Weekly Immigration Update: March 17–23, 2023

Costa Rica, March 23, 2023
Increasing Processing Delays for Residence Card Issuance

• Due to backlogs and high demand, foreign nationals are facing delays of over a month in securing appointments to apply for initial or renewed Residency Identity Cards (DIMEX) and up to three months in receiving initial and renewed DIMEX after the appointments.
• Though the government allows foreign nationals to maintain their legal status in Costa Rica without a valid DIMEX if they have booked and/or attended the appointment with the General Immigration Directorate, foreign nationals without a valid DIMEX may face restrictions in traveling abroad; initiating certain government services, such as obtaining a driver’s license; and initiating financial processes, such as opening a bank account

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United States, March 22, 2023
Travel Tips for F-1 Students on OPT or Planning a Change of Status to H-1B

• If you are an F-1 student who has applied for or is working on optional practical training (OPT) or who will be the beneficiary of a petition to change status to H-1B in this year’s H-1B cap filing season, make sure you understand the risks and requirements of international travel.
• Reduced operations at U.S. consulates in several regions continue to impact travel this year.
• Traveling abroad while awaiting a change of status to H-1B could affect your F-1 status, your ability to change status, and your ability to reenter the United States.

To view entire article, click here.

 

United States, March 22, 2023
April 2023 Visa Bulletin: EB-2 Retrogresses for All Countries Except China; EB-3 China Advances; USCIS to Accept Employment-Based Adjustment Applications Based on Final Action Dates

• In April, USCIS will return to accepting adjustment of status applications based on the Visa Bulletin Final Action Dates chart, rather than the more generous Dates for Filing chart that it had been using the past several months.
• Next month, EB-1 India and China will maintain their Final Action cutoff date of February 1, 2022.
• The EB-2 Worldwide Final Action date will retrogress by four months, to July 1, 2022.
• The EB-2 India Final Action date will retrogress by eight months, to January 1, 2011, and the EB-2 China Final Action date will remain at June 8, 2019.
• The EB-3 India Professional/Skilled Worker Final Action date will remain at June 15, 2012, and the EB-3 China Professional/Skilled Worker category will advance by three months, to November 1, 2018.

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Israel, March 22, 2023
Regulations Regarding Voiding of Work Permits for Delayed Entry Enforced

• The Israeli government is now enforcing the regulations that void one-year B-1 or STEP Work Permits for foreign nationals whose work permit is not activated.
• The government is also enforcing the regulations that void SEA Work Permits of foreign nationals who do not enter Israel within 30 days from the work permit’s start date.
• Employers of foreign nationals whose permits have been voided will have to reapply for a new permit, which entails additional government fees and could delay start dates.

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Albania, March 22, 2023
Combined Visa, Work and Residence Permit Now Available

• Eligible foreign nationals, including remote workers, au pairs and retirees, can now apply for the Unique Permit, which combines existing visa, work and residence permit applications into a single, streamlined application.
• Under the new policy, business travelers who stay for more than one month within a year need to obtain a Unique Permit.
• This permit will replace certain existing application processes, including the Work and Residence Permit, Certificate of Exemption and Work Registration Certificate.
• The Unique Permit is expected to reduce administrative hurdles and process delays as a result of the online application and expedited processing time of two months, which is shorter than that of other permits in Albania.

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Worldwide, March 21, 2023
Immigration Processing Delays Expected Throughout Ramadan

Foreign nationals and their employers can expect immigration processing delays from the middle of March through the middle of April in the Middle East, North Africa, Türkiye and parts of Asia during the observance of Ramadan and Eid-al-Fitr. Many government offices worldwide reduce their hours and/or close during Ramadan and Eid-al-Fitr.

Processing delays could continue in the weeks following Ramadan, due to application backlogs that accumulate during the closures

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Japan, March 21, 2023
New Digital Certificate of Eligibility Option Now Available

• The Japanese government is now allowing many foreign nationals to obtain a digital copy of the Certificate of Eligibility (COE) for the purpose of filing certain long-term visa applications.
• This removes the additional step of mailing the COE hardcopy to the applicant abroad, which streamlines and reduces the costs of the immigration process

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United States, March 20, 2023
FY 2024 H-1B Registration Period Closes; USCIS Expected to Conduct Selection Lotteries and Notify Employers By March 31

• The H-1B cap registration period for FY 2024 closed March 20 at 5pm EDT. No further registrations are being accepted.
• In the coming days, USCIS is expected to conduct lotteries to select enough registrations to meet the FY 2024 quota of 85,000.
• USCIS has said that it expects to notify employers of lottery results by March 31. Selection notices will indicate whether the registration was selected under the regular or the advanced degree quota.
• The agency will accept H-1B cap petitions on behalf of selected beneficiaries for at least 90 days, beginning April 1.

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Belgium, March 20, 2023
Updates to Implementation of Students and Researchers Directive

Belgium has made additional changes to its laws to comply with the EU Students and Researchers Directive regarding third-country trainees and researchers, which include the following:

• Third-country trainees will find that some rules have been relaxed, while other rules are more restrictive, regarding salary, age requirements, timing, and duration of the traineeship, among others.
• Researchers can apply for a search year permit after completing their research.
• Researchers at a recognized research organization will lose the advantageous exemption that previously applied to them and will have to follow the regular work permit or single permit process.

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Brazil, March 17, 2023
Visa Requirement to be Reinstated for Nationals of Australia, Canada, Japan and the United States

• Effective October 1, 2023, nationals of Australia, Canada, Japan and the United States will no longer be visa-exempt when entering Brazil for tourism, business, sports activities, or artistic performances, or when transiting through Brazilian airports; instead, they will need to obtain an e-visa for entry.
• The new visa requirement will impose administrative hurdles, additional costs and potential delays on these nationals seeking to enter Brazil for the above-stated purposes.

To view entire article, click here.

 

United States, March 17, 2023
USCIS Extends FY 2024 Cap Registration Deadline to Monday, March 20, at 5:00 pm ET

• The registration deadline is being extended because of technical problems that affected the USCIS H-1B cap registration site late Thursday, March 16.
• Employers and their immigration counsel will have more time to submit registrations for the FY 2024 H-1B cap selection lotteries. The original deadline was noon ET on Friday, March 17.

 To view entire article, click here.