In this edition, find the latest news on the 2024 H-1B Cap, the State Department’s third-party proposal, revised I-9 forms, and more!
USCIS Will Conduct Second Random Selection for FY 2024 H-1B Cap
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced on July 27, 2023, that it will soon select, using a random process, additional registrations from previously submitted electronic registrations for the fiscal year (FY) 2024 H-1B cap.
In March 2023, USCIS conducted an initial random selection. The initial filing period for those with selected registrations for FY 2024 was April 1, 2023, through June 30, 2023. USCIS noted that only petitioners with selected registrations for FY 2024 are eligible to file H-1B cap-subject petitions.
USCIS said it will announce when the second selection process is completed and all prospective petitioners with selected registrations have been notified that they are eligible to file an H-1B cap-subject petition for the beneficiary.
USCIS will update the myUSCIS accounts of those with selected registrations to include a selection notice, which includes details of when and where to file.
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State Dept. Proposes Rule Providing for Third-Party Attendance at Certain Appointments
On July 26, 2023, the Department of State (DOS) proposed a rule to allow private attorneys, interpreters, and other third parties to attend certain appointments at passport agencies and centers and at U.S. embassies and consulates abroad to assist the person requesting services (the applicant/requester).
DOS said the rulemaking will apply only to appointments in support of an application for a U.S. passport, either domestically or overseas; to appointments related to a request for a Consular Report of Birth Abroad or a Certificate of Loss of Nationality of the United States (CLN); and to other appointments for certain other services offered by American Citizens Services (ACS) units at U.S. embassies and consulates overseas (posts).
DOS will accept comments on the proposed rule until September 25, 2023.
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Revised I-9 Form Expected August 1
On August 1, 2023, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will publish a revised version of Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification. Among the updates is a checkbox employers enrolled in E-Verify can use to indicate that they remotely examined identity and employment authorization documents under an alternative procedure authorized by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) related to temporary COVID-19 flexibilities. Under the alternative procedure, the employer must examine and retain copies of documents and must conduct a live video interaction with the employee.
Employers who were participating in E-Verify and created a case for employees whose documents were examined during COVID-19 flexibilities (March 20, 2020, to July 31, 2023) may choose to use the new alternative procedure starting on August 1, 2023, to satisfy the physical document examination requirement by August 30, 2023. Employers who were not enrolled in E-Verify during the COVID-19 flexibilities must complete an in-person physical examination by August 30, 2023, USCIS said.
In addition to the new checkbox, USCIS said the revised Form I-9:
- Reduces Sections 1 and 2 to a single-sided sheet;
- Is designed to be a fillable form on tablets and mobile devices;
- Moves the Section 1 Preparer/Translator Certification area to a separate, standalone supplement that employers can provide to employees when necessary;
- Moves Section 3, Reverification and Rehire, to a standalone supplement that employers can print if or when rehire occurs or reverification is required;
- Revises the Lists of Acceptable Documents page to include some acceptable receipts as well as guidance and links to information on automatic extensions of employment authorization documentation; and
- Reduces instructions from 15 pages to 8 pages.
The revised Form I-9 (edition date 08/01/23) will be published on uscis.gov on August 1, 2023. The related USCIS notice is scheduled to be published in the Federal Register on July 25, 2023. USCIS said employers can use the current Form I-9 (edition date 10/21/19) through October 31, 2023. Starting November 1, 2023, all employers must use the new Form I-9.
Details:
- WR Immigration: Changes to Form I-9 and the Virtual Inspection Process: Top 5 Things to Know
- USCIS alert (July 21, 2023).
- “Introduction of a New Version of Employment Eligibility Verification Form,” USCIS Federal Register notice (advance copy, to be published July 25, 2023).
- “Optional Alternative 1 to the Physical Document Examination Associated with Employment Eligibility Verification (Form I-9),” USCIS Federal Register notice (advance copy, to be published July 25, 2023).
USCIS Updates Policy Manual on Public Charge Inadmissibility Ground
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has incorporated information into its Policy Manual on the categories of adjustment of status applicants to whom the public charge ground of inadmissibility applies “to make it easier to identify whether the public charge ground of inadmissibility applies to a specific adjustment of status category.”
USCIS said the update is intended to help applicants respond accurately to questions related to the public charge ground of inadmissibility on Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status, which will provide officers with the information they need to adjudicate the application and, if applicable, make a public charge inadmissibility determination without issuing a Request for Evidence for this information.
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Labor Dept., Interagency Task Force Announce Actions on Child Labor
The Department of Labor (DOL) and the Interagency Task Force to Combat Child Labor Exploitation announced recent actions to hold companies accountable for violating federal child labor laws.
For example, DOL said its Wage and Hour Division has significantly enhanced child labor enforcement efforts. Between October 1, 2022, and July 20, 2023, as a result of stepped-up enforcement, the agency concluded 765 child labor cases finding 4,474 children employed in violation of federal child labor laws. The agency assessed employers more than $6.6 million in penalties. DOL said these cases “reflect a 44 percent increase in children found employed in violation of federal law and an 87 percent increase in penalties assessed from the same time period in the previous fiscal year. In addition, the agency is currently pursuing more than 700 open child labor cases.”
DOL also recently announced findings that three businesses operating 62 McDonald’s locations across Kentucky, Indiana, Maryland, and Ohio had employed 305 children to work more than the legally permitted hours and perform tasks prohibited by law for young workers. In all, DOL said, the investigations led to assessments of $212,544 in civil money penalties against the employers. DOL also announced child labor violations affecting 83 minors at 16 McDonald’s franchise locations in Louisiana and Texas. For example, the division determined one franchisee allowed three children to operate manual deep fryers, a task prohibited for employees under age 16. DOL assessed more than $77,500 in civil money penalties to two McDonald’s franchisees for violations.
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