United States: USCIS Agrees to Resume Processing H-4 and L-2 Dependent Applications with a Principal’s Form I-129, Per Litigation Settlement

Effective January 25, 2023, USCIS will resume its practice of adjudicating H-4 and L-2 applications for requests to change or extend status on Form I-539 and employment authorization on Form I-765 at the same time as principals’ nonimmigrant petitions on Form I-129 when those forms are concurrently filed, according to a settlement agreement filed late last week in Edakunni v. Mayorkas, a case pending in federal district court in Washington State. The change will remain in place for two years after the effective date of the settlement.

According to the settlement agreement, USCIS will bundle adjudications of properly, concurrently filed Forms I-129 and corresponding Forms I-539 and I-765, regardless of whether the Form I-129 is filed under standard or premium processing.

During the Trump Administration, USCIS began decoupling the adjudication of H-4 and L-2 I-539s and I-765 from Form I-129 adjudications, resulting in increasingly lengthy processing delays for dependent applications. Edakunni challenged that practice.

The Edakunni settlement follows an agreement in a related litigation under which USCIS changed its policies concerning work authorization for L-2 and E-2 spouses. That litigation resulted in L-2 and E-2 spouses being recognized as work authorized incident to their nonimmigrant status and obviated the need for them to obtain employment authorization documents in most instances.