Immigration Update

Apr 26, 2021 | Immigration Updates

Please see below for updates and changes from SSA, DHS, ICE and CBP!

SSA Ends “No-Match” Letters

Good news!  The Social Security Administration (SSA) has ended the practice of sending employers “no-match” letters, called Employer Correction Request Notices. SSA said it will instead work to make it better, easier and more convenient for employers to report and correct wages electronically. The letters, which inform employers when W-2 information doesn’t match SSA’s records, were discontinued in 2012 but resurrected in March 2019. Advocates had asked the agency to eliminate the letters, which they said caused problems such as workers losing their jobs due to mistakes in the database.

DHS to Make Additional 22,000 Temporary Non-Agricultural Worker Visas Available

In light of increased labor demands, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced a supplemental increase of 22,000 visas this fiscal year for the H-2B Temporary Non-Agricultural Worker program. DHS said the additional visas will be made available in the “coming months” via a temporary final rule. Six thousand of these visas will be reserved for nationals of the Northern Triangle countries of Honduras, El Salvador, and Guatemala, DHS said. The additional visas will only be made available to employers that attest that, if they do not receive workers under the cap increase, they are likely to suffer irreparable harm, DHS. Additionally, the temporary final rule will allow employers to immediately hire H-2B workers who are already present in the United States without waiting for approval of a new petition. The supplemental increase does not affect the H-2B program in future fiscal years.

President Biden Orders CBP, ICE to Change Terminology

Will the agencies become more friendly?  Under orders of the Biden administration, U.S. Customs and Border Protection and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement issued memoranda to their employees to stop using certain terms and replace them with others.

Examples include:

  • “alien”—use “noncitizen” or “migrant”
  • “alienage—use “noncitizenship”
  • “illegal alien”—use “undocumented noncitizen,” “undocumented individual,” or “migrant”
  • “unaccompanied alien children”—use “noncitizen unaccompanied children”
  • “assimilation”— use “integration” or “civic integration”
  • “immigrant assimilation”— use “immigrant integration”

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DHS Provides Relief for Venezuelan and Syrian F-1 Students

Venezuelan and Syrian students will find some relief soon. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has suspended certain regulatory requirements for F-1 nonimmigrant students whose country of citizenship is Venezuela or Syria. DHS said it took this action for Venezuelan students who are experiencing severe economic hardship as a direct result of the current humanitarian crisis in Venezuela, and for Syrian students who are experiencing severe economic hardship as a direct result of the civil unrest in Syria since March 2011. DHS said that affected Venezuelan and Syrian lawful F-1 nonimmigrant students may request employment authorization, work an increased number of hours while school is in session, and reduce their course loads while continuing to maintain F-1 status.  These provisions will remain effective for Venezuelan students until September 9, 2022, and for Syrian students until September 30, 2022.

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Rapid-Fire Wednesdays Q&A | New USCIS Rule: Registration & Penalties | 4/16/2025

The transcript version of our weekly Q&A livestream for corporate immigration professionals. Join our Immigration News Digest Newsletter for more immigration updates. By Kimberley (Best) Robidoux & Miki Kawashima Matrician 🔥 Question: What is the new registration requirement that went into effect on April 11th? Response: The registration requirement, based on the January 20th executive order titled Protecting the American People Against Invasion, requires certain foreign nationals to register via their USCIS online account. A lawsuit was filed to stop this rule through a temporary restraining order, but the judge did not grant it. As a result, the rule became effective April 11th. 🔥Question: Who needs to register under this new requirement? Response: The rule targets individuals who have not yet been registered. Those already registered—such as lawful permanent residents, I-94 recipients, EAD holders, and individuals in removal proceedings—do not need to take further action since they’ve already been registered and fingerprinted. On the other hand, those who must register include undocumented immigrants, some DACA and TPS applicants, and Canadian visitors entering through land borders intending to stay for 30 days or more. Most foreign national workers who already hold I-94s or EADs are exempt, even if their visas have […]

OFLC Posts ‘Unofficial’ Form ETA-9089 Preview Copy

After the Department of Labor’s Office of Foreign Labor Certification (OFLC) announced on April 21, 2023, that it will begin accepting the revised Form ETA-9089, Application for Permanent Employment Certification, in the Foreign Labor Application Gateway (FLAG) system on May 16, 2023, OFLC posted an “unofficial watermarked preview copy” of the form “to allow stakeholders to become familiar with changes to the form.”  OFLC will no longer accept any new applications submitted via the legacy PERM Online System after May 15, 2023, at 6:59 pm ET. OFLC also will no longer accept the previous version of Form ETA-9089 after May 15, 2023, either electronically or by mail.  OFLC said that the preview copy of the form and appendices are for informational purposes only. “These versions of the form and appendices may not be submitted to OFLC at any time; any submission to OFLC using these forms will be rejected.” OFLC said it will post on its Forms page (https://www.dol.gov/agencies/eta/foreign-labor/forms) the official, fillable PDF versions of the Form ETA-9089 and its appendices on May 16, 2023.  Details: