Duane Morris Immigration Law

March 29, 2020March 29, 2020 by Valentine A. Brown

COVID-19 Immigration Agency Suspensions and Cancellations 3/29/2020 Update

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. Below 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. Duane Morris has developed a COVID-19 Strategy Team which is providing regular updates on all business and employment related matters impacted by the COVID -19 pandemic. A second webinar on Business Continuity Planning for a Pandemic will be held on Wednesday, March 18. To register, click here.

Topics Discussed Below

Continue reading “COVID-19 Immigration Agency Suspensions and Cancellations 3/29/2020 Update”

March 29, 2020March 29, 2020 by Valentine A. Brown

USCIS Announces I-9 and E-Verify Timing Waivers and Modifications in the wake of COVID-19

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. In this blog, we discuss USCIS suspension of the I-9 requirement to review physical documents, an automatic 60 day extension for all I-9 audit responses, acceptance of expired documents for new hires who are unable to update driver licenses and state IDs, as well as E-verify suspension of the 8 day response time for responding to Tentative Nonconfirmations. Continue reading “USCIS Announces I-9 and E-Verify Timing Waivers and Modifications in the wake of COVID-19”

March 29, 2020 by Jet J. Stigter

South Africa Bans Tourists and Implements Immigration Procedures for those Unable to Leave the Country in wake of COVID-19

The South Africa Minister of Department of Home Affairs released a Directive clarifying the implementation of COVID-19 Epidemic travel ban and associated restrictions. Tourist visas normally issued upon entry have been suspended, visas of Chinese and Iranian nationals revoked, and most travelers banned. For those unable to leave the South Africa, visas will be extended until July 31, 2020. Continue reading “South Africa Bans Tourists and Implements Immigration Procedures for those Unable to Leave the Country in wake of COVID-19”

March 29, 2020March 29, 2020 by Jet J. Stigter

Switzerland Responds to COVID-19; Travel Restrictions and Immigration Processing Limitations

In order to maintain Switzerland’s capacity to cope with the COVID 19 epidemic, and in particular to guarantee the conditions for an adequate supply of care and therapeutic products to the population, the Federal Council issued exceptional entry restrictions at the border on 13 March 2020 and has updated these on 25 March 2020. In this connection, and in light of the fact that several airlines have in between ceased operations on certain routes, the State Secretariat for Migration has issued instructions to the cantonal migration authorities, Swiss representations abroad and the border security authorities. Continue reading “Switzerland Responds to COVID-19; Travel Restrictions and Immigration Processing Limitations”

March 29, 2020March 29, 2020 by Jet J. Stigter

Luxembourg COVID-19 Travel Ban and Entry Restrictions

Third-country nationals are no longer permitted to enter the territory of the Grand Duchy. The restriction was put in place, initially, for a one month period starting on March 18, 2020. There are several exemptions from this ban, which are discussed below, including for Belgian, French, and German cross-border workers. Continue reading “Luxembourg COVID-19 Travel Ban and Entry Restrictions”

March 29, 2020March 29, 2020 by Jet J. Stigter

Costa Rica Closed to Visitors until April 12; More Immigration Delays in wake of COVID-19

Costa Rica has announced entry restrictions for tourists until April 12, 2020 and a moratorium on new residency applications until May 17, 2020 on account of COVID-19. Continue reading “Costa Rica Closed to Visitors until April 12; More Immigration Delays in wake of COVID-19”

March 29, 2020March 29, 2020 by Jet J. Stigter

Australia Announces Unprecedented Travel Ban for Citizens and Permanent Residents in the wake of Covid-19

The Australian government has announced on March 25, 2020 that a travel ban has been introduced which will prevent Australian citizens and permanent residents from departing Australia, except in exceptional circumstances. This is in addition to the recently announced entry bans applicable to any non-Australian citizens or permanent residents who have not been granted prior permission to enter Australia on exceptional circumstance grounds. Continue reading “Australia Announces Unprecedented Travel Ban for Citizens and Permanent Residents in the wake of Covid-19”

March 21, 2020March 21, 2020 by Jet J. Stigter

Canada Immigration Information on Closure of Land Border with the United States

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. If you are concerned as to whether your employees’ upcoming travel would be considered “essential”, please contact us to discuss. Please also refer to 2. below for details about further developments which are expected to become effective next week. The official statement from the Prime Minister’s Office can be found at https://bit.ly/2J0DJiD

Continue reading “Canada Immigration Information on Closure of Land Border with the United States”

March 21, 2020March 21, 2020 by Valentine A. Brown

USCIS Suspends Premium Processing for all I-129s and I-140s

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. Continue reading “USCIS Suspends Premium Processing for all I-129s and I-140s”

March 13, 2020 by Duane Morris

U.S. Expands Entry Ban to Europe’s Schengen Area as Nations Around the World Impose Entry Restrictions

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. However, some of the recent and notable measures that have been implemented or announced this week by other countries are as follows:

View the full Alert on the Duane Morris LLP website.