COVID-19 social distancing directives, State and Federal agency closures and remote work requirements have made it impossible for employers to comply with the normal I-9 and E-Verify regulations on timing and review of employee documents. To address these concerns, USCIS has announced several measures to extend time frames and loosen its normally strict requirements.
To read the full text of this post by Duane Morris partner Valentine Brown, please visit the Duane Morris Immigration Blog.
The Duane Morris Immigration Team is dedicated to providing the most up to date information and zealous advocacy on behalf of our clients during the COVID-19 emergency. We have compiled information from various U.S. agencies on all aspects of travel, USCIS appointments, ICE activities and Removal Proceedings.
To read the full text of this post by Duane Morris partner Valentine Brown, which will be updated as changes develop, please visit the Duane Morris Immigration Blog.
New travel bans and restrictions have been announced in South Africa, Switzerland, Luxembourg, Costa Rica, Australia and Ireland. Please use the links below to read the details from partner Jet Stigter on the Duane Morris Immigration Blog.
Switzerland Responds to COVID-19; Travel Restrictions and Immigration Processing Limitations
Luxembourg COVID-19 Travel Ban and Entry Restrictions
Costa Rica Closed to Visitors until April 12; More Immigration Delays in wake of COVID-19
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has announced a series of changes, from local office procedures to services of the national service centers, in light of the rapidly evolving COVID-19 pandemic.
To read the full text of this Duane Morris Alert, please visit the firm website.
To limit the further spread of Coronavirus, the United States entered into joint initiatives with Canada and Mexico to temporarily close its Northern and Southern borders for all non-essential travel, effective March 21, 2020, for a 30-day period. Essential commercial activity will not be impacted.
To read the full text of this post from Duane Morris attorney Teodora Purcell, please visit the Duane Morris Immigration Blog.
USCIS announced at 2:19 PM on 3/20/2020 that Premium Processing services for I-129 (E-1, E-2, H-1B, H-2B, H-3, L-1A, L-1B, LZ, O-1, O-2, P-1, P-1S, P-2, P-2S, P-3, P-3S, Q-1, R-1, TN-1 and TN-2.) and I-140 (EB-1, EB-2 and EB-3) is suspended temporarily. Like many of us, USCIS service center operations have gone remote, so it is impossible for the agency to keep up with the demand for premium processing of applications.
In its announcement, USCIS indicates that it will attempt to adjudicate all petitions filed with the premium processing service before March 20, 2020 within the 15 -day time frame, but if that is not possible, it will refund premium processing fees. For applications not yet accepted, USCIS will accept the petition for regular processing, but reject the Premium Processing request and return the $1440 filing fee to petitioners.
To read the full text of this post by Duane Morris partner Valentine Brown, please visit the Duane Morris Immigration Law Blog.
Effective 11:59 p.m. EDT last night, the Canada-U.S. land border closed to all non-essential travel. This closure will initially be in effect for 30 days. Non-essential travel includes travel for tourism or recreational purposes. Trade and commerce will continue. The definition of what constitutes “essential” travel remains open to interpretation. Minister Blair today referred to “essential” as serving and keeping Canadians healthy and safe. Read the official statement from the Prime Minister’s Office.
To read the full text of this post by Duane Morris partner Jet Stigter, please visit the Duane Morris Immigration Law Blog.
The Duane Morris Immigration Team is dedicated to providing the most up to date information and zealous advocacy on behalf of our clients during the COVID-19 emergency. We have compiled information from various U.S. agencies on all aspects of travel, USCIS appointments, ICE activities and Removal Proceedings. This post will be updated as changes develop.
To read the full text of this post by Valentine A. Brown, please visit the Duane Morris Immigration Blog.
Following the World Health Organization (WHO) declaration that classified the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak as a pandemic on March 11, a number of governments have instituted or announced measures limiting international travel. In the most notable of the new restrictions, the United States has announced that it is suspending all travel from Europe’s Schengen Area for 30 days beginning at midnight on Friday, March 13. This measure would expand existing travel restrictions in place for arrivals from mainland China and Iran.
The restrictions do not apply to U.S. citizens, legal permanent residents or their immediate families as well as holders of some categories of U.S. visas (such as A-1, A-2, C-1, D or C-1/D, C-2, C-3, G-1, G-2, G-3, G-4 and NATO visas). The Schengen Area is a 26-country group that has officially abolished border control among themselves.
Globally, it is unknown if other governments will follow suit after the announcement from the White House.
To read the full text of this Duane Morris Alert, please visit the firm website.
On February 29, 2020, President Trump signed an additional presidential proclamation banning entry of all foreign nationals who have visited Iran during the 14-day period preceding attempted entry into the United States. This same ban has been in effect for China since January 31, 2020.
To read the full text of this Duane Morris Alert, please visit the firm website.
