Weekly Immigration News Recap (March 6-12)
USCIS Announces Premium Processing; New Online-Filing Procedures for Certain F-1 Students Seeking OPT or STEM OPT Extensions
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced the expansion of premium processing for certain F-1 students seeking Optional Practical Training (OPT) and F-1 students seeking science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) OPT extensions who have a pending Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization, and wish to request a premium processing upgrade.
Source: USCIS
USCIS Updates Policy Guidance on Mobile Biometrics Services
USCIS is issuing policy guidance in the USCIS Policy Manual to address how we provide mobile biometrics services. The goal of the new guidance is to make it easier for people to get benefits even if they can’t make it to an appointment at an Application Support Center to give biometrics like fingerprints, which are needed for some benefit requests. The guidance tells us when we can offer mobile biometrics services and when we should use the services of other agencies that are closer to the person making the request.
Source: USCIS
New Entrepreneur Resources Available on USCIS Website
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has published additional online resources on uscis.gov to provide an overview of some of the temporary and permanent pathways for noncitizen entrepreneurs to work in the United States. This guide also talks about some of the most important things entrepreneurs need to know about immigration if they want to start or run a business in the United States.
New pages:
- Options for Noncitizen Entrepreneurs to Work in the United States;
- Nonimmigrant or Parole Pathways for Entrepreneur Employment in the United States; and
- Immigrant Pathways for Entrepreneur Employment in the United States.
The United States has long been a destination for top talent from all over the world. Our ability to attract entrepreneurs has spurred path-breaking innovation, leading to the creation of jobs, new industries, and new opportunities for all Americans.
Source: USCIS
USCIS Provides Guidance on Program for International Entrepreneurs
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has issued comprehensive guidance (PDF, 311.98 KB) on parole for international entrepreneurs.
To enhance entrepreneurship, innovation, and job creation in the United States, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) published the International Entrepreneur Rule on Jan. 17, 2017.
This rule provides a framework for DHS to use its parole authority to grant a period of authorized stay, on a case-by-case basis, to noncitizen entrepreneurs who possess a substantial ownership interest in a start-up entity and who can demonstrate that their stay in the United States would provide a significant public benefit through that start-up entity’s potential for rapid business growth and job creation.
After fully implementing the International Entrepreneur Rule in 2021, we have received a growing number of applications and continue to adjudicate them as expeditiously as possible.
USCIS is now publishing guidance in the Policy Manual, which includes information about:
- The criteria for consideration for the applicant, the start-up entity, and the qualified investment or government award or grant;
- Evidence and documentation;
- The discretionary nature of the entrepreneur parole adjudication;
- Conditions on parole and bases for termination;
- The criteria for consideration for an additional parole period; and
- Options available to the entrepreneur’s family to join the entrepreneur as parolees and, if eligible, to obtain employment authorization.
Although an individual who is paroled into the United States has not been admitted into the United States for purposes of immigration law, parolees may enter and remain in the United States and may be authorized to work.
Source: USCIS
