COVID TESTS NO LONGER REQUIRED FOR INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL

As of Sunday, June 12, 2022, at 12:01 a.m. EDT, the CDC issued an order rescinding the requirement that inbound air travelers to the US from abroad present a negative COVID-19 test result taken no more than one day before departure or show documented recovery in the past 90 days.

The CDC still recommends that all travelers remain up to date with vaccinations and that travelers still test before, and after travel. Likewise, the CDC still encourages the usage of face masks in indoor public transportation settings.

The CDC will continue to monitor the effects of the pandemic and reserves the right to reassess the need for a testing requirement should the situation change.

MU will provide any updates should the CDC issue a new order, but for now, the requirement is no longer I place. Should you have any questions or require additional information regarding personal travel plans please reach out to your designed MU attorney.

JULY 2022 VISA BULLETIN: ANALYSIS AND PREDICTIONS

The Department of State has just issued the July 2022 Visa Bulletin.  This is the tenth Visa Bulletin of Fiscal Year 2022. This blog post analyzes this month's Visa Bulletin.

Visa Bulletin

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

 

EB	Worldwide	CHINA	INDIA	PHILIPPINES
1st	C	C	C	C
2nd	C	01APR19	01DEC14	C
3rd	C	22MAR18	15JAN12	C
Other workers	08MAY19	01JUN12	15JAN12	08MAY19

Table B: Dates of Filing

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

MU Law Analysis

As we mentioned last month, we have recently added another row, EB-3 Other Workers.  These are EB-3’s for occupations that require less than two years of education or experience to perform the job.  Among healthcare occupations, nurse aides are the common.  The retrogression to 08May2019 probably reflects full usage of this category in this fiscal year.

The India and China EB-2 categories each advanced.  India improved by three months and China improved by one month.

EB-3 India and EB-3 China will remain unchanged from May, as they did in June.  We do not expect forward progress in these categories for the rest of the fiscal year.

The WW and Philippine EB-3 remained current.  We may see a retrogression of WW and Philippine EB-3 before the end of the fiscal year, once the full allotment of visas is exhausted.   This is common, and nothing to be too concerned about, as we have explained in the past.

USCIS WILL CONSIDER AN INTERFILING REQUEST TO MEET THE “SOUGHT TO ACQUIRE” REQUIREMENT UNDER THE CSPA

USCIS has updated its Child Status Protection Act (CSPA) webpage to confirm that an interfiling request, a written request to transfer the underlying basis of a pending adjustment of status application, meets the “sought to acquire” requirement under the CSPA.

Under the CSPA, certain derivative, unmarried, child applicants for a Green Card are protected from the risk of “aging out”, or reaching age 21, before their Green Card Application is adjudicated by USCIS.

To be eligible for protection under the CSPA, an unmarried, child applicant who has filed Form I-485 must seek to acquire lawful permanent resident status within 1 year of a visa becoming available. This is referred to as the “sought to acquire” requirement.

Previously, the only ways to meet the “sought to acquire” requirement were as follows:

·         Filing Form I-485;

·         Submitting Form DS-260;

·         Paying the Green Card fee to the Department of State;

·         Paying the Form I-864 review fee to the Department of State; or

·         Having a Form I-824 filed on one’s behalf.

USCIS has clarified that interfiling is also now included in the list above, as an interfiling request meets the “sought to acquire” requirement under the CSPA.