This Week in Immigration: USCIS Cancels Appointments on January 19-20, Countries Eligible for H-2A and H-2B Visa Program, and the Presidential Inauguration

Happy Monday! Welcome again to Visalawyerblog. We begin off the week with some attention-grabbing immigration updates.

USCIS Updates – ASC and Interview Appointments Scheduled on January 19^th and 20^th can be Rescheduled

In anticipation of the Presidential inauguration on January 20, 2021, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has announced the short-term suspension of in-person providers in any respect area workplaces, asylum workplaces, and utility help facilities (ASC biometrics workplaces) on January 19^th and January 20^th to make sure the security of staff and people with appointments on these dates.

Accordingly, for people who had appointments on these dates (both for biometrics or for an interview) USCIS can be rescheduling these appointments and sending notices with the brand new appointment dates.

Please preserve a glance out for these notices within the mail inside the subsequent few weeks.

Nationals Eligible to Participate within the H-2A and H-2B Visa Program

In different information, final week the Department of Homeland Security let go the checklist of nations eligible to take part within the H-2A and H-2B visa packages within the Federal Register.

The H-2A and H-2B visa packages enable U.S. employers to deliver international nationals to the United States to fill short-term agricultural and nonagricultural jobs.

Typically, USCIS approves H-2A and H-2B petitions just for nationals of nations that the secretary of Homeland Security has designated as eligible to take part within the packages.

However, USCIS might approve H-2A and H-2B petitions, together with people who had been pending as of the date of the Federal Register discover, for nationals of nations not on the checklist on a case-by-case foundation provided that doing so is set on be within the interest of the United States based mostly on the proof submitted.

Which international locations are on the checklist?

Effective Jan. 19, nationals of the next international locations are eligible to take part within the H-2A and H-2B packages:

*The Dominican Republic, Moldova, and Paraguay are eligible to take part within the H-2A program however they aren’t eligible to take part within the H-2B program.

**Mongolia and the Philippines are eligible to take part within the H-2B program however are usually not eligible to take part within the H-2A program.

Presidential Inauguration

As a reminder the presidential inauguration will happen this Wednesday January 20, 2021. We are very excited to see what the Biden administration will do for immigration within the coming weeks and months. We ask that you simply stand by and comply with our blogs and social media pages for the newest immigration updates. This 12 months is certain to be full of dozens of recent insurance policies, presidential proclamations, and laws that may straight affect immigration. Now that Biden will enter the presidency with a Democratic House and Senate, he can have one of many biggest possibilities to move complete immigration reform.

Just days in the past, President-elect Joe Biden publicly introduced his resolution to right away ask Congress to supply authorized standing to the estimated 11 million individuals dwelling within the nation illegally.

Biden has said that he’ll announce laws his first day in workplace (Wednesday January 20th) to supply a path to citizenship for hundreds of thousands of immigrants within the United States illegally, in accordance with individuals conversant in his plans.

We sit up for reporting on this information as quickly as additional particulars are let go by his administration.

Watch the presidential inauguration right here.

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