Steven C. Thal, P.A.

Congratulations to Ann for becoming a U.S. citizen! It was a great pleasure working with you these past several years and finally we’ve reached this point. Congratulations again to you and your family.

USCIS fees were supposed to increase today, October 2, 2020. This increase included citizenship application by 83%, employment based petition by 76%, green card application (adjustment of status) by an additional $1045, and more. It would have impacted many immigrants. However, a District Court judge in California blocked this rule nationwide on September 29th. This injunction is temporary until there is a final decision. Our office is closely monitoring these changes. Contact our office to see if these changes could affect your case. THALVISA.COM USCIS Fee Increase Blocked 2020 | Steven C. Thal, P.A.

The Department of State annually administers the statutorily-created Diversity Immigrant Visa Program. Section 203(c) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) provides for a class of immigrants known as “diversity immigrants” from countries with historically low rates of immigration to the United States. For Fiscal Year 2022, up to 55,000 Diversity Visas (DVs) will be available. There is no cost to register for the DV program. Applicants who are selected in the program (selectees) must meet simple but strict eligibility requirements to qualify for a diversity visa. The Department of State determines selectees through a randomized computer drawing. The Department of State distributes diversity visas among six geographic regions, and no single country may receive more than seven percent of the available DVs in any one year. DV-2022 Program: Online Registration DV-2022 Program: The online registration period for the DV-2022 Program begins on Wednesday, October 7, 2020 at 12:00 noon, Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) (GMT-4), and concludes on Tuesday, November 10, 2020 at 12:00 noon, Eastern Standard Time (EST) (GMT-5). Individuals who submit more than one entry during the registration period will be disqualified. https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/immigrate/diversity-visa-program-entry/diversity-visa-instructions.html

Affidavit of Support Proposed Rule: Advance Copy This document is scheduled to be published in the Federal Register on 10/02/2020 "The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) proposes to amend its regulations governing the affidavit of support requirements under section 213A of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA or the Act). Certain immigrants are required to submit an Affidavit of Support Under Section 213A of the INA (Affidavit) executed by a sponsor who agrees to provide financial support to the sponsored immigrant and accepts liability for reimbursing the costs of any means-tested public benefits a sponsored immigrant receives while the Affidavit is in effect pursuant to section 213A(a)(2) of the INA. DHS proposes to clarify how a sponsor demonstrates the means to maintain income as required under section 213A(f)(6) of the Act such as revising the documentation that sponsors and household members must submit to meet the requirements under section 213A(f) of the Act. DHS proposes to modify when an applicant is required to submit an Affidavit from a joint sponsor, who may be a household member for purposes of executing a Contract Between Sponsor and Household Member (Contract), and who is considered as part of a sponsor’s household size. DHS also proposes to update reporting and information sharing requirements between authorized parties and USCIS."

Court Strikes Down Matter of H-G-G-, Adopted Decision 2019-01 (AAO July 31, 2019) Hernandez de Gutierrez v. Barr "This case presents the novel question of whether the Temporary Protected Status (“TPS”) statute, 8 U.S.C. § 1254a, allows a person who initially entered the country without inspection but was later granted TPS to adjust their status to lawful permanent resident pursuant to 8 U.S.C. 1255. Because the plain language of the statute makes clear that (1) a grant of TPS qualifies as an “admission” and (2) such an admission qualifies as a new entry, the Court will answer the question in the affirmative. Accordingly, the Court will grant Plaintiffs’ Motion for Summary Judgment and deny Defendants’ Motion for Summary Judgment. ... [T]he Court finds at step one of Chevron “that § 1254a(f)(4) unambiguously treats aliens with TPS as being ‘admitted’ for purposes of adjusting status.” ... Because the statute is clear, the Agency’s determination to the contrary is arbitrary and capacious and cannot stand." [Hats off to Brittany S. Bakken, David L. Wilson, and Kelsey Friberg!]

Immigrant Legal Resource Center (ILRC) September 30 at 12:25 AM · ⚖️ VICTORY‼️ Today, in a lawsuit we filed with 8 of our partners, US District Court Judge Jeffrey White granted a preliminary injunction of USCIS’ #feerule, which would have priced many immigrants out of their benefits. 📈⠀ ⠀ The fee rule was a cruel attack on low-income immigrants, asylum seekers, refugees, survivors of domestic violence, and survivors of human trafficking.⠀ ⠀ We are so thankful to our amazing partners and everyone who joined the critical fight against this immoral wealth test.

THE DEPARTMENTS OF JUSTICE AND HOMELAND SECURITY PUBLISH FINAL RULE TO RESTRICT CERTAIN CRIMINAL ALIENS’ ELIGIBILITY FOR ASYLUM New Mandatory Bars Prevent Convicted Felons, Drunk Drivers, Gang Members, and Other Criminal Aliens from Receiving Asylum WASHINGTON – Today, the Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security announced the publication of a Final Rule amending their respective regulations to prevent certain categories of criminal aliens from obtaining asylum in the United States. The rule takes effect 30 days after publication of the Final Rule in the Federal Register, which is scheduled to occur on Wednesday, Oct. 21. Asylum is a discretionary immigration benefit that generally can be sought by eligible aliens who are physically present or arriving in the United States, irrespective of their status, as provided in section 208 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), 8 U.S.C. § 1158. However, in the INA, Congress barred certain categories of aliens from receiving asylum. In addition to the statutory bars, Congress delegated to the Attorney General and the Secretary of Homeland Security the authority to establish by regulation additional bars on asylum eligibility to the extent they are consistent with the asylum statute, as well as to establish “any other conditions or limitations on the consideration of an application for asylum” that are consistent with the INA. To ensure that criminal aliens cannot obtain this discretionary benefit, the Attorney General and Secretary of Homeland Security have exercised their regulatory authority to limit eligibility for asylum for aliens who have engaged in specified categories of criminal behavior. The new bars apply to aliens who are convicted of: (1) A felony under federal or state law; (2) An offense under 8 U.S.C. § 1324(a)(1)(A) or § 1324(a)(1)(2) (Alien Smuggling or Harboring); (3) An offense under 8 U.S.C. § 1326 (Illegal Reentry); (4) A federal, state, tribal, or local crime involving criminal street gang activity; (5) Certain federal, state, tribal, or local offenses concerning the operation of a motor vehicle while under the influence of an intoxicant; (6) A federal, state, tribal, or local domestic violence offense, or who are found by an adjudicator to have engaged in acts of battery or extreme cruelty in a domestic context, even if no conviction resulted; and (7) Certain misdemeanors under federal or state law for offenses related to false identification; the unlawful receipt of public benefits from a federal, state, tribal, or local entity; or the possession or trafficking of a controlled substance or controlled-substance paraphernalia. Aliens who have committed certain domestic violence offenses, even if not convicted, will also be barred from asylum. PUBLIC-INSPECTION.FEDERALREGISTER.GOV public-inspection.federalregister.gov

H-1B Visa Overhaul As of today, October 8, 2020, a new Department of Labor (‘DOL’) rule will affect H-1B applications, decreasing their approval rates by an estimated 30%. Also released today is a new Department of Homeland Security (DHS) rule which will take effect 60 days from today. The new policies are issued as interim final rules, meaning they will take effect without first undergoing a public-comment and review process that is customary for such rules. The administration also waived its typical regulatory review process before issuing the rule in order to be able to publish it faster. According to the DOL, the purpose of the new rules is two-fold: protecting foreign workers from being paid less than U.S. workers, and guarding against replacement of U.S. workers by lower-cost foreign labor. However, these new rules do not decrease the number of H-1B visas that are issued per year (85,000), they just make it more difficult for certain classes of workers to receive them. Department of Labor 20 CFR Parts 655, 656: Strengthening Wage Protections of the Temporary and Permanent Employment of Certain Aliens in the U.S. The DOL rule issued today relates to the computation of the prevailing wage required for labor certification. The DOL is not applying the new rule to any preexisting prevailing wage applications, and only to those filed on or after October 8, 2020. Those looking to renew their H-1B visas in the future will, thus, also be affected by this new rule. Employers that rely on Labor Certification Applications (LCAs) will see an immediate increase to the wages associates with each wage level. This will effectively increase the “required wage” associated with H-1B, H-1B1, and E-3 benefit requests. What this rule does specifically is increase the prevailing wage levels that employers must meet when petitioning for an H-1B worker. Employers must pay H-1B workers the greater or the actual wage level paid by the employer to all other individuals with similar experience and qualifications for that specific employment. This wage level is calculated by the DOL and is called the “prevailing wage level for the occupational classification in the area of employment”. Depending on the type of work the occupation entails, employers apply for labor certification from the DOL at four different levels. There will be a significant increase in the prevailing wage determination (‘PWD’) for each level: Level I Wage: from 17th to 45th percentile Level II Wage: from 34th to 62nd percentile Level III Wage: from 50th to 78th percentile Level IV Wage: from 67th to 95th percentile Department of Homeland Security Rule 8 CFR Part 214: Strengthening the H-1B Non-immigrant Visa Classification Program The DHS’s rule revises the definition of “specialty occupation” and creates additional qualifications that employees must possess to be eligible for H-1B visas. The major changes are the following: Education requirements: Currently, foreigners with a college degree or the equivalent amount of experience can apply to work in what is known as a “specialty occupation”. Under the changes, an applicant must have a college degree in the specific field in which he or she is looking to work. A software developer, for example, wouldn’t be awarded an H-1B visa if that person has a degree in electrical engineering. That requirement could make it tough for technology companies to hire in emerging fields like artificial intelligence or bioinformatics, which combines biological data, computer science and mathematics. Experts in such fields may have studied other subjects, or degrees in some subjects may not have existed until recently. The only exception to this rule is for fashion models, who aren’t required to have college degrees. Employer-Employee Relationship: The new rules also aim to curb business arrangements under which an H-1B worker hired by one company works primarily at a second company. Those arrangements would receive more scrutiny in the application process. The changes target information-technology companies that rely on H-1B workers, mostly from India, whom they outsource to companies to work as on-site IT staff. The arrangement is common in several industries including human resources and consulting. Visa Validity period: H-1B visas are currently valid up to three years, with a potential for extension for another three years, then one year increments afterwards. The new rule limits the maximum validity of three years to only certain types of workers. Workers placed in third-party worksites will only have a validity period of one year and will have to renew annually. Written by: N. Georgette Marling THALVISA.COM H-1B Visa Overhaul | Steven C. Thal, P.A.

Some of our successes this week: I-140 National Interest Waiver approval for an Olympic Gold Medalist. I-360 SIJS Approval for a child who was abused, neglected, or abandoned by one of his parents. I-730 approval for a family member of an Asylee from Syria Our first approval of a Liberian Refugee Immigration Fairness Act. Green card approved on the same day as the interview for a marriage based case yesterday. Work permit and renewal approvals. I-90 green card renewal approval in less than 2 weeks!

⚖️ BREAKING: Another win for #DACA recipients and the movement! Today, a federal court ruled that DHS Secretary Chad Wolf was not lawfully appointed, invalidating his latest attempt to restrict DACA. 🚫⠀ ⠀ More on what this could mean for the program will be coming soon. ⠀ ⠀ ✊🏽 Shout out @maketheroadny, @nilc, the Worker and Immigrant Rights Advocacy Clinic (WIRAC) @yalelawschool, and all the amazing organizers and movement lawyers who made this happen. ⠀ ⠀ #HomeIsHere Immigrant Legal Resource Center (ILRC) November 14 at 9:03 PM · ⚖️ BREAKING: Another win for #DACA recipients and the movement! Today, a federal court ruled that DHS Secretary Chad Wolf was not lawfully appointed, invalidating his latest attempt to restrict DACA. 🚫⠀ ⠀ More on what this could mean for the program will be coming soon. ⠀ ⠀ ✊🏽 Shout out @maketheroadny, @nilc, the Worker and Immigrant Rights Advocacy Clinic (WIRAC) @yalelawschool, and all the amazing organizers and movement lawyers who made this happen. ⠀ ⠀ #HomeIsHere

How can the Biden-Harris administration marshal the resources and political will to implement an #immigration vision to the benefit of all? READ the road map from @AILA National http://ow.ly/w0hc50CgBbo

The 8th Circuit opens a path for TPS holders eligible for greencard Written by: Ignacio Sanz Perez The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals upholds TPS holders’ right to seek legal permanent residency “regardless of whether they entered the United States without inspection.” Velasquez v. Barr., No. 19-1148, at 14 (8th Cir. 2020). In practical terms, this means that receiving TPS status cures the manner of entry for those who came without inspection and remained in the United States. This decision benefits TPS residents in Arkansas, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota (States within the 8th Circuit). Before, a similar rule would only extend to resident from Alaska, Arizona, California, Guam, Hawaii, Idaho, Kentucky, Michigan, Montana, Northern Mariana Islands, Nevada, Ohio, Oregon, Tennessee, and Washington. To become a permanent resident in the United States, eligible applicants must be in lawful status and entered the country after being inspected and admitted -exceptions may apply. It’s undisputed that TPS beneficiaries “shall be considered as being in, and maintaining, lawful status as a nonimmigrant.” 8 U.S.C. § 1254a(f)(4). However, the Department of Homeland Security claims that TPS recipients must also be separately inspected and admitted when they previously entered without inspection. In Velasquez, the Appeal Court settled this unnecessary conundrum: TPS recipients “must also be considered ‘inspected and admitted’ under § 1255(a)”. Velasquez v. Barr., No. 19-1148, at 8 (8th Cir. 2020). TPS equals an admission into the United States “for purposes of adjustment of status,” meaning that TPS holders who are otherwise beneficiaries of a family or employment petition are eligible to adjust status of a legal permanent resident. With this holding, the 8th Circuit Court joined the 6th and 9th Circuit Courts of Appeal. However, given that the 5th and 11th Circuit Courts of Appeal disagree with this result, the split increases the possibility that this case may end up before the U.S. Supreme Court, which now enjoys a substantial 6-3 conservative majority that could side with the position pushed by the Department of Homeland Security. If you happen to be a TPS recipient residing in Arkansas, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota, we strongly recommend you seek legal advice as soon as possible because a new path for a green card may have opened for you. THALVISA.COM The 8th Circuit opens a path for TPS holders eligible for greencard | Steven C. Thal, P.A.

With the 2020 election underway, John Oliver explains how the Trump administration has handled asylum seekers over the past four years, why it matters, and what we can do about it. YOUTUBE.COM Asylum: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO)

Shout out to Wilson Law Group Minneapolis, Minnesota. The 8th Circuit held that "a noncitizen who entered this country without inspection or admission but later received Temporary Protected Status (TPS) may adjust her status to Lawful Permanent Resident (LPR)" and a TPS recipient is deemed "inspected and admitted." A huge victory!!! DRIVE.GOOGLE.COM Emailing 19-1148_Documents.pdf