Weekly Immigration Update: January 29–February 4, 2021

In immigration news this week:

• Worldwide: Jurisdictions around the world continue to adapt their coronavirus-related travel restrictions and quarantine measures, and many have implemented extension policies and other concessions. Visit Fragomen’s COVID-19 website for the latest immigration updates.
• Brexit: Authorities in Austria, Croatia and Portugal published further guidance on post-Brexit residence permits or residence registration options (‘Article 50 residence permits’) for current UK national residents and their non-EU national family members. Check this consolidated information page for more information.
• Minimum salary requirements: Hungary, Slovenia and Ukraine updated their 2021 minimum salary level. Check this consolidated information page for more information.
• United States: President Biden issued three immigration-related executive orders this week, one of which instructs federal immigration agencies to conduct comprehensive reviews of Trump-era immigration policies, including the public charge rule and naturalization process, among others. For the upcoming FY 2022 H-1B cap season, USCIS will continue its random, computerized H-1B cap lottery selection, as the agency has delayed to December 31 the effective date of a regulation that would replace it with a process that allocates H-1B visa numbers according to the Department of Labor’s wage level system.
• United Kingdom: The UK government opened the British Nationals (Overseas) Route (BN(O)) on January 31, which allows BN(O) status holders to live, work and study in the United Kingdom, with the opportunity to obtain permanent residence after five years of residence.
• France: The French government is now only permitting entry into and exit from France to the European Union, European Economic Area, Andorra, Monaco, San Marino, Switzerland and Vatican City, with very limited exceptions for essential purposes.
• Ireland: Entry visa processing for visa required nationals has been suspended indefinitely, with some exceptions.
• United Arab Emirates: Select categories of foreign nationals will soon be eligible to obtain Emirati citizenship, opening the first non-nationality-based pathway to citizenship in the country. It is not yet clear when the law will go into effect.

 

These items and other news from Australia, Chile, Costa Rica, Iraq, Sao Tome and Principe, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Uganda, Ukraine and the United States follow in this edition of the Fragomen Immigration Update.

 

Important Updates in Immigration This Week

United States, February 4, 2021
DHS Delays Rule That Replaces Random H-1B Cap Lottery with Wage Level Selection Process

• The Department of Homeland Security has delayed to December 31, 2021 a regulation that supplants the random, computerized H-1B lottery with a selection process based on the Department of Labor’s wage level system.
• The delay announcement follows a White House executive order requesting that federal agencies consider postponing the effective dates for any published regulations that had not yet taken effect. The rule had been initially scheduled to take effect on March 9.
• This year’s H-1B cap lottery will be conducted in the same manner as last year – random selection from both the regular and advanced degree registration submissions.
• U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has yet to announce the start and end dates for this year’s H-1B registration period.

To view entire article, click here.

 

France, February 4, 2021
Travel Limited for Entry and Exit to Countries Outside European Union and European Economic Area

• The French government is now permitting entry into and exit from France to travelers from only the European Union, European Economic Area, Andorra, Monaco, San Marino, Switzerland and Vatican City, except for essential purposes.
• Essential purposes are extremely limited and only for health, family or professional reasons.

To view entire article, click here.

 

United States, February 3, 2021
President Biden Issues Executive Order on Review of Trump Immigration Policies

• President Biden has issued an executive order instructing federal immigration agencies to conduct comprehensive reviews of Trump-era immigration policies.
• The order specifically instructs agencies to review their implementation of the public charge regulation, and to recommend steps to improve or revise policies, as appropriate.
• Streamlining the naturalization process features prominently in the order, which instructs agencies to take steps to eliminate potential naturalization barriers and to reduce N-400 processing times.

To view entire article, click here.

 

United Kingdom, February 3, 2021
British Nationals (Overseas) Route Opened

• The UK government opened the British Nationals (Overseas) Route (BN(O)) on January 31, 2021.
• The route allows BN(O) status holders to live, work and study in the United Kingdom, with the opportunity to obtain permanent residence after five years of residence.
• Applicants are encouraged to wait until February 23, 2021 to apply, when an app will launch to allow applications to be submitted and granted digitally.

To view entire article, click here.

 

United Arab Emirates, February 2, 2021
First Non-Nationality-Based Pathway to Citizenship Announced

• Select categories of foreign nationals will soon be eligible to obtain Emirati citizenship, opening the first non-nationality-based pathway to citizenship in the country. It is not yet clear when the law will go into effect.
• Eligible categories of foreign nationals are expected to include creative talents; doctors and specialists; inventors; investors; and scientists.
• Foreign nationals will be able to retain their other citizenship(s) when obtaining Emirati citizenship.

To view entire article, click here.

 

Ireland, February 1, 2021
Entry Visa Processing Suspended Indefinitely

• Entry visa processing for Ireland has been suspended, with some exceptions. This affects visa required nationals.
• Online applications can still be filed but the process cannot be completed until further notice.
• Those who require an entry visa may not be able to complete their application in time, and employees who require entry visas may not be able to obtain their visa for travel to Ireland in the planned timeframe.
• Check Fragomen’s dedicated COVID-19 website for updates and more information.

To view entire article, click here.

 

Other Weekly News Briefs

Australia: Global Talent Initiative Sector Expanded – The Department of Home Affairs has expanded the priority sectors of the Global Talent Initiative – a permanent visa program targeting highly skilled migrants with international expertise in certain high growth industries and with high earning capacity – to include Resources; Agri-food and AgTech; Energy; Health industries; Defence, advanced manufacturing and space; Circular economy; Digitech; Infrastructure and tourism; Financial services and FinTech; and Education. Highly skilled employees who do not fit within the parameters of the standard employer sponsored visa programs will benefit from the expanded sectors and flexibility provided under the Global Talent Independent program. Some key features of this program are an invitation-only permanent visa application process; priority processing arrangements; higher upper age limit of 55 (with concessions); and no sponsorship requirements or Skilling Australians Fund levy to pay. MARN: 0004980

Chile: Relaxed Rules for Expired Passports and Identification Cards for Venezuelan Nationals Extended – The Ministry of Interior has extended the concession allowing Venezuelan nationals with expired passports or identification cards to enter and regularize their status in Chile. The documents must have been issued on or after 2013 and will now be considered valid until April 22, 2023. Usually, a foreign national’s passport or identification card must be valid on arrival to enter Chile, and passports must be valid to apply for a residence permit (for certain application types for at least 24 months). Chilean authorities are taking this measure to alleviate the challenges faced by Venezuelan nationals in obtaining and renewing such documents, further exacerbated by COVID-19-related restrictions.

Costa Rica: Technical Issues with DGME Online Systems Causing Delays – The General Immigration Directorate’s (DGME) website and internal electronic system (including the online appointment system) are temporarily offline due to system security checks, preventing foreign nationals from scheduling application filing appointments and the DGME from electronically processing applications. Though the DGME is intaking applications manually during this time, applicants with filing appointments in the next few days can expect their appointments to be rescheduled. Processing delays for all immigration applications at the DGME can also be expected until the systems are fully restored. Immigration applications filed via the TramiteYa! electronic platform or at a Banco de Costa Rica or Correos de Costa Rica branch are unaffected at this time. Fragomen is contacting affected clients and will report on relevant updates as they occur.    

Iraq:  Penalty Reinstated and Increased for Non-Compliance with Select Visa Conditions – The Ministry of Interior of Iraq has reinstated the fine for foreign nationals who fail to renew their multiple-entry visa (MEV) before they expire and for foreign nationals applying for an exit visa after the expiry date of their MEV or another visit visa. These foreign nationals will now be subject to a delay fine of IQD 500,000 (USD 342.73). The fee had previously been IQD 100,000 but it was temporarily suspended during the COVID-19 pandemic to ease financial pressure due to travel and immigration restrictions.

Sao Tome and Principe: eVisa System Offline – Sao Tome Migration and Border Services (Serviços de Migração e Fronteira) announced that foreign nationals not exempt from visas and those seeking to enter the country for business purposes for over 15 days cannot currently use the eVisa system due to a system outage. Instead, they must e-mail the following information for travel authorization to [email protected]: passport biographic data, full names and surname, reason for visa request, duration (date of arrival and departure) and mode of transport.  After consideration of the request, the authorities will send the travel authorization and the traveler will pay for the service upon entry.

Saudi Arabia: Work and Residence Permits Can be Renewed Quarterly – Saudi authorities have approved a new measure allowing employers the option to apply for work and residency permit renewals (iqama) either every three months (quarterly) or 12 months (annually); renewals were previously only available on an annual basis. Select professions, including domestic workers, will be excluded from the new measure. Under the new rule, employers will have the option to pay based on the selected duration of the new residence and work permit, providing cost savings if they do not need to employ the foreign national for a full year. At present, it is not clear when the new regulation will take effect.

Turkey: Residence Permit Applicants’ Travel Restricted – The Turkish Migration Directorate now formally requires residence permit applicants, many of whom are dependents of principal foreign workers, to be physically present in Turkey at three junctures: when requesting a residence permit filing appointment; when mailing the residence permit application to the Migration Directorate; and when the Migration Directorate reviews the application. This hinders applicants' freedom of movement during residence permit processing, which currently takes over 90 days in Istanbul. Separately, Turkish authorities have temporarily stopped allowing applicants who move to Istanbul from another location within Turkey to file an updated application reflecting their change in residence.

Uganda: Phasing-Out of Machine-Readable Passports Extended – The Ministry of Interior announced that the phasing out of the machine-readable Ugandan passport has been extended from January 31, 2021 to April 4, 2022 to enable more Ugandan travelers to apply for the new East Africa electronic passports. The electronic passport costs UGX 250,000 (USD 68) for an Ordinary passport, and an additional UGX 150,000 (USD 48) for expedited processing. Applicants can apply for a new electronic passport on the Ugandan government website. The introduction of the new electronic passport is in line with a 2016 East Africa Community directive for member states to switch from machine-readable to electronic passports to improve the identification of travelers across borders and to better track the movement of East Africans in the region. Uganda is the last member state to implement the electronic passport.

Ukraine: Government Fees Increase – Effective January 1, 2021, Ukraine increased the minimum living wage for employable persons to UAH 2,270, up 8% from UAH 2,102. This increase affects work permit fees, which now range from UAH 4,540-13,620, up from UAH 4,204-12,612.

United States: Latest PERM and PWD Processing Times – As of January 31, 2021, the Department of Labor (DOL) was conducting analyst review for PERM applications filed in July 2020 or earlier, and processing audited cases filed in March 2020 or earlier. DOL is working on standard reconsideration requests submitted in September 2020 or earlier. DOL is issuing prevailing wage determinations (PWDs) for PERM and H-1B requests filed in August 2020. The agency has been processing PERM redeterminations requested in December 2020 and H-1B redeterminations requested in January 2021. PERM center director reviews requested in December 2020 remain pending. These reports are available on the FLAG page.

This alert is for informational purposes only. If you have any questions, please contact the global immigration professional with whom you work at Fragomen.