UPDATES TO CHILD STATUS PROTECTION ACT (CSPA) CALCULATION

On February 14, 2023 USCIS updated its policy on the CSPA age calculation for certain adjustment of status application.  USCIS will now use the Department of State’s Visa Bulletin “Dates For Filing” chart to determine both the “CSPA age” of an adjustment applicant and the start date of the 1-year period during which a noncitizen must seek to acquire lawful permanent residence to preserve their green card case from aging out.  This policy change is effective immediately and applies to pending adjustment of status applications adjudicated on or after Feb. 14, 2023.

This USCIS policy update affects cases of noncitizens who were near the age of 21 when they started their green card process in a preference category, but their respective visas only became available after they reached age 21 or older.

Under the previous guidance, USCIS only considered a visa immediately available for CSPA purposes when the immigrant petition priority date became current under the “Final Action Dates chart” of the Department of State’s Visa bulletin.  Now, under the new policy, USCIS will consider the “Dates of Filing chart” in the Visa Bulletin to accept an adjustment of status application and to calculate the CSPA age. 

More information on the new USCIS policy on the Child Status Protection Act (CSPA) Age Calculation for Certain Adjustment of Status Applicants is available at the USCIS Policy Alert (PDF, 345 KB) and on the USCIS Child Status Protection Act page.  The USCIS news alert on this topic can be found here.

MARCH 2023 VISA BULLETIN: ANALYSIS AND RETROGRESSION PREDICTION

The Department of State has recently issued the March 2023 Visa Bulletin.  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	01FEB22	01FEB22	C
2nd	01NOV22	08JUN19	08OCT11	01NOV22
3rd	C	01AUG18	15JUN12	C
Other workers	01JAN20	22DEC13	15JUN12	01JAN20

Table B: Dates of Filing

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

 

MU Law Analysis

This was an uneventful Visa Bulletin.  All dates remain the same as in the February Visa Bulletin.

Having said this, the Visa Bulletin included a foreboding Note,

E.  VISA AVAILABILITY IN THE EMPLOYMENT-BASED THIRD (EB-3) PREFERENCE CATEGORY

Increased demand in the Employment Third category may necessitate the establishment of a worldwide final action date (including Mexico and Philippines) in the coming months to hold number use within the maximum allowed under the Fiscal Year 2023 annual limit. This situation will be continually monitored, and any necessary adjustments will be made accordingly.

This means that retrogression is coming for all EB-3 categories, including the Philippines and Worldwide.

As we have mentioned in our last few blogs, the FY 2023 employment-based immigrant visa limit is 197,000, as compared with 281,507 in FY 2022.  These quotas are greater than the usual 140,000 employment-based limit because of spillovers of unused family-based immigrant visas in the prior fiscal year. Slowdowns related to COVID caused the allocation of family-based visas to be short of the limit.    It is expected that the employment-based quota will return to 140,000 in FY 2024, which starts October 1, 2023.

H-1B 2023 CAP WEBINAR

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

 

Join us for this FREE webinar to learn more about:

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

PLEASE JOIN US!

USCIS TO RESUME PROCESSING OF H-4 AND L-2 DEPENDENT APPLICATIONS WITH A PRINCIPAL’S FORM I-129

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

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

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

The USCIS is expected to make an announcement addressing the settlement agreement soon. Our office will be monitoring any further developments and provide updates.