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September 5, 2025 | United StatesTimes of India: A War on Fraud: USCIS to Train Special Armed Agents with Powers to Arrest Applicants and Lawyers
September 8, 2025 | European UnionEuropean Union/Schengen Area: Internal Schengen Border Checks Situation
September 8, 2025 | VietnamVietnam: New Visa Exemption for Those Who Support Country’s Socio-Economic Development
September 5, 2025 | SingaporeFragomen and Regional Partner for the Asia Pacific Mark Buchanan Named 2025 FEM APAC EMMAs Winners
September 5, 2025 | United StatesPartner Archana Iyer Wins "Innovation Award" at The New York Law Journal's 2025 New York Legal Awards
September 5, 2025 | United StatesTimes of India: A War on Fraud: USCIS to Train Special Armed Agents with Powers to Arrest Applicants and Lawyers
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Weekly Immigration Update: October 7–13, 2022

October 13, 2022

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In immigration news this week:

  • Worldwide: Jurisdictions around the world continue to adapt their coronavirus-related travel restrictions and health requirements based on several factors, including fluctuating infection rates and growing vaccination initiatives. Visit Fragomen’s COVID-19 website for the latest immigration updates.
  • United States: Due to the ongoing COVID-19 emergency, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is extending its flexible I-9 document inspection policy through July 31, 2023. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) will be issuing a regulation that will make available to employers an additional 64,716 H-2B temporary nonagricultural worker visas for fiscal year (FY) 2023. According to the November Visa Bulletin, most employment-based categories will remain steady. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will continue to accept adjustment of status applications based on the Dates for Filing chart next month.
  • Costa Rica: Appointments for initial or renewed Residency Identity Cards (DIMEX) are suspended until January 2023, due to a shortage of materials. As a concession, the government will allow foreign nationals to maintain their legal status in Costa Rica without a valid DIMEX, as long as they have an appointment booked with the General Immigration Directorate in 2023.
  • Peru: High demand and application backlogs are causing biometric appointment delays for foreign nationals applying for in-country initial visas, including Appointed Worker, Resident Worker, and Mercosur Visas.
  • Minimum salary levels: New Zealand Immigration will adopt the increased national median wage of NZD 29.66 an hour to the immigration system, an increase of 6.8 percent from the current NZD 27.76 an hour national median wage. The Flanders region in Belgium published updated salary requirements for highly skilled workers. Salary requirements for other permit types and other regions are forthcoming. See our consolidated alert for details.
  • Russia/Worldwide: Starting October 25, 2022, the Czech Republic will refuse entry to Russian citizens for tourism, sports or culture purposes. See our consolidated alert for details.

These items and other news from Barbados, Canada, Colombia, Ethiopia, the European Union, Malaysia, Qatar, South Africa, Sweden, Ukraine, the United Kingdom, and the United States follow in this edition of the Fragomen Immigration Update.

Important updates in immigration this week

United States, October 13, 2022
DHS to Nearly Double the Number of H-2B Visas Available in FY 2023

  • DHS has announced that it will make available an additional 64,716 H-2B visas in Fiscal Year 2023, nearly doubling the number of H-2B visas that would otherwise be available this fiscal year.
  • Of the additional visas, 20,000 will be reserved for nationals of El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, and Honduras, with the remaining 44,716 reserved for certain returning H-2B workers.
  • The initiative will also include provisions designed to protect both U.S. and H-2B workers, along with the creation of a new “H-2B Worker Protection Taskforce.”
  • DHS is expected to publish details on the initiative in the coming weeks.

To view entire article, click here.

 

Peru, October 13, 2022
Biometric Appointment Delays Impacting In-Country Initial Visa Applications

  • High demand and application backlogs are causing biometric appointment delays for foreign nationals applying for in-country initial visas, including Appointed Worker, Resident Worker, and Mercosur Visas.
  • For the next few months, foreign nationals applying for initial visas from within Peru, and their employers, should account for delays in work start dates, as all in-country initial visa options involve submitting biometrics.
  • Furthermore, foreign nationals who file their in-country initial visa application but cannot schedule a biometrics appointment will face travel restrictions, since Exit Permits (which are issued to foreign nationals with pending immigration applications in order to travel) are only issued after a biometrics appointment is scheduled

To view entire article, click here.

 

United States, October 11, 2022
ICE Extends Interim COVID-19 Flexibility for Form I-9 Compliance Through July 31, 2023

  • Due to the ongoing COVID-19 emergency, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is extending its flexible I-9 document inspection policy through July 31, 2023.
  • Eligible employers will continue to be permitted to review I-9 identity and employment authorization documents without conducting a physical inspection until the interim policy expires or until three days after the COVID-19 emergency is over, whichever comes first.
  • Employees onboarded on or after April 1, 2021 whose I-9s were completed without physical inspection of their documents must have their documents inspected in person once they begin working non-remotely on a “regular, consistent, or predictable basis.”

To view entire article, click here.

 

Costa Rica, October 10, 2022
Residence Card Appointments Suspended Until 2023

  • The General Immigration Directorate is canceling appointments to obtain initial or renewed Residency Identity Cards (DIMEX) until January 2023, due to a shortage of materials.
  • As a concession, the government will allow foreign nationals to maintain their legal status in Costa Rica without a valid DIMEX, as long as they have booked an appointment with the General Immigration Directorate in 2023.
  • However, 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

To view entire article, click here.

 

United States, October 7, 2022
November 2022 Visa Bulletin – Most Employment-Based Categories Hold Steady; USCIS to Accept Employment-Based Adjustment Applications Based on Dates for Filing

  • In November, USCIS will continue to accept adjustment of status applications based on the monthly Visa Bulletin’s Dates for Filing Chart, rather than the Final Action Dates Chart.
  • The Dates for Filing and Final Action Dates for EB-1, EB-2, and EB-3 Professionals and Skilled Workers will remain unchanged in November.
  • The Department of State’s November Visa Bulletin raises the possibility that a worldwide cut-off date for EB-2 might need to be established at some point in the coming months.

To view entire article, click here.

Other weekly news briefs

Barbados, October 7, 2022
Visa Waiver Implemented for More Foreign Nationals

Canada, October 7, 2022
Improvements For Student Permit Holders Announced   

Colombia, October 13, 2022
Increase Scrutiny of Immigration Documentation for Mexican Nationals

Ethiopia, October 13, 2022
Visas-on-Arrival Suspended Until Further Notice

European Union/Ukraine, October 11, 2022
Temporary Protection Status May Be Extended Until March 2024

Malaysia, October 13, 2022
New Investor Visa Introduced

Qatar, October 12, 2022
Employers Now Required to Provide Health Insurance for Employees and Mandatory Insurance for Visitors

South Africa, October 13, 2022
Significant Passport Fee Increase Forthcoming

Sweden, October 10, 2022
Processing Delays Continue

Sweden, October 10, 2022
Shorter Permit Validity Hinders Foreign Workers

United Kingdom: October 12, 2022
Further Visa Waivers for Gulf Countries

United States, October 13, 2022
USCIS Announces Employers Can Continue Using Current Form I-9 Past 10/31/2022 Expiration

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

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