Extension for Certain Ukrainians Paroled into the United States.

Certain Ukrainian nationals and immediate family members were paroled into the United States last year, on a case-by-case basis for urgent humanitarian reasons, during an approximate eight-week period after Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine and before the Uniting for Ukraine process was available. Such individuals were generally paroled for a period of one year, while participants in Uniting for Ukrainereceived a two-year period of parole.

With hostilities in Ukraine entering their second year, DHS assesses that there remain urgent humanitarian reasons, as well as a significant public benefit, for extending the parole of certain Ukrainians who arrived prior to Uniting for Ukraine. DHS will consider Ukrainian nationals and immediate family members who were paroled, on a case-by-case basis, before Uniting for Ukraine for an extension of the parole period and employment authorization, if applicable.

Specifically, individuals paroled into the United States at a port of entry between February 24, 2022 and April 25, 2022 will be considered for an extension. DHS is in the process of considering these individuals, on a case-by-case basis, for a one-year extension of their period of parole to align with the two-year parole period provided under Uniting for Ukraine. DHS estimates it will take approximately four weeks to consider and vet all the individuals in the group and will review cases based on the date of parole.

If an individual’s parole period is extended, DHS will proactively make available online an updated Form I-94 with the extended parole period. The period of parole will be extended from the current expiration date without a gap. Individuals can retrieve and download an updated Form I-94 as evidence of their extended parole period by visiting CBP’s Form I-94 website.

Those who have their period of parole extended will also be eligible to receive employment authorization for the additional year. Individuals who have Employment Authorization Documents (EADs) based on their parole and whose parole period is extended for an additional year will receive a Form I-797C from USCIS that can be used to demonstrate continued employment authorization through the extended parole period.  The Form I-797C will be mailed to the address on file with USCIS.  If you need to change your address, please change your address online through your existing USCIS online account or using the Form AR-11, Alien’s Change of Address Card, online using the Change of Addresspage.

• If you are part of this group but do not see an updated Form I-94 online by early April 2023, please submit an inquiry to Ask Us a Question (cbp.gov)
  • Please select Topic: Traveler Compliance then the subtopic: Ukrainians Paroled U.S. - Russia Invasion
• If you are part of this group and hold a valid EAD based on your parole but do not receive Form I-797C by the end of April, please reach out to [email protected].
• If you do not currently have an EAD but would like to apply for one based on your parole, you may file a Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization, with USCIS. Ukrainian parolees are exempt from fees for first time applicants.

Ukrainian parolees may pursue multiple immigration pathways at the same time and this process does not impact other benefit requests including those who have applied for Temporary Protected Status (TPS), been granted TPS, or applied for asylum.

However, parole will terminate automatically upon departure from the United States. Individuals with parole who plan to depart the United States and wish to return must first apply for advance parole in order to be considered for reentry into the United States.


https://www.dhs.gov/ukraine?mibextid=Zxz2cZ


Briefly in Russian:

​Продление пароля на один год относится только к тем украинцам, которыео въехали в США в феврале, марте и по 25 апреля 2022 года через Мексиканскую границу и получил гуманитарный пароль на один год. Это не относится к тем, кто приехал после 25 апреля по программе Uniting for Ukraine.

Пароль должен быть автоматически продлен еще на один год. Вам ничего не нужно делать. Только  проверять форму i-94 на сайте CBP,

CBP опубликует новые форма 94 с новыми датами. 

Дополнительно до конца апреля 2023 вам придет по почте письмо продляющее разрешение на работу на один год с даты истечения старого (то есть у вас не будет перерыва). Письмо придет по вашему почтовому адресу, который был указан в заявлении на разрешение на работу I-765.. Если вы переехали, срочно подайте форму AR-11 online и сделайте это правильно.

Остальных граждан Украины это не касается - тех кто приехал по туристическим и другим визам, и тех кто посил ПУ   политическое убежище после 25 апреля 2022 на границе с Мексикой, или тех у кого парольт на два года по прошрамме U4U..​

Если вы не получили продление к концу апреля, обратитесь с вопросом по адресу [email protected].

А если не пришло продление разрешения на работу – по адресу [email protected].

Если у вас нет разрешения на работу, вы можете его подать I-765 в USCIS. Украинцы по гуманитарному паролю не платят за первое заявление.

Пока не совмесм понятно будут ли продлевать пароль тем, кто уже подался на TPS или получил TPS.

По закону украинцы могут использовать несколько путей иммиграции одновременно, и это не влияет на то, подали ли вы на получение временной защиты (TPS), получили статус TPS или подали прошение о предоставлении убежища.

Запись на консультацию с адвокатом по адресу.


​
​

USCIS Opens the Humanitarian, Adjustment, Removing Conditions and Travel Documents (HART) Service CenterU.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is announcing the opening of the Humanitarian, Adjustment, Removing Conditions, and Travel Documents (HART) Service Center, the sixth service center within its Service Center Operations (SCOPS) directorate, and the first to focus on humanitarian and other workload cases.
HART will promote cohesive and consistent adjudicative operations, and its dedicated workforce will improve the quality and efficiency of our humanitarian caseload processing. This workforce will continue to receive the robust, specialized training currently provided to employees who are processing these forms. These applications and benefits affect the most vulnerable of noncitizens, and the opening of this service center will make a positive impact in the quality, timeliness, and scale of our humanitarian processing abilities.
After a review of USCIS processing times, we deemed that the greater focus should be provided to these humanitarian-based benefits, which led to the creation of the HART Service Center. With HART, we are taking action to improve our service in partnership with community groups. In fact, the creation of HART is partially the result of the feedback we have received from our partnership with stakeholders and community groups. 
HART will initially exist as a hybrid service center, with virtual adjudication capabilities and coordination with existing service centers for certain administrative support. HART will ultimately transition to a 100% virtual service center with no geographic physical location, across multiple time zones. This center will be identified by the specialized work adjudicated by its staff and not by a brick-and-mortar facility or location. 
HART will process both digital and paper-based applications and petitions and will partner with existing service centers to support physical onsite necessities such as file exchange and administrative support.

The HART Service Center will initially focus on the following case types: 

• Form I-601A, Application for Provisional Unlawful Presence Waiver;
• Bona Fide Determination (BFD) for Form I-918, Petition for U Nonimmigrant Status;
• Form I-730, Refugee/Asylee Relative Petition; and
• VAWA-based Form I-360, Petition for Amerasian, Widow(er), or Special Immigrant.

The establishment of HART is associated with five hiring phases. We completed the first two phases of forming HART on Jan. 29, 2023, with internal reassignments and leadership details of approximately 150 current SCOPS personnel.
The third phase of internal reassignments is currently in process, pending onboarding and training. On Feb. 28, HART was operational with 30% staffing levels and is currently staffed with 150 positions. Through this phased approach, HART will ultimately grow to 480 positions. Phase four is expected to begin in the coming weeks, with the posting of a public USCIS job notice that will seek to attract a pool of applicants from across the country with experience working with the vulnerable populations HART serves. Phase four hiring will focus on bringing staffing levels to 60%-85% of authorized positions by the end of FY 2023. We anticipate by the end of FY 2024, staffing levels will be at 95%-98% of authorized positions. These benchmarks will determine hiring and training which will ultimately establish HART as fully operational. 
Customer Service: Existing customer service channels will continue to be operational during this transition. Customer Service inquires for HART will be supported by the existing service centers.
Address Changes: Address changes for VAWA-based Form I-360 and Form I-918 BFD will continue to be sent to the Vermont Service Center physical address for processing per the instructions on our website at uscis.gov/addresschange. 
Inquiries from Attorney and Accredited Representatives: Attorneys and accredited representatives may send inquiries to the same email boxes they have historically used, as these email addresses are not changing. Unrepresented petitioners and applicants may send signed written inquires/requests for biometrics appointments, including a new date/time or location, to the physical address found on our website.  
Filing Instructions: The transition to HART will not affect current filing instructions. Please continue to follow the filing instructions as indicated in the “where to file” section on each form type’s webpage. Any future changes to filing locations will be posted on webpages for each form and announced via alerts. To register for alerts and updates, please visit: uscis.gov/news/alerts.

Since 2005, our office is helping clients with VAWA humanitarian cases. To contact an attorney, please email  us.

С 2005 года мы помогаем нашим клиентам получить грин карты самостоятельно через гуманитарную петицию ВАВА. Обращайтесь за помощью по емейл.

​

USCIS Updates Policy on Time Frames for Paper-Based Filings and Responses Ending on Saturdays, Sundays, or Federal Holidays 

​USCIS is updating the USCIS Policy Manual to address situations when the last day to file a benefit request or respond to a USCIS action falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or federal holiday. In these situations, USCIS will consider a filing or response submitted on paper timely if we receive it by the end of the next business day. While the receipt date for these cases will continue to reflect the date USCIS physically received the request, USCIS will consider the benefit request timely filed.

In some cases, benefit requestors must file a benefit request or submit a response to a USCIS action within a certain time period prescribed by statute, regulation, or form instructions. Examples include filing a paper-based benefit request on the last day before a requestor’s or beneficiary’s birthday or the last day of a qualifying time period for filing, or responding to a Request for Evidence or a notice of intent to deny, rescind, revoke or terminate within the specified time frame for a response.

USCIS is pursuing several ways to increase flexibility related to filing deadlines, including this Policy Manual update. This update is effective immediately and will apply to all benefit requests or responses to a USCIS action that we receive on paper on or after March 29, 2023. This update does not affect electronic filings or responses submitted electronically, which we consider received immediately upon submission. We are not applying this policy retroactively.
​
Visit the Policy Manual for Comment page to comment on this update. 

Briefly in Russian:

Если вы подали петицию или заявление в USCIS, или ваш ответ на RFE был получен в выходной или праздничный день, то дата получения будет продлена до следующего рабочегно дня, что имеет значение если ответ на RFE был получен в последний день deadline и этот день нерабочий. Дата received on останется тем днем когда заявление посланное по почте было реально получено в USCIS. 

In the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020, USCIS relaxed certain filing and other requirements.

The federal government intends to end the emergency declarations related to the COVID pandemic in May 2023. The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced yesterday the termination of  the first of other COVID flexibilities to be terminated. The USCIS has ended its policy to allow extra time for applicants, petitioners, and requestors to respond to certain actions of the USCIS. Other flexibilities, such as allowing I-9 processing to occur virtually, may follow unless the USCIS allows a particular COVID policy to become permanent.

Effective 03/23/2023, the USCIS has discontinued the policy that provided an automatic 60-day extension to deadlines applicable to responses to certain requests or notices. The extension applied to the following requests or notices, provided that they were issued any time from March 1, 2020, through March 23, 2023:

• Requests for Evidence
• Continuations to Request Evidence (N-14)
• Notices of Intent to Deny
• Notices of Intent to Revoke
• Notices of Intent to Rescind
• Notices of Intent to Terminate regional centers
• Notices of Intent to Withdraw Temporary Protected Status
• Motions to Reopen an N-400 Pursuant to 8 CFR 335.5, Receipt of Derogatory Information After Grant

In addition, filings of Form I-290B, Notice of Appeal or Motion, or Form N-336, Request for a Hearing on a Decision in Naturalization Proceedings (Under Section 336 of the Immigration and Naturalization Act) must comply with the deadlines in the form instructions regarding a decision dated after March 23, 2023.

The USCIS announcement allowed for the possibility that the agency may exercise discretion “to provide certain flexibilities on a case-by-case basis upon request, for applicants or petitioners affected by an emergency or unforeseen circumstance, such as natural catastrophes (hurricanes, wildfires, severe weather, etc.), national emergencies (public health emergencies), or severe illness (including COVID).”

Signature flexibility made permanent.

The signature flexibility policy put into place during the pandemic has been made permanent.
​
In March 2020, the USCIS adopted a policy that allowed documents to be “scanned, faxed, photocopied, or similarly reproduced provided that the copy must be of an original document containing an original handwritten signature, unless otherwise specified.”
Effective July 25, this policy will be permanent.

This policy still requires that the original signature page be retained so that it can be provided to the USCIS upon request. Failure to produce the original when requested “could negatively impact the adjudication of the immigration benefit.

Lawful permanent residents may receive temporary evidence of their lawful permanent resident status by mail rather than physically visiting a field office to receive an Alien Documentation, Identification and Telecommunication (ADIT) stamp (also known as an I-551 stamp).
 
Lawful permanent residents are entitled to evidence of status and may require temporary evidence of their status in the form of an ADIT stamp if:

• They do not have their Green Card; or
• Their Form I-90, Application to Replace Permanent Resident Card (Green Card), Form I-751, Petition to Remove Conditions on Residence, or Form N-400, Application for Naturalization, is still pending adjudication and their Green Card and extension notice have expired.

 
When lawful permanent residents call the USCIS Contact Center to request temporary evidence of status, an immigration services officer will verify their identity, their physical mailing address, and whether that address can receive UPS or FedEx express mail. They will then either schedule an in-person appointment for the lawful permanent resident, if needed, or submit a request to the USCIS field office to issue the ADIT stamp. If an in-person appointment is not needed, the USCIS field office will review the request for temporary evidence and mail the applicant a Form I-94 with ADIT stamp, DHS seal, and a printed photo of the lawful permanent resident obtained from USCIS systems.
 
USCIS may issue temporary evidence of status in the form of an ADIT stamp. USCIS determines if the requestor should receive an ADIT stamp and has the discretion to determine the validity period based on the lawful permanent resident’s situation (not to exceed one year, unless specified otherwise by regulation or policy).
 
Some lawful permanent residents will still need to appear in person at a USCIS field office to receive temporary evidence of their status, including those who have urgent needs, do not have a useable photo in USCIS systems, or whose address or identity cannot be confirmed.
 
The new process will allow USCIS to issue temporary evidence of lawful permanent resident status in a timely way without requiring a scheduled appointment at the field office, thereby reducing the burden on our applicants and increasing availability of field office resources.

This is a 03/16/2023 update.

US Department of States recently changed the rules when foreign students can apply for a F-1 student visa and when they can arrive in the United States.

​New Students – Student (F and M) visas for new students can be issued up to 365 days in advance of the start date for a course of study.  However, you will not be allowed to enter the United States on your student visa more than 30 days before the start date.

Continuing Students - Student (F and M) visas for continuing students may be issued at any time, as long as the student is currently enrolled at a SEVP-approved school or institution and in SEVIS.  Continuing students may enter the United States at any time before classes start.

Briefly in Russian:

​США изменили важные правила, получения студенческой визы на учебу в США. Теперь подавать заявлкние на визу F-1 на студенческую визу в Соединенных Штатах можно за 365 дней до даты начала учебы, указанной в форме I-20.

Въехать в США новые студенты могут теперь за 30 дней до даты начала учебы (чтобы адаптироваться, снять жилье, подтянуть английский, открыть счет и решить другие бытовые дела).
Форму I-20 университеты теперь смогут выдавать заранее, за год и более до даты начала программы.

​More information here.

The application for U.S. citizenship is called Application for Naturalization, USCIS Form N-400. 

The most current edition of the form is posted at USCIS website
https://www.uscis.gov/n-400

Currently, the filing fee is US$725.00.

You can submit this application by mail or online.

To submit an application online, you can create your USCIS online account at:

https://my.uscis.gov/

Under Sign In - select Create Account.

You can find additional information and test resources hare: 
https://www.uscis.gov/citizenship/apply-for-citizenship

Presently, the 2008 test is offered ruring the naturalization test:

https://www.uscis.gov/citizenship/find-study-materials-and-resources

You can watch naturalization videos here:
https://www.uscis.gov/citizenship/learn-about-citizenship/the-naturalization-interview-and-test 

In 2023, USCIS started redesigning the test. During the webconference on March 3, 2023, they explained what the pilot program is, and advised that USCIS expectation for the leval of English language proficiency is ESL Level 3. 

The Medical Exception, Form N-648, was also recently redesigned, and the new process is in effect since 2022.

Form N-648: Medical Certification for Disability Exceptions.

When you seek a medical certification for disability exception because of a physical or developmental disability or mental impairment that prevents you from learning English and civics, please keep in mind the following:

• There is no filing fee for Form N-648. However, a medical professional may charge a fee for a medical examination and for filling out forms.
• Only a medical doctor, doctor of osteopathy, or clinical psychologist licensed to practice in the United States may certify Form N-648. You may contact your state medical board to determine whether the medical professional has a valid license.
• An authorized medical professional must evaluate you in person or where the state law permits, a real-time telehealth examination, and diagnose you with a condition that prevents you from completing the educational requirements in order to qualify for the N-648.
• Read and sign the Applicant’s (Patient’s) Attestation/Release of Information. A legal guardian, surrogate, or designated representative, may also sign for an applicant who is unable to undergo any part of the naturalization examination because of a physical or developmental disability or mental impairment

Below is a list of main changes in the new Form N-648:

• The new Form N-648 is much shorter and has been cut in half from the previous version, from 9 pages to 4.5 pages.
• Part 1, Applicant Information, has been shortened. The new form no longer requests the applicant’s Social Security Number or address.
• The number of questions in Part 3, Information About Disabilities and/or Impairments, has been greatly reduced and simplified to just key information. In particular, the question about the applicant’s daily life activities in the previous version has been deleted. The following questions have also been deleted: questions about the description of the disabilities, cause of the disabilities, dates of diagnosis, dates of onset, date/location the doctor first examined the applicant, frequency of treatment, if the doctor is the one who regularly treats the applicant, duration of treatment, name of regularly treating medical professional, and explanation of why this doctor is certifying the form instead of the regularly treating medical professional.
• Also in Part 3, the previous questions about the clinical diagnosis and the connection between the disability/impairment and inability to meet the testing requirements have been combined in the first question.
• A new section has been added: Part 4, Ability to Understand Oath of Allegiance, in which the medical professional is asked if the applicant is able to understand and communicate an understanding of the oath. In our earlier comments, we asked USCIS to remove this question from the form. The USCIS Policy Alert explains that the intent of this question is to streamline the oath waiver process by eliminating the need for a separate oath waiver request. However, we are concerned that this question will trigger a big increase in unnecessary oath waiver requests. Most doctors will not understand the oath requirements and will indicate that the applicant requires an oath waiver. Then, the applicant will need a legal guardian, a surrogate, or a designated representative who is a U.S. citizen to testify on their behalf, creating another barrier for those who cannot easily meet this requirement. CLINIC plans to raise these concerns with USCIS and request additional training for medical professionals and adjudicators on the oath waiver. In the meantime, advocates will need to work closely with the medical professional to ensure they answer “yes” if the applicant is capable of taking the oath.
• Part 5, Interpreter Information and Certification, distinguishes between in-person interpretation and telephonic interpretation and has clear instructions on how to complete this section when a telephonic interpreter was used.
• In Part 6, Applicant’s (Patient’s) Attestation/Release of Information, the signature box notes that an applicant can make a mark if they are unable to sign. This is something we requested in our comments.
• Part 7, Medical Professional’s Certification, has been simplified, with key information enumerated at the beginning.
• The Form N-648 Instructions have added information on how to file the N-648 when submitting the N-400 electronically, stating that it can be uploaded as additional evidence. In addition, the instructions have added information to clarify that a legal guardian, surrogate, or designated representative may sign for an applicant who has been deemed legally incompetent.

The USCIS Policy Manual guidance on disability waivers has undergone major revisions that make it consistent with the substance and spirit of the new Form N-648. While the previous version of the policy guidance was harsh and punitive, the new guidance is much more humane and offers more flexibility for applicants in meeting the N-648 requirements. Key changes are discussed below.

Flexibility on N-648 filing date and supplemental informationThe new guidance states that while the N-648 should be submitted as an attachment to Form N-400, “USCIS should accept a Form N-648 submitted after the applicant files the naturalization application” with none of the strict conditions imposed by the previous guidance (Part B).

If the first N-648 is not sufficient, the applicant can submit an updated form with additional information rather than a new N-648. “The resubmitted form must be signed and dated by the same medical professional who signed the original Form N-648” and will be accepted even if the form edition is now expired and no longer in use. “USCIS will also accept a letter or other medical documentation addressing the Form N-648 deficiencies, if it is signed and dated by the same medical professional who signed the Form N-648” (Part G, Section 2).

Flexibility in determining when Form N-648 is sufficient

While the previous guidance required that every question on the Form N-648 be answered fully, the new guidance provides a lot more flexibility. The guidance states that “an officer reviews the Form N-648 in its totality” and an officer reviewing the Form N-64 may determine that it is sufficient “even if some of the questions have incomplete responses… if the file and testimony establish that the applicant is eligible” (Part G).

If information is missing from the N-648, the guidance states that “the officer should review any extra documents provided by the medical professional to determine if the information completes the Form N-648” (Part E). In addition, the guidance states, “Before determining that a Form N-648 is insufficient due to missing information, officers should review all sections to confirm that the information needed does not appear in a different section of the form” (Footnote 24). The N-648 may not be found insufficient solely because Diagnostical and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) or International Classification of Diseases (ICD) codes are missing “if the medical professional has provided a sufficient description of the clinical diagnosis” (Footnote 20). Similarly, the officer “should not determine that the form is insufficient solely because the date of last examination is missing on the form if the date can be confirmed during the naturalization interview.” (Footnote 21). If their signatures are missing on the form, the officer may allow the applicant or the interpreter to sign the form at the interview (if the interpreter was the same one used during the medical professional’s examination) (Footnote 13).

Limited reasons for credible doubtThe list of examples of credible reasons to doubt the validity of the form in Part F, Section 4 has been shortened quite a bit and includes, for example, “The medical professional who completed the Form N-648 is under investigation for immigration fraud, Medicaid fraud, or other fraud schemes.” However, it is still open to a lot of interpretation by adjudicators and includes the catch-all example of “Any other articulable grounds that are supported by the record.” Providing multiple N-648s with different diagnoses and information remains a credible reason to doubt the validity of the Form N-648 in the new guidance, so legal advocates still need to review N-648s carefully for consistency when the client has more than one. In two places, the new guidance states that “in general, USCIS should accept the medical professional’s diagnosis” (Part F, Section 4 and Part G).

While the previous guidance emphasized that the regularly treating medical professional should complete Form N-648, this emphasis has been removed from the new guidance. In the past, if the form was completed by a different medical professional and lacked a sufficient explanation of why, this could be cause for credible doubt and lead to a denial.

Telehealth examinationIn Part E, the new policy guidance states that USCIS may accept a Form N-648 certified by a licensed medical professional who completed a telehealth exam. The medical professional must adhere to their state telehealth laws and requirements.

Increased transparency and communication with the applicantThe new guidance appears to improve transparency and communication with the applicant regarding the sufficiency of Form N-648. For example, if an applicant submits more than one N-648 and there are significant discrepancies between the documents, “the officer must provide the applicant with an opportunity to explain discrepancies” (Part B, Section 2). Later, it states again, “The officer must provide the applicant an opportunity to address any specific discrepancies or inconsistencies during the interview” (Part 4, Section F). If the form is insufficient, “The officer must explain why they found the form insufficient in the applicant’s preferred language, using an interpreter if needed” (Part G, Section 2). This is stated again in Part H, Section 2: “The officer must explain the reasons for insufficiency in the applicant’s preferred language verbally during the interview, using an interpreter if needed.” Before requesting a supplemental Form N-648, the officer must seek supervisory approval and “Explain to the applicant, through an RFE, the reasons for doubting the veracity of the information on the original Form N-648.” (Part F, Section 4).

Additional information can be found in November 2022 guidance.

If you have any questions, please email us to ask questions or to schedule a consultation.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced today the expansion of premium processing for certain F-1 students seeking Optional Practical Training (OPT) and F-1 students seeking science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) OPT extensions who have a pending Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization, and wish to request a premium processing upgrade. 

I-907 filing fee of $1,500 must be paid separately.

Online filing of Form I-907, Request for Premium Processing Service, is now also available to F-1 students in these categories. USCIS continues to accept the latest paper version of this form by mail. 
“The availability of premium processing for certain F-1 students, in addition to the ease of online filing, will streamline the immigration experience for a great many international students,” said USCIS Director Ur M. Jaddou. “The ongoing expansion of online filing is a priority for USCIS as we continue to create operational efficiencies and increase access to the immigration system for stakeholders, applicants, petitioners, requestors, and those we serve.”  
Premium processing expansion for certain F-1 students will occur in phases, and students requesting premium processing should not file before these dates: 

• Beginning March 6, USCIS will accept Form I-907 requests, filed either via paper form or online, for certain F-1 students who already have a pending Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization, if they are filing under one of the following categories: 
  • (c)(3)(A) – Pre-Completion OPT; 
  • (c)(3)(B) – Post-Completion OPT; and 
  • (c)(3)(C) – 24-Month Extension of OPT for STEM students. 
• Beginning April 3, USCIS will accept Form I-907 requests, filed either via paper form or online, for F-1 students in the above categories when filed together with Form I-765. 

USCIS will reject premium processing requests for a pending Form I-765 if received before March 6, and will reject any premium processing request for an initial or concurrently filed Form I-765 that is received before April 3, 2023.
To file Form I-907 online, an applicant must first create a USCIS online account, which provides a convenient and secure method to submit forms, pay fees, and track the status of any pending 
USCIS immigration request throughout the adjudication process. There is no cost to set up a USCIS online account, which offers a variety of features, including the ability to communicate with USCIS through a secure inbox and respond to Requests for Evidence online.  
Applicants who previously filed a paper Form I-765 and wish to file Form I-907 online to request premium processing should reference the USCIS Account Access Notice they received for the Online Access Code and details on how to link their paper-filed cases to their online account, or they will not be able to file Form I-907 online and will need file a paper Form I-907 with the Chicago lockbox. 
As previously announced, the expansion of premium processing is part of USCIS’ efforts to increase efficiency and reduce burdens to the overall immigration system, and is being  implemented in a phased approach.  
The addition of online filing for Form I-907 brings the total number of forms available for online filing to 16. The Forms Available to File Online page has links to file all of these forms. USCIS continues to accept the latest paper versions of all forms by mail. More than 1.8 million applications, petitions and requests were filed online in FY 2022, a 53% increase from the 1.2 million filed in FY 2021. 

It has been reported that the U.S. Department of State is offering the return of stateside H-1B and L-1 nonimmigrant visa renewal processing.

This process is in the regulatory framework of the department and presently available to only diplomats and NGOs. It stopped full operations in 2004. 

​H-1B visas are for professional specialty occupation foreign workers across industries and occupations. This visa allows employers to add professional and specialized workers for two three-year periods with further extension period available to those with approved green card petitions waiting limited immigrant visa availability.

Employers seek L-1 visas for foreign nationals who work as employees for a related corporate entity overseas. They are selected for transfer based on their experience and credentials to work for the U.S. related entity as executives, managers or specialized knowledge workers. The L-1 is limited to a five- to seven-year period.

The State Department has not announced any details about the restored stateside service. The agency must set up an entire processing structure to adjudicate the anticipated volume. In the past, specific documents were submitted for processing; they included the DS-160 form, a money order, a passport valid six months beyond the visa petition expiration date, the I-797 Notice of Approval, and an employment verification letter by the U.S. employer with W-2s and pay statements.

It is expected similar documents will be required under the restored program. 

This pilot is expected to start later this year and only for limited kinds of nonimmigrant visas at this time.