isexpected to improve the standardization and structure of the naturalizationtest.

The trial, tentatively scheduled for afive-month period in 2023, will test a newly developed English-speakingcomponent and a civics component with updated format and content. The reading and writing components of the naturalization test willremain unchanged.

The trial will be conducted with thehelp of volunteer community-based organizations (CBOs) that work with immigrantEnglish language learners and lawful permanent residents preparing fornaturalization. The UCSIS may use the results of the trial to support changesto the naturalization test.

The Department of State has recently issued the January2023 Visa Bulletin.  This blog post analyzesthis month’s Visa Bulletin.  The FY 2023employment-based immigrant visa limit is 197,000, as compared with 281,507 inFY 2022.  These quotas are greater thanthe usual 140,000 employment-based limit because of spillovers of unusedfamily-based immigrant visas in the prior fiscal year.  Slowdowns related to COVID caused the allocationof family-based visas to be short of the limit.

Visa Bulletin

Table A:  Final Action Dates –Applications with these dates may be approved for their Green Card (PermanentResidency card) or Immigrant Visa appointment.

Table B: Dates of Filing

The USCIS is using the Table B Dates of Filing chart for I-485 employment-basedfilings. See: USCISVisa Bulletin Dates

MU Law Analysis

A retrogression has now happened in India EB1 and China EB-1. This reflects a smaller allocationof employment-based immigrant numbers than in the past two years, along withcontinued high demand in all immigration categories.

All other dates are the same as in the December2022 Visa Bulletin. 

The WW and Philippine EB-3 remaincurrent. We expect these categories to be current through much of the currentfiscal year. 

EB-3 Other Workers, which is the category foroccupations such as Nurse Aides, remains retrogressed but held steady to June2020 for Philippines and ROW.  We do notexpect further retrogression in these two categories.  We would not be surprised to see someprogression in these categories throughout this fiscal year.

Weoften receive questions about the role of CGFNS in nurse immigration.  CGFNS has a number of different product lineswhich overlap and add to the confusion.

Hereare three of the most common uses of CGFNS within the US visa processingsystem.  It is best to think of thesethree product lines as independent:

CGFNScredentials evaluation (CES) – Many US state licensing bodiescall on CGFNS to review and evaluate foreign nurse’s credentials in advance ofqualifying the nurses to sit for the NCLEX exam.  CES is the process by which applicants canhave their nursing education evaluated by CGFNS for clearance to sit for thestate’s nursing exam (NCLEX).

CGFNSPredictor (Qualifying) Exam – This is an older, legacy examthat is now rarely used to assess a foreign nurse’s competence in nursing.  It was more widespread before the expansionof international NCLEX testing centers. 

CGFNSVisa Screen – This is the Healthcare Worker Certificate (HWC) that isneeded by RNs at the very end of their immigration process, at their consularinterview.  CGFNS’ HWC is branded theVisa Screen.  All nurses and allied healthcare workers musthave:

·       Passed the USlicensing exam;

·       Graduated from auniversity that is equivalent to a US school in the same profession;

·       Passed an Englishfluency examination; and

·       Hold a spotlessoverseas professional license. 

In recent years USCIS approved a second issuer of HWCs, Josef Silney.