Weekly Immigration Update: December 30, 2022–January 5, 2023

United States, January 5, 2023
Immigration Agencies Announce Their Fall 2022 Regulatory Plans

• The Department of Labor has reconfirmed its plan to propose increases in prevailing wages for the H-1B and PERM programs, among others.
• The Department of Homeland Security continues to pursue proposed modernization of the H-1B program and changes to the adjustment of status process.
• The State Department has abandoned its plan to finalize a rule that would have eliminated use of the B-1 business visitor category in lieu of the H-1B and H-3 categories.

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Saudi Arabia, January 4, 2023
Professional Verification Scheme Expanded

• The Professional Verification Scheme, originally launched in 2021, will be expanded in a third phase, to select Indian nationals applying to work in certain technical-based professions in Saudi Arabia.
• As a result, these individuals will soon need to undergo theoretical and practical tests to evaluate their skills before they can obtain an entry visa to Saudi Arabia, increasing processing times and costs for foreign nationals and employers.
• The expansion of the scheme may limit the pool of Indian nationals from which employers are able to recruit.
• The Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development is expected to announce an implementation date of this new phase shortly and it is expected that the program will continue to expand to additional nationalities and professions in later phases

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United States, January 3, 2023
DHS Proposes Fee Rule with Significant Increases for Employment-Based Petitioners

• Under the new fee proposal, USCIS would increase and create separate fees for H-1B, L-1 and other nonimmigrant case types. The proposed H-1B fee increase is $780, from $460, a 70% increase. The proposed L-1 petition fee is $1,385, from $460 – a 201% increase.
• The fee for H-1B cap registration would increase to $215, from $10, per registration.
• A new Asylum Program Fee of $600 would be imposed on top of the newly increased Form I-129 and Form I-140 filing fees.
• The rule also includes proposals to lengthen the premium processing timeframe from 15 calendar days to 15 business days, and unbundle adjustment of status and ancillary benefit fees, among other measures.
• The proposed rule does not have an immediate impact on filing fees; USCIS is accepting public comments on its proposals through March 6, 2023.

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United States, January 3, 2023
CDC Issues Guidance on New COVID Test Requirement for Travel from China

• The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued detailed guidance on implementation of the new COVID test requirement for travel from China, set to take effect on January 5.
• Under the guidance, airline passengers two years of age and older traveling from mainland China, Hong Kong, or Macau, as well as travelers from certain designated foreign transit hubs who have been in mainland China, Hong Kong, or Macau within 10 days prior to departure, must provide either a negative COVID test taken within two days before departure or documentation of COVID recovery in order to travel to the United States.
• The CDC guidance clarifies that documentation of recovery may be shown by either a positive COVID test more than 10 days but less than 91 days prior to departure, or a positive test within 10 days prior to departure and documentation that COVID symptoms began more than 10 days before departure.
• The CDC guidance also provides exemptions for travelers transiting China and for certain air crew, military, and law enforcement personnel, and a narrow exemption for CDC-approved humanitarian exceptions.

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United States, December 30, 2022
DHS Extends and Redesignates Yemen for Temporary Protected Status, Extends Relaxed Employment Options for Yemeni F-1 Students

• The Department of Homeland Security has extended and redesignated Yemen for Temporary Protected Status (TPS), from March 4, 2023 through September 3, 2024.
• The initial registration period for new TPS applicants will run from January 3, 2023 through September 3, 2024. Eligible individuals will also be able to apply for TPS-related employment authorization documents (EADs) and travel permission during this time.
• Current Yemeni TPS beneficiaries who wish to extend their benefits will be required to re-register by March 4, 2023. Those whose EADs expire on March 3, 2023 or September 3, 2021 will receive an automatic extension, through March 3, 2024.
• DHS is also extending the suspension of certain employment authorization rules for Yemeni students in F-1 status who are experiencing severe economic hardship as a direct result of the crisis in Yemen.

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