Weekly Immigration Update: August 25–31, 2023

Iceland, August 31, 2023
Permit Validity and Dependent Rights Improved

The government has implemented several key improvements in residence and work permit validity periods and other aspects of the immigration process for foreign nationals, dependents and students in an effort to improve current labor and skills shortages. Key changes include:

• Four-year validity for a residence permit for a job that requires expertise (up from two years);
• A new rule allowing foreign nationals who completed university studies in Iceland to now renew their residence permit for up to three years from the date of graduation (up from six months) to look for a job in Iceland; and
• A new rule for dependent spouses and children of foreign citizens with a residence permit for work that requires specialist knowledge to work automatically without a work permit in Iceland.

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United States, August 25, 2023
USCIS Gives Beneficiaries of Revised Age-Out Policy Extra Time to File for Adjustment of Status

• USCIS has issued additional Child Status Protection Act guidance to allow the agency to exercise its discretion to accept an adjustment application and accord CSPA protections to a foreign national even if more than one year has elapsed since their priority date became current under the State Department’s Visa Bulletin Dates for Filing.
• New guidance issued Thursday further refined a February 2023 policy that introduced a more generous formula for calculating an applicant’s CSPA age, thereby offering greater protection against a child aging out of the ability to obtain a green card as a derivative of their parent.

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