{"id":7519,"date":"2021-12-17T15:26:26","date_gmt":"2021-12-17T20:26:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/env-8605394.mightybox.site\/?post_type=news&#038;p=7519"},"modified":"2024-10-04T02:29:06","modified_gmt":"2024-10-04T06:29:06","slug":"department-of-homeland-security-uscis-updates-on-h-1b-visa-program","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/techservealliance.org\/news\/department-of-homeland-security-uscis-updates-on-h-1b-visa-program\/","title":{"rendered":"Department of Homeland Security\/USCIS Updates on H-1B Visa Program"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><em><strong>Department of Homeland Security\/USCIS Releases Updated Regulatory Agenda<\/strong><\/em><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>This week, DHS\/USCIS published the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.reginfo.gov\/public\/do\/eAgendaMain?operation=OPERATION_GET_AGENCY_RULE_LIST&amp;currentPub=true&amp;agencyCode=&amp;showStage=active&amp;agencyCd=1600&amp;csrf_token=EB7106B8471C5C0ED1E112B695A8504BE3E4C9C501FBB28A52A17AE61BA4B86A8419266AB27877F64760548F5F7835C3D351\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Fall 2021 Regulatory Agenda&nbsp;<\/a>which forecasts into spring 2022 the agencies\u2019 expected release date of proposed regulations. The Biden Administration\u2019s USCIS planned to publish notices of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) in November\/December 2021; these NPRMs are now expected late Spring 2022. The TechServe Alliance Government Affairs Team continues to follow several NPRMs of concern to our member companies:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.reginfo.gov\/public\/do\/eAgendaViewRule?pubId=202110&amp;RIN=1615-AC70\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Modernizing H-1B Requirements and Oversight and Providing Flexibility in the F-1 Program<\/a>&nbsp;(May 2022)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>This NPRM would amend regulations governing H-1B specialty occupation workers and F-1 students who are beneficiaries of timely filed H-1B cap-subject petitions, including revising the definition of employee-employer relationship; implementing new guidelines for site-visits and compliance, especially regarding petitions filed by H-1B dependent employers; providing flexibility for start dates; addressing cap-gap issues; improving registration processes to reduce misuse and fraud; and clarifying when amended or new petitions must be filed, including those related to certain worksite changes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.reginfo.gov\/public\/do\/eAgendaViewRule?pubId=202110&amp;RIN=1615-AC68\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Fee Schedule&nbsp;<\/a>(March 2022)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>This NPRM would adjust USCIS fees for immigration and naturalization requests. A rule established in August 2020 was&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/stuartanderson\/2020\/09\/30\/judge-blocks-uscis-fee-increases-heres-why-it-happened\/?sh=672f50fd583a\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">blocked by a federal court<\/a>&nbsp;in September 2020. A new rule would rescind and replace the August 2020 rule and establish new rules and fees to recoup USCIS operating costs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>USCIS Announces FY 2021 Accomplishments<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>On December 16, USCIS shared with stakeholders and the public the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.uscis.gov\/newsroom\/news-releases\/uscis-announces-fy-2021-accomplishments\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">agency\u2019s 2021 preliminary statistics and accomplishments<\/a>. Several statistics and accomplishments are of interest or concern to TechServe Alliance members including continued processing delays; good news about a significant increase in employment-based adjustments; and agency prioritization to digitize paper applications and adjudications. A final report will be issued in January.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.uscis.gov\/newsroom\/news-releases\/uscis-announces-fy-2021-accomplishments\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":5027,"parent":0,"template":"","topics":[44],"news-topics":[],"member-content":[],"class_list":["post-7519","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","topics-legal-legislative"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/techservealliance.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/7519","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/techservealliance.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/techservealliance.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/news"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/techservealliance.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5027"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/techservealliance.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7519"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"topics","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/techservealliance.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/topics?post=7519"},{"taxonomy":"news-topics","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/techservealliance.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-topics?post=7519"},{"taxonomy":"member-content","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/techservealliance.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/member-content?post=7519"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}