2023 has been a very good year for individuals holding TPS, or Temporary Protected Status. In June of this year, Secretary Mayorkas reversed a planned termination of TPS for nationals of El Salvador, Honduras, Nepal, and Nicaragua, and extended protection for an...
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Work Permits
New Immigration Law Now Allows Tourists on B-1/B-2 Visitor Visas To Work?
USCIS recently published a tweet this past March that unfortunately has been taken out of context as well as misunderstood by many people. The tweet in question was this: “Many people have asked if they can look for a new job while in B-1 or B-2 status. The answer...
New Policy Allows U Visa Applicants To Get Work Permits Early
Under a new policy, USCIS has announced that it will begin issuing work permits to qualified U visa applicants much sooner than under the current protocol. Typically, it sometimes takes up to five years for a U visa applicant to receive an approval with corresponding...
Work Permits Not Automatically Granted | I-765 Work Permit Denied
Due to COVID-19, nearly all green card applicants have experienced some sort of delay. This extends not only to fingerprints and ultimately interviews, but employment authorization documents as well. Interestingly, in the waning days of the Trump Administration, USCIS...
Don’t Forget to Renew Your Work Permit | Expiring EAD
Due to Covid, applicants for adjustment of status should expect cases to take considerably longer than originally anticipated. Cases that would ordinarily take one year to process might experience additional delays of six months of more, given that USCIS was...
USCIS Using Old Fingerprints | Work Permits Issued Before Biometrics
We have recently noticed that USCIS has begun using old fingerprints that were previously captured for a number of applications, particularly I-90s. This is welcome news given the interminable delays permanent residents are already experiencing waiting for their...
Asylum Work Permits Denied for DWI and arrests
If applicants for asylum have not suffered enough legal setbacks within the past year, we have recently heard of work permits for asylum applicants who have had brushes with the law. The instructions for the I-765 Application For Work Authorization indicate that for...
Criminal Arrest Can Also Affect Work Permits | OPT and STEM
Unlike previous versions, the current version of the I-765 application for work authorization specifically asks about arrests. Under question number 23, which pertains to those who are applying under eligibility categories (c)(35) or (c)(36), the form asks: "have you...
Expect Processing Delays for Work Permits and Advance Parole
A November AILA practice alert has confirmed what many practitioners and clients have experiencing lately, namely an appreciable delay in the processing of work permit and advance parole applications. Nationally, people are reporting four to seven months to receive...
Automatic Extension of Work Permits | What If EAD Expires While Renewal Pending?
For foreign nationals navigating our immigration system, one of the greatest sources of anxiety is the expiration of work authorization in light of USCIS's interminable processing delays, which have only increased during the present administration. Due to the sheer...