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Immigration News Briefs

Provided by Humera Subhani

May 2021

Trump’s nonimmigrant visa restrictions expire

On April 1, President Biden’s administration allowed Trump’s nonimmigrant visa restrictions order, imposed in June 2020, to expire. This executive order applied to certain H1B, H-4, H2B, L-1, L-2 and J-1 visa applicants.

The main issue for applicants in these categories will now be obtaining appointments at the embassies, which have had numerous months of backlogs due to closures. Many are still not fully operational. Several consulates, such as those in India, have resumed processing all nonimmigrant visa categories, but have fewer appointment slots available than normal, resulting in delayed schedules. Other consulates are re-opening on a country-by-country basis depending upon the levels of Covid infection in the area. Many are going through a phased reopening so applicants should contact each embassy individually to learn which services are available.

Students Can Now File for OPT Online

On April 12, USCIS 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.

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.

USCIS extends flexibility for responding to agency requests

USCIS is once again extending the flexibilities it announced on March 30, 2020, to assist applicants and petitioners who are responding to certain:

Requests for Evidence;
Continuations to Request Evidence (N-14);
Notices of Intent to Deny;
Notices of Intent to Revoke;
Notices of Intent to Rescind and Notices of Intent to Terminate regional investment centers; and
Filing date requirements for Form I-290B, Notice of Appeal or Motion.

Notice/Request/Decision Issuance Date:

This flexibility applies to the above documents if the issuance date listed on the request, notice or decision is between March 1, 2020, and the new date of June 30, 2021.

Response Due Date:

USCIS will consider a response to the above requests and notices received within 60 calendar days after the response due date set in the request or notice before taking action. USCIS will consider a Form I-290B received up to 60 calendar days from the date of the decision before it takes any action.

APPLICATION FINAL ACTION DATES FOR MAY 2021

FAMILY	India	Pakistan/Bangladesh
1st	22Oct14	22Oct14
2A	Current	Current
2B	08Aug15	08Aug15
3rd	22Aug08	22Aug08
4th	08Apr05	01Nov06

EMPLOYMENT	India	Pakistan/Bangladesh
1st	Current	Current
2nd	01Aug10	Current
3rd	01Feb11	Current
Other	01Feb11	Current
4th	Current	Current
5th	Current	Current1B

DATES FOR FILING VISA APPLICATIONS - April 2021

FAMILY	India	Pakistan/Bangladesh
1st	01Oct15	01Oct15
2A	01Apr21	01Apr21
2B	22Jun16	22Jun16
3rd	22Jun09	22Jun09
4th	01Dec05	01Oct07

EMPLOYMENT	India	Pakistan/Bangladesh
1st	Current	Current
2nd	15 May11	Current
3rd	01Jan14	Current
Other	01Jan14	Current
4th	Current	Current
5th	Current	Current1B