WHAT’S HAPPENING
The novel coronavirus, COVID-19, has spread rapidly, including to all 50 states in the U.S., with over 10,000 individuals having been infected as of the date of this writing. In response to the significant business closures and travel restrictions that have resulted in response to the pandemic, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) and the United States Department of State (DOS) have announced several important changes that will impact the processing of immigrant and nonimmigrant visa petitions and applications for the foreseeable future.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
USCIS Suspends Premium Processing for all I-129 and I-140 Petitions
USCIS announced that, effective immediately, it is suspending premium processing for all Form I-129 and I-140 petitions until further notice due to COVID-19. In the announcement USCIS confirmed that it will honor any premium processing requests that have already been received and receipted but, as per the regulations, if the agency is not able to adjudicate these cases within the 15-day premium processing timeline, the $1,440 premium processing fee will be refunded. The suspension applies to all nonimmigrant work visas, including H-1Bs, L-1s, TNs, Es, and O visas, as well as all EB-1, EB-2, and EB-3 employment based I-140 petitions.
This suspension expands upon and supersedes USCIS’s previous announcement regarding the temporary suspension of premium processing for FY 2021 H-1B cap subject petitions. USCIS notes that it will notify the public with a confirmed date for resuming premium processing.
USCIS Relaxes Original Signature Requirements
USCIS announced that in response to the business disruptions resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, for all benefits forms (including Form I-129) submitted on or after March 21, 2020, it will accept reproduced original signatures. USCIS clarified that this does not mean that it will accept e-signature (e.g., those that are computer generated such those made through docu-sign or similar e-signature software) but that it will accept scanned, faxed, photocopied, or similarly reproduced original signatures. In all cases,the copy must be of an original document containing an original handwritten signature.
USCIS is also requiring that petitioners retain copies of the original “wet” signature, which they can request at any point in the future and failure to retain such original documents could negatively impact case adjudication. As such, D&S advises that clients should retain copies of all originally signed documents to be sent to our office at a later date.
State Department Temporarily Suspends All Routine Nonimmigrant and Immigrant Visa Processing
The Department of State announced that in response to significant worldwide challenges related to the COVID-19 pandemic, it is temporarily suspending routine visa services at all U.S. Embassies and Consulates. Effective immediately, Embassies and Consulates will be cancelling all routine nonimmigrant and immigrant visa interviews in order to be able to provide emergency and mission critical services.
The announcement notes that this will not impact individuals traveling under the Visa Waiver Program (commonly known as “ESTA”) and that U.S. citizen consular services will remain available. Although interview appointments will be cancelled, the Machine Readable Visa (MRV) application fee paid by applicants will remain valid for one year from the date of payment to be used towards a future visa appointment
WHAT TO KEEP IN MIND
We anticipate additional updates and changes to case processing as the U.S. government adapts its policies and practices in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. D&S will continue to monitor this and will provide updates as they become available.