Tag: USCIS

  • USCIS Announces Guidance on Social Media Screening for Immigration Benefit Requests

    USCIS Announces Guidance on Social Media Screening for Immigration Benefit Requests

    by CUPA-HR | April 9, 2025

    On April 9, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that it will begin considering “aliens’ antisemitic activity on social media and the physical harassment of Jewish individuals as grounds for denying immigration benefit requests.” According to the announcement, the guidance is effective immediately and impacts individuals applying for lawful permanent resident status, foreign students, and “aliens affiliated with educational institutions” linked to antisemitic activity.

    Under the new guidance, USCIS will look at social media content that indicates a requestor “endorsing, espousing, promoting, or supporting antisemitic terrorism, antisemitic terrorist organizations, or other antisemitic activity as a negative factor in any USCIS discretionary analysis when adjudicating immigration benefit requests.” The announcement states that DHS and USCIS aim to enforce all relevant immigration laws to the maximum degree, consistent with President Trump’s executive orders on combatting antisemitism and national security controls to protect against foreign terrorists.

    In early March, USCIS published a proposal to collect social media information on applications for immigration-related benefits. USCIS claimed that such collection of information was necessary to comply with Trump’s national security executive order discussed above. The comment period for this information collection proposal is still open. The comment period closes May 5.

    CUPA-HR continues to monitor for updates on immigration policy changes that could potentially impact student and nonimmigrant work visas used by the higher education community.



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  • USCIS Updates Form I-9 Language

    USCIS Updates Form I-9 Language

    by CUPA-HR | April 8, 2025

    On April 2, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced minor changes to the Form I-9 to align with statutory language. The changes update language in the document that was included in previous editions of the Form I-9 released under the Biden administration.

    The new Form I-9 changes the language in Section 1, checkbox 4 from “A noncitizen authorized to work” to “an alien authorized to work” (italicized for emphasis). Additionally, USCIS announced that E-Verify and E-Verify+ have updated the Citizenship Status selection during case creation. Specifically, the selection “a noncitizen authorized to work” is updated to “an alien authorized to work.” In previous editions of the Form I-9 and in the E-Verify case creation process, the Biden administration’s USCIS changed the language from “alien” to “noncitizen” in this checkbox to align with an internal memo issued by the administration in April 2021 aiming to change the language used by agencies when talking about immigrants.

    The new Form I-9 from the Trump administration also updates the descriptions of the documents accepted under List B to say “sex” instead of “gender.” This change aligns with another April 2 announcement from USCIS about updates to its Policy Manual to clarify that the agency will only recognize two biological sexes, male and female, consistent with the Trump administration’s executive order, “Defending Women From Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government.” In the USCIS announcement on sex, the agency states that it would not deny benefits “solely because the benefit requestor did not properly indicate his or her sex” but that the agency would not issue documents with a blank sex field or with a sex different from the sex assigned at birth.

    The new Form I-9 from the Trump administration, known as the January 20, 2025, edition, is valid through May 31, 2027. Previous editions of the Form I-9 that include language from the Biden administration are still valid as well, including two editions from August 1, 2023, that have expiration dates on July 31, 2026, and May 31, 2027. Employers may continue to use the previous Form I-9 editions through their expiration dates; however, employers using the August 1, 2023, edition with the July 2026 expiration date in an electronic system are required to update their system with the Form I-9 expiring in May 2027 by July 31, 2026.

    CUPA-HR will continue to monitor for updates related to the Form I-9 and E-Verify.



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  • New Instructions Clarify USCIS Fee Rule Reductions and Exemptions for Higher Ed – CUPA-HR

    New Instructions Clarify USCIS Fee Rule Reductions and Exemptions for Higher Ed – CUPA-HR

    by CUPA-HR | March 6, 2024

    On March 1, 2024, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services published updated forms and filing instructions for the I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker and the I-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Workers. These updates incorporate new fee calculations as outlined in the USCIS fee rule. Notably, the filing instructions state that institutions “of higher education, as defined in section 101(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965” are eligible for the reduced fees and exemption from the Asylum Program fee.

    This clarification follows the issuance of a final rule by USCIS on January 31, 2024, which adjusted the fees for most immigration applications and petitions, resulting in significantly higher fees for most employment-based petitioners. However, due to concerns raised by stakeholders, including CUPA-HR and other higher education institutions, the final rule provided relief for nonprofit organizations in the form of fee reductions as well as an exemption from a newly introduced fee intended to fund the Asylum Program.

    In a previous blog post, CUPA-HR addressed the confusion stemming from the final rule’s reliance on the Internal Revenue Code’s definition of a nonprofit organization, particularly 26 U.S.C. 501(c)(3). This definition caused uncertainty among public universities and colleges, which, while tax-exempt, are not classified as 501(c)(3) entities. The preamble to the final rule suggested that the agency’s approach to defining “nonprofit” was designed to ensure that the primary types of organizations eligible for the American Competitiveness and Workforce Improvement Act’s fee reduction — specifically, educational institutions, nonprofit research organizations, and governmental research organizations — would also qualify for fee reductions and exemptions under this rule. However, the possibility of a strict interpretation of “nonprofit” might have left public universities and colleges facing increased fees.

    The updated filing instructions offer much-needed clarity on the fee reductions and exemptions, ensuring that institutions of higher education as defined by the Higher Education Act of 1965 will not be overly burdened by petitioner fees.



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  • USCIS Issues Final Immigration and Naturalization Fee Rule Effective April 1 – CUPA-HR

    USCIS Issues Final Immigration and Naturalization Fee Rule Effective April 1 – CUPA-HR

    by CUPA-HR | February 1, 2024

    Important Update: We wish to clarify an important aspect regarding the USCIS final fee rule’s exemptions/reduced fees for nonprofit organizations. The rule specifies that the exemption/reduced fees apply to entities classified under the 501(c)(3) category, as per the Internal Revenue Code. This classification may not encompass many public universities and colleges, which, while tax-exempt, are generally not designated as 501(c)(3) organizations. We are aware of the confusion this may cause within the higher education community and are working with other higher education associations to seek clarification from USCIS.

    On January 31, 2024, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued a final rule to adjust certain immigration and naturalization benefit request fees, resulting in significantly higher fees for employment-based petitioners, with notable reductions and exemptions for certain higher education employers. USCIS claims that the increased fees, which will apply to any benefit request postmarked on or after April 1, 2024, will “allow USCIS to recover a greater share of its operating costs and support more timely processing of new applications.”

    Background

    Unlike other government agencies that receive the majority of their funding through congressional appropriations, USCIS receives approximately 96 percent of its funding from filing fees. The agency, after its last fee adjustment in 2016, conducted a fee review that revealed these fees were inadequate to meet the agency’s operating costs. This assessment led USCIS to issue a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) in January 2023, which included substantial increases to various employment-based filing fees, including up to 200 percent increases for some petitions. In response to the proposal, CUPA-HR joined comments which addressed higher ed-specific concerns with the proposal including the impact the increased fees would have had on international scholars and institutions’ ability to hire nonimmigrant workers, including H-1B workers.

    Final Rule Details

    While the final rule is nearly 330 pages long and has significant implications for both employment-based and family-based filings, this blog post focuses on the notable changes from the proposed rule to the final rule that have the most significant implications for higher ed employers.

    The proposed rule introduced a new fee to fund the Asylum Program with employer petition fees. The fee is $600 to be paid by any employer who files either a Form I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker, or Form I-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Workers. In the latest rule, USCIS finalized this fee but exempted the Asylum Program Fee for nonprofit petitioners that meet the Internal Revenue Code’s specific 501(c)(3) classification, resulting in a $0 fee for those entities. While the comments CUPA-HR signed onto requested that higher ed be exempt from the fee, based on precedents like the American Competitiveness and Workforce Improvement Act of 1988, which exempted certain fees for colleges and universities, there is confusion regarding this exemption’s applicability to some public universities and colleges, as many do not fall under the 501(c)(3) classification.

    In addition to the new Asylum Program Fee, USCIS is implementing the following changes to employment-based and employment-based “adjacent” filing fees:

    • Fee changes for visa classifications on Form I-129 and Form I-140: USCIS is imposing different fees for each visa classification sought on the Form I-129 nonimmigrant worker petition, replacing the uniform $460 Form I-129 filing fee across all classifications.
    • Fees for I-129 Petitions for H-1B workers: USCIS had proposed a 70 percent increase in the filing fee, from $460 to $780. In the final rule DHS did not increase the filing fee for nonprofits so it is still $460 (0 percent increase).
    • Fees for I-129 Petitions for L-1 workers: USCIS had proposed a 201 percent increase from $460 to $1,385. In the final rule USCIS set the fee for nonprofits at $695 (51 percent increase).
    • Fees for I-129 Petitions for O-1 workers: USCIS had proposed a 129 percent increase, from $460 to $1,055. In the final rule USCIS set the fee for nonprofits at $530 (15 percent increase).
    • A full fee schedule can be found in Table 1 of the preamble to the final rule.

    In addition to the aforementioned changes, USCIS finalized its proposal to revise the premium processing timeframe interpretation from calendar days to business days. Currently, premium processing allows petitioners to receive an adjudicative action on their case within 15 calendar days. Changing the interpretation to business days will add nearly a week to the existing adjudication time.

    Update on Clarification Efforts by Higher Education

    In response to the USCIS final fee rule’s reliance on the Internal Revenue Code’s definition of a nonprofit organization, specifically 26 U.S.C. 501(c)(3), higher education associations are actively seeking clarification from USCIS. These efforts aim to understand how the fee adjustments will impact public universities and colleges that do not fall under the 501(c)(3) classification. The goal is to ensure that the unique status of higher education institutions is recognized and adequately addressed in the implementation of the fee rule.



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  • USCIS Proposes Fee Rule With Significant Increases for Employers – CUPA-HR

    USCIS Proposes Fee Rule With Significant Increases for Employers – CUPA-HR

    by CUPA-HR | January 19, 2023

    On January 4, 2023, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued a proposed rule to adjust certain immigration and naturalization benefit request fees, which would result in significantly higher fees for employment-based petitioners. USCIS last adjusted fees in 2016, but the most recent fee review conducted by the agency determined that the 2016 fees are insufficient to cover the agency’s operating costs. Unlike other government agencies that receive the majority of their funding through congressional appropriations, USCIS receives approximately 96 percent of its funding from filing fees. USCIS claims that the increased fees will “allow USCIS to more fully recover its operating costs, reestablish and maintain timely case processing, and prevent the accumulation of future case backlogs.”

    While the proposal is nearly 500 pages long and has significant implications for both employment-based and family-based filings, this blog post focuses on the most significant implications for higher ed employers. Of significance for higher ed employers is a new proposal to fund the Asylum Program with employer petitions fees. Specifically, USCIS “proposes a new Asylum Program Fee of $600 be paid by any employers who file either a Form I-129, Petition for a Non-immigrant Worker, or Form I-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker.”

    In addition to the new Asylum Program Fee, USCIS is proposing to increase almost all employment-based and employment-based “adjacent” filing fees. A full fee schedule can be found in Table 1 of the preamble to the proposal and includes the following highlights:

    • Fees for I-129 Petitions for H-1B workers rose 70 percent, from $460 to $780;
    • Fees for I-129 Petitions for L-1 workers rose 201 percent, from $460 to $1,385;
    • Fees for I-129 Petitions for O-1 workers rose 129 percent, from $460 to $1,055;
    • I-765 Employment Authorization (EAD) application fees were structured in a way to encourage online applications by providing a discount for online filings. Online applications will be priced at $555, regardless of whether the individual needs their biometrics, whereas paper-based filings will be $650.
    • Changes made to the I-539 fees for applications to extend/change non-immigrant status were similarly structured to the I-765 changes. Online applications will be priced at $525, whereas paper-based applications are rising to $620.
    • I-485 Adjustment of Status applications uniformly rose to $1,540. For those interested in applying for adjustment of status and a travel document (I-131), those fees will be $2,170 for electronic applications and $2,190 for paper-based applications. Lastly, for those looking to concurrently file for a status adjustment, a travel document and an EAD (I-765), that will cost $2,820.

    In addition to the aforementioned changes, USCIS is also proposing to revise the premium processing timeframe interpretation from calendar days to business days. Currently, premium processing allows petitioners to receive an adjudicative action on their case within 15 calendar days. Changing the interpretation to business days would add nearly a week to the existing adjudication time.

    As mentioned earlier, the fee proposal is nearly 500 pages long and as such includes numerous changes not covered in this blog post. CUPA-HR will continue to evaluate the proposal, which is open for public feedback through March 6, 2023, and plans to join with other higher education associations to submit comments identifying the proposals impact to the higher education community.



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