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The U.S. Department of State announced consular officers have the option to waive in-person interviews for certain visa categories if the individual has an approved petition from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). Certain restrictions apply. Consulates and embassies may continue to require in-person interviews on a case-by-case basis, depending on local conditions. It is imperative individuals check their local consulate or embassy website for updates and more details. Remember, the State Department is simply giving consular and embassy officials the option to waive in-person interviews. There is no mandatory requirement to hold, or not hold, the in-person interview.

With over 1.5 million cases pending, the backlog hit its highest point in November 2021. The all-time high was nearly 1,560,000 for the month of November, growing by 70,000 cases, per data published by Syracuse University’s Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse.

Further, decreases in the backlog have never been reported. Therefore, it’s anticipated that the backlog will continue to grow. 

Although the Biden administration has made efforts to address the backlog, including proposing moving asylum claims from the immigration courts to asylum officers. Also, the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) announced the hiring of an additional 22 immigration judges and are seeking more. In October 2021, 24 new judges were added to the immigration courts.

An additional 20,000 H-2B temporary nonagricultural worker visas will soon be available for the current fiscal year. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced a joint temporary final rule making these visas available. They are set aside for U.S. employers to hire additional workers before March 31, 2022.

Of the 20,000, 13,500 are for returning workers who were granted an H-2B visa within the last three years, from fiscal years 2019, 2020, and 2021. The remaining visas, 6,500, do not require a previous H-2B visa and are reserved for individuals from El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras.

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) released the January 2022 Visa Bulletin. USCIS announced applicants must use the Date of Filing Chart to determine if he or she is eligible to submit his/her I-485, Adjustment of Status Application (AOS). If the priority date for your employment or family-based category is before the date outlined and you are in the United States, you may file your application to adjust status along with the applications for employment authorization and travel permission assuming you meet all the other requirements) with USCIS. Read more to see the current dates.

Starting with the adoption of a definition of statelessness, the Department of Homeland Security is focusing on creating protections and addressing the unique needs of these individuals living in the United States. Per the United Nations, a stateless person does not have the nationality of any country. However, the U.S. doesn’t have a definition, making it hard for the government to identify the unique needs of these individuals.

Once a standardized definition is adopted, DHS will identify the unique barriers stateless individuals face while living in the U.S. With that understanding DHS is committed to creating programs and addressing the protection of stateless individuals.

Current flexibilities for Form I-9 have been extended, per U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The flexibility was originally announced in 2020 due to ongoing precautions around Covid-19. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced the flexibility is now valid through April 30, 2022. 

The extension continues for employees hired on or after April 1, 2021, and who work exclusively remotely due to the pandemic. These individuals are temporarily exempt from the Employment Eligibility Verification (Form I-9) physical inspection requirements until non-remote work begins. The flexibility is discontinued upon employment location changing to a regular, predictable, non-remote work location or termination, whichever is earlier. If employees are physically present at a work location of their employer, there are no exceptions, and Form I-9 needs to be in compliance.

A pending lawsuit regarding the current registration system for the annual H-1B lottery can move forward, per a federal judge. The H-1B lawsuit claims the registration system decreases the chances of lottery selection for those who follow the law and submit a single registration. While the U.S. government sought to have the case dismissed, U.S. District Judge Trevor N. McFadden denied the request. The court states that the suing H-1B applicants don't need to prove the employers still want to hire them in order to pursue their claim. Judge McFadden held that if the H-1B applicants can show they had an active job offer when they initiated the lawsuit, standing is established and the lawsuit can move forward.

In-person consular visit requirements will be temporarily waived for qualifying individuals by the U.S. Department of State. Individuals who have already been issued immigrant visas, approximately 49,000 people, will have their consular visit requirement withheld due to the ongoing COVID pandemic. The rule goes into effect on December 13, 2021, and will remain in place through December 2023. Consular offices have the discretion to waive the in-person and oath appearance requirements for specific repeat applicants.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services is temporarily waiving the requirement that the civil surgeon sign Form I-693, Report of Medical Examination and Vaccination Record, no more than 60 days before an applicant files an application for the underlying immigration benefit (including Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status), until Sept. 30, 2022.  

One quarter of U.S. employers are struggling to fill roles due to lack of available talent, per a new report from TechNet. The study also finds that 64% of employers are finding a lack of alignment between available workforce skills and their needs. Without these roles being filled, companies believe productivity could be dramatically reduced by nearly half. The solution to the issue is in increasing available visas for highly skilled workers under the H-1B visa program.

CompTia, one of the premier trade associations for the technology industry, released the 2021 Cyberstates report earlier this year. In that report, they project 12.4 million net tech employment roles in 2021, with nearly 250,000 being new. In addition, they estimate 3.9 million total job postings for 2021, with over 20% being in emerging technology roles.