Siskind Susser, PC

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Coronavirus Immigration Blog

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Jalisa McGaha
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USCIS sent the following statement out by email extending it’s COVID-19 RFE response policy: In response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services is extending the flexibilities it announced on March 30, 2020, to assist applicants, petitioners and requestors 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…
Siskind Summary – The Nonimmigrant Visa Travel Ban Effective date – 12:01 am eastern time on June 24, 2020 Link – https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/proclamation-suspending-entry-aliens-present-risk-u-s-labor-market-following-coronavirus-outbreak/ Who is covered? This is an expansion of the April 22, 2020, executive order barring the issuance of immigrant visas. That order is extended and a new exemption is created for children aging out who are at risk of not ever getting permanent residency. It also covers now several non-immigrant visa categories. The order…
Immigration and Customs Enforcement has announced that it is voluntarily testing detainees at facilities in Tacoma, Washington and Aurora, Colorado. It did not comment on other facilities nor did it talk about releasing detainees such as those who are at high-risk if they are infected. It also noted that while it encourages facilities to isolate new detainees for fourteen days upon entering the facility, such procedures are not mandated. The post ICE Offering Voluntary Covid …
Politico is reporting on the expiration of the current travel restrictions between the US and Canada which are expiring on June 22nd. Canada is interested in the restrictions continuing (not surprising given how bad the US response to COVID has been), but some loosening is expected. Here’s what Politico is saying: Canadian and U.S. governments must decide before June 22 whether to extend, amend or end land border restrictions — a Covid-19 response that is…
Siskind Susser sent the following email to clients today: Siskind Susser has received information from credible sources that President Trump is very close to finalizing an executive order that would bar the entry of L-1, H-1B, H-2B and J-1 non-immigrants for a period of several months. We believe the ban will include numerous exemptions, but it is not clear yet which groups will be exempt. We have heard there may be exemptions for health care…
Immigration and Customs Enforcement is posting data on the number of immigrant detainees who have contracted the coronavirus. The data is released in a curious (arguably misleading) way. The agency prominently posts that they currently have 754 detainees with COVID-19. That’s an alarming figure in and of itself. But if you scroll to the footnotes and bottom of the page, the agency reveals that nearly double this number – 1461 – have tested positive in…
A major impediment to the entry of international physicians could continue for another year or more, according to a communication sent by the Educational Commission on Foreign Medical Graduates. The US Medical Licensing Exam Clinical Skills assessment is a requirement for all physicians seeking J-1 visas to come to the US to engage in graduate medical training. The USMLE Step 2CS exam is comprised of a series of patient encounters where the physician sees standardized patients (SPs), take a history,…
A judge at a Seattle federal district court is ordering Immigration and Customs Enforcement to explain its failure to test detainees for Covid-19 at the Northwest Detention Center. ICE has five days from the May 28th ruling to provide this to the judge. The post Court Orders ICE to Justify It’s Failure to Immediately Test Detainees for Coronavirus – May 31, 2020 appeared first on Siskind Susser PC.…
USCIS announced today a phased-in resumption of premium processing. The resumption will occur as follows: On June 1st, all I-140 petitions can be accompanied by a premium processing request. On June 8th, H-1Bs filed before June 8th that are pending and are cap-exempt (such as those filed by cap-exempt employers or where a beneficiary was previously counted against the H-1B cap) AND I-129 petitions for non-H-1B cases filed before June 8th that are pending adjudication On…
USCIS announced the following plan to reopen on June 4th: U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services is preparing some domestic offices to reopen and resume non-emergency public services on or after June 4. On March 18, USCIS temporarily suspended routine in-person services at its field offices, asylum offices and application support centers (ASCs) to help slow the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19). USCIS is following the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s guidelines to protect our…