Weekly Immigration Update: March 3–10, 2022

United States, March 10, 2022
FY 2023 H-1B Cap Registration Period Closes March 18

• Employers and their immigration counsel have until Friday, March 18 at noon ET to submit registrations for the FY 2023 H-1B cap lottery.
• Employers should work with their Fragomen team to complete their review and approval of draft registrations as soon as possible.
• USCIS is expected to receive a very large number of online registrations in the final days of the registration period. Technical slowdowns are possible as a result. Early completion and submission can help minimize problems.

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Ireland, March 8, 2022
Improvements to Work and Residence Permissions for Medical Doctors and their Partners/Spouses

The Irish government has implemented the below relaxed rules for some non-European Economic Area (EEA) doctors:

• Non-EEA doctors who have already been working in Ireland for more than two years will be eligible to apply for a Stamp 4 permit and spousal work rights. Stamp 4 offers the right to work without preconditions. This application process is expected to open in mid-March and will close at the end of April.
• Non-EEA doctors, including those recently granted a multi-site two-year General Employment Permit, will be granted a new Stamp 1H immigration permission by the Department of Justice.
• Non-EEA doctors now only need to renew their immigration status once per year, rather than every six months.

To view entire article, click here.

 

Singapore, March 7, 2022
New Assessment Framework for Employment Pass Applications Forthcoming

• The Ministry of Manpower will use a new points-based evaluation framework called the Complementarity Assessment Framework (COMPASS) for new Employment Pass (EP) applications starting September 2023 and EP renewals starting September 2024.  
• Under COMPASS, applicants will need to score at least 40 points which will consider several employee and employer-related criteria such as the salary level and qualifications of the applicant, as well as levels of nationality diversity and support for local employment by the employer.  
• The government will apply the COMPASS evaluation in addition to the standard requirement under which applicants must meet the minimum qualifying salary for EP applications.  

To view entire article, click here.

 

Worldwide/Ukraine, March 4, 2022
EU Temporary Protection for Ukrainian Citizens and Residents Implemented; Updates on Immigration Concessions for Ukrainian Citizens

• EU Ministers unanimously agreed to activate the Temporary Protection Directive. The Directive provides a residence permit and access to the labour market in EU Member States, among other protections, for Ukrainian citizens and third-country citizens residing in Ukraine. The practicalities of applying for the residence permit and gaining access to the labour market will be determined on a country-by-country basis.
• In addition to this announcement, more countries are granting immigration concessions for Ukrainian citizens. 
• Check our Spotlight page on the evolving situation and firm resources.
• Some countries are exempting Ukrainian and/or other citizens from COVID-19 entry rules, as listed on our dedicated COVID-19 website.

To view entire article, click here.

 

United States, March 3, 2022
DHS Designates Ukraine for TPS

• The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has announced an 18-month designation of Ukraine for Temporary Protected Status (TPS), to take effect upon publication of an upcoming Federal Register notice.
• Ukrainian nationals eligible for this designation must have continuously resided in the United States since March 1, 2022 to be eligible for TPS.
• A Federal Register notice providing full details on applying for TPS and related employment authorization is expected shortly.

To view entire article, click here.

Australia: Additional Concessions for Certain Temporary Visa Holders to Support Economic Recovery – Adding to the temporary visa concessions introduced last January, the Australian government introduced further concessions such as extended work rights for eligible ‘COVID-19 Pandemic event’ stream applicants by making them eligible to obtain a six-month Temporary Activity visa, regardless of their sector, and continuing to allow those working in or with an offer to work in a critical sector eligible for a 12-month Temporary Activity visa. Furthermore, the government has suspended the 40-hour per fortnight work restriction for existing and new dependent Training (subclass 407) visa holders. Similar to the temporary concessions for Student visa holders, this concession is expected to be reviewed in April 2022. Lastly, certain current and former Skilled-Recognised Graduate (Subclass 476) visa holders who lost time in Australia due to COVID-19-related travel restrictions will have their visas automatically extended until April 2024. The Department of Home Affairs will notify eligible visa holders of the extension of their visas.

Australia: Significant Delays in Visa Processing Due to Government Backlog – Although recently submitted visa applications are generally being processed within the standard time frames, Fragomen has observed significant delays in processing across all visa types, particularly for Temporary Skill Shortage visas, including those sponsored by Accredited Sponsors. This is due to a large backlog of pending visa applications brought about by the reopening of the international border in February 2022 for fully-vaccinated visa holders.

Brazil: Technical Issues with Online Visa Application System Causing Visa Application Delays – The Ministry of Justice has replaced the online system that foreign nationals use to file applications for work and investment visas. The new system (MigranteWeb 2.0) is experiencing several technical issues. Some applications submitted through the system are not being accepted, and others are experiencing delays (delays of one day or more after submission, instead of immediate processing as under the prior system). Additionally, in many cases, the system is incorrectly issuing notices that request documents which were already submitted. Visa applicants and employers should expect delays until the system is fully restored. Fragomen is actively monitoring the system and reaching out to government officials to petition for practical solutions while the technical issues continue.  

Cape Verde/Switzerland: Visa Waiver to be Implemented – Cape Verde signed a reciprocal visa waiver agreement with Switzerland that allows for visa-free stays for 90 days in a 180-day period in each country, for nationals of both countries. The visa waiver allows travel for business and tourism. The implementation date of the agreement is yet to be announced.

Chile: Published Regulation Creates Additional Changes to New Immigration Law – As an update on the new immigration law approved in 2020 and published in April 2021, the Ministry of Interior has published an additional implementing regulation. Under the new regulation, foreign nationals seeking short-term work in Chile (including consulting and technical activities, entertainment industry, sports and attending conferences) now have the option to apply for short-term work authorization (special work permit for tourists) prior to arrival, which allows them to start work sooner upon arrival in Chile. Previously, they had to enter Chile as tourists and wait for their work permit to be issued, which can take up to 10 days. Additionally, according to the regulation, the National Immigration Service may issue the permit for up to 90 days (extendable for an additional 90 days), up from the usual 30-day validity. Additional details of the short-term work authorization are expected soon as the National Immigration Service implements the new process on its online platform. Another key change of the regulation is that foreign nationals entering Chile for tourism, business or short-term work must be able to show proof of economic means of at least USD 50 per day of stay.

European Union/Vanuatu: Visa Requirement to be Temporarily Reintroduced for Vanuatu Passport Holders with Passports Issued Since May 25, 2015 – Effective April 3, 2022, citizens of Vanuatu holding passports issued since May 25, 2015 will once again require a visa to travel to the European Union; these individuals are currently visa exempt. The policy change results from partial suspension of the visa waiver agreement between the European Union and Vanuatu due to security concerns with Vanuatu's citizenship by investment program (golden passport). The golden passport program has an extremely low rejection rate, short processing periods, no information exchange with countries of origin or residence, and requires no physical presence or residence. This has resulted in passports being issued to individuals listed in Interpol databases.

Mexico: Visa Requirement for Nationals of Ecuador Extended Indefinitely – The visa requirement implemented in September 2021 for nationals of Ecuador has been extended indefinitely. As a result, nationals of Ecuador seeking to enter Mexico for tourism and business will need to obtain a consular Visit Visa for entry, which typically allows a maximum stay of 180 days for each entry. Certain Ecuadorian nationals may still be visa exempt if they hold an eligible visa or immigration status from another country (which includes holding permanent residence or a valid visa for Canada, Japan, the United Kingdom, the United States, or a Schengen Area country, among other exceptions).

Russia: Reminder for Highly-Qualified Specialists to Maintain Immigration Status After Exit – As a reminder, employers of Highly Qualified Specialists leaving Russia must still pay the minimum wage per month (RUB 167,000). If it is impossible to pay wages (for example, if the employee took leave at their own expense), the minimum amount of wages within one quarter should be paid in the amount of RUB 501,000, before taxes. Additionally, Highly Qualified Specialists’ work permits are automatically cancelled after six months of absence from Russia.

Slovakia: Foreign Police Appointments Cancelled for Non-Ukrainian Citizens – The Ministry of Interior announced that all scheduled reservations for non-Ukrainian citizens at the Foreign Police are cancelled and must be rescheduled. Until further notice, the Foreign Police will only honour appointments from Ukrainian citizens and their family members entering from Ukraine. As a result, the permits and immigration statuses of all foreign nationals whose permits expire in an upcoming period will be automatically renewed.

United States/Belarus/Russia: Certain Travelers Present in Belarus or Russia Exempt from Pre-Departure COVID Testing Through April 1 – Through 11:59 PM EDT on April 1, 2022, U.S. citizens, U.S. lawful permanent residents (LPRs), and valid U.S. immigrant visa holders who were physically present in Belarus or Russia as of February 28, 2022, are exempt from providing proof of negative COVID-19 test prior to boarding a flight to the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Note that under international air travel rules in effect since November 8, 2021, U.S. citizens, LPRs, and those holding immigrant visas are not required to provide proof of COVID-19 vaccination prior to boarding a flight to the United States. As a reminder, certain nonimmigrants from Ukraine entering the United States are exempt from the COVID-19 vaccination and testing requirements.

United States: Latest DOL PERM and PWD Processing Times – As of February 28, 2022, the Department of Labor (DOL) was conducting analyst review for PERM applications filed in September 2021 or earlier, and processing audited cases with priority dates of June 2021 or earlier. DOL is working on standard reconsideration requests that were appealed in September 2021 or earlier. DOL is issuing prevailing wage determinations (PWDs) for PERM requests filed in September 2021 (OES) and June 2021 (non-OES), and H-1B requests filed in August 2021 (OES) and June 2021 (non-OES). The agency has been processing PERM redeterminations requested in December 2021 and H-1B redeterminations requested in January 2022. PERM center director reviews requested in January 2022 pending. These reports are available on the DOL FLAG page.