Month: April 2021

Categories
Updates

Updated Advisory: Traveling to the Philippines and the U.S.

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Traveling to the Philippines

The Philippine government has suspended the entry of all foreign nationals with certain exemptions through April 21, 2021. In addition, the number of inbound international passengers has been limited to 1,500 per day.

As per the latest directive from the National Task Force Against COVID-19 (NTF), only the following foreign nationals may be allowed to enter the Philippines during the period 22 March – 21 April 2021:

  1. Holders of 9(e) or 47(a)(2) visas;
  2. Foreign nationals for medical repatriation and their escort/s duly endorsed by the Department of Foreign Affairs-Office of the Undersecretary for Migrant Workers Affairs (DFA-OUMWA) or the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA);
  3. Foreign seafarers with valid 9c crew list visa;
  4. Foreign spouses, children, and parents of Filipino nationals who are travelling with them and with valid visas upon entry;
  5. Foreign nationals with emergency, humanitarian, and other analogous cases approved by the NTF COVID-19.

Foreign nationals who have emergency, humanitarian, and other similar cases may seek approval by sending an email request to:

Those who comply with the above and who are allowed to enter the Philippines will have to comply with the mandatory 7 days quarantine upon arrival at approved Department of Health (DOH) facilities. This rule applies despite negative COVID tests upon arrival. On the sixth (6th) day of arrival, the traveler will have to take a mandatory COVID-testing. 

Make sure before traveling and before making a hotel reservation that the hotel is an accredited quarantine hotel/facility by the Philippine Department of Health. For a list of accredited quarantine hotels and facilities, travelers should exercise due diligence by researching only on reputable information sources. Or they may contact their airlines for any list of their partner quarantine hotels for recommendation. 

Traveling to the United States

All airline passengers traveling to the United States, including U.S. citizens and Lawful Permanent Residents (LPRs), are required to provide proof of a negative COVID-19 viral test or recovery from COVID-19.

Effective January 26, 2021 all airline passengers to the United States ages two years and older must provide either a negative COVID-19 viral test taken within three calendar days of travel or provide a positive test result and documentation from a licensed health care provider or public health official of having recovered from COVID-19 in the 90 days preceding travel.  Passengers must also attest, under penalty of law, to having received a negative qualifying test result or to recovery from COVID-19 and medical clearance to travel.   

Airlines must deny boarding to passengers who do not meet these requirements.   U.S. citizens in countries where adequate COVID-19 testing is not available or may not be able to satisfy the requirements, should depart immediately or prepare to be unable to return to the United States until such time as they can meet the requirements.    

(This update is current as of March 22, 2021.)

Categories
Updates

Trump’s Covid-related Immigration Ban has Expired: Will All Visa Processing Begin Again?

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Presidential Proclamation 10052, which temporarily suspended the entry of certain H-1B, H-2B, J (for certain categories within the Exchange Visitor Program), and L nonimmigrants, expired on March 31, 2021.

According to the U.S. Department of State, visa applicants who have not yet been interviewed or scheduled for an interview will have their applications prioritized and processed in accordance with existing phased resumption of visa services guidance.  

The U.S. Embassy in Manila maintains limited routinary services given the current local condition in the Philippines and given the limited staffing resources. There is no specific date when the U.S. Embassy in Manila will resume full routinary visa services but the consular officer will continue to  provide emergency and mission-critical visa services.

As of March 15, 2021, the U.S. Embassy in Manila is processing the following limited number of cases: 

Immigrant Visa:  

  • Cases for applicants previously interviewed and refused under INA Section 221(g) for additional document submission or processing.
  • Interviews for any case with a derivative applicant who is turning 21 years old and risks losing eligibility as a child.
  • Interviews for Immediate Relative family members of U.S. citizens, including intercountry adoptions: IR-1, CR-1, IR-2, CR-2, IR-3, IH-3, IR-4, IH-4, and IR-5.
  • Expedite-approved mission critical cases, such as fiancé(e)s of U.S. citizens and their children (K-1, K-2) if there is a terminal eligibility deadline (age out or one year issuance deadline for K-1 of an issued K-1 approaching) or active U.S. military petitioners as well as employment-based (EB-3) immigrants with healthcare positions on a case-to-case basis.
  • Visa interviews for all other immigrant visa categories remain suspended until local conditions and capacity allows.

Nonimmigrant Visa:  

The Embassy continues to prioritize travelers with urgent travel needs, foreign diplomats, and certain mission-critical categories of travelers such as those coming to assist with the U.S. response to the pandemic, followed by students and exchange visitors (F-1, M-1, and J-1) and temporary employment visas). 

Visa appointments and processing for B1/B2 (Business/Tourist) remain suspended. 

Categories
Updates

DHS Withdraws October 2020 Affidavit of Support Rule

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The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced on March 19, 2021 that proposed rule on affidavit of support dated October 2, 2020 will be withdrawn. This policy change is consistent with the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) commitment to reduce barriers within the legal immigration system. DHS and USCIS are committed to eliminating barriers that prevent legal immigrants from accessing government services available to them.

The 189-page October 2020 rule would have imposed higher qualifying and evidentiary requirements including production of bank information and credit reports. These requirements would have placed undue burden on the U.S. citizens petitioning their relatives who are signing affidavits of support. According to the USCIS, it is estimated that the cost of implementing these requirements on U.S. citizen petitioners is $2.4 billion over the next decade.

The withdrawal of this rule is just one of many policies that reverses the prior administration’s restrictive immigration rules. These changes are all consistent with President Biden’s Executive Order (EO) 14012, Restoring Faith in Our Legal Immigration Systems and Strengthening Integration and Inclusion Efforts for New Americans.

Both the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of State are reverting to the public charge standard that had been in effect prior to the proposed changes.

Meantime, the DHS has reinstated the Form I-864W, Request for Exemption for Intending Immigrant’s Affidavit of Support, which allows certain applicants to seek exemption from the affidavit of support requirements. These applicants include: (1) individuals who have earned or can receive credit for 40 quarters of coverage under the Social Security Act (SSA); (2) children who will become U.S. citizens upon entry to the United States; (3) self petitioning widow/ers and (4) self-petitioning battered spouses and children. These applicants will be required to submit Form I-864W if seeking an exemption from the affidavit of support requirement.

Categories
Updates

No More Trump Era Citizenship Test: Back to the 2008 Civic Test

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The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced on February 22, 2021 that it will revert to the 2008 version of the naturalization civic test. 

The Trump-era citizenship test is lengthy and doubled the number of questions immigrants must answer correctly to pass. In keeping with President Biden’s executive order directing federal agencies to “restore faith” in the immigration system and make naturalization more accessible, the USCIS will administer the 2008 civic test instead. 

The civics test is administered to applicants who apply for U.S. citizenship through naturalization and is one of the statutory requirements for naturalizing. Applicants must demonstrate a knowledge and understanding of the fundamentals of the history, principles, and form of government of the United States. The decision to naturalize demonstrates an investment in and commitment to this country. USCIS is committed to administering a test that is an instrument of civic learning and fosters civic integration as part of the test preparation process.

According to the USCIS, applicants who filed their application for naturalization on or after December 1, 2020, and before March 1, 2021, likely have been studying for the 2020 test; therefore, USCIS will give these applicants the option to take either the 2020 civics test or the 2008 civics test. There will be a transition period where both tests are being offered. The 2020 test will be phased out on April 19, 2021, for initial test takers. Applicants filing on or after March 1, 2021, will take the 2008 civics test.

Categories
Featured

Updates on Biden’s U.S. Citizenship Act of 2021

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The U.S. Citizenship Act of 2021 (H.R. 1177 and S.348) introduced in Congress by the Democrats on February 18 and 22, 2021 is currently referred to the Judiciary Committee for hearing and consideration. No significant action has been taken on this Biden bill since its introduction.

There are two stand-alone bills that were approved by the U.S. House of Representatives in the month of March 2021. These are the American Dream and Promise Act and the Farm Workforce Modernization Act. Both of the provisions of these bills are also included in the broader U.S. Citizenship Act of 2021.

The American Dream and Promise Act

On March 18, 2021, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the American Dream and Promise (H.R.6) by a bipartisan vote of 228 to 197. Nine Republicans voted yes with the Democrats. 

The Dream and Promise Act would grant Dreamers conditional permanent resident status for 10 years, and cancel removal proceedings if they:

  1. Have been continuously physically present in the U.S. on or before January 1, 2021;
  2. Were 18 years old or younger on the initial date of entry into the U.S.;
  3. Are not otherwise inadmissible.

The Farm Workforce Modernization Act

On March 18, 2021, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Farm Workforce Modernization Act by a 247 to 174 vote. The passage was bipartisan with 30 Republicans voting yes with the Democrats; one Democrat voted against the bill.

This bill establishes a program for agricultural workers in the United States (and their spouses and minor children) to earn legal status through continued agricultural employment. The bill provides a process for farm workers to seek Certified Agricultural Worker (CAW) status—a temporary status for those who have worked at least 180 days in agriculture over the last 2 years. CAW status can be renewed indefinitely with continued farm work (at least 100 days per year). 

Both the American Dream and Promise Act and the Farm Workforce Modernization Act must be passed before the Senate before it becomes effective as legislation. The Senate must pass these bills with bi-partisan support. Given the support of the Republicans (9 Republicans on the Dream Act and 30 Republicans on the Farmworker bill), we are optimistic that these bills will also pass in the Senate. 

We are monitoring progress of the U.S. Citizenship Act of 2021 where various committees including the Judiciary Committee must recommend approval of the bill after examining all the provisions. If approved it will provide, among others, pathways to citizenship for millions of unauthorized immigrants once passed into law. This is a 353-page bill that would revamp the outdated immigration law which has not been updated in 30 years. The bill states as its purpose “to provide an earned path to citizenship, to address the root causes of migration and responsibly manage the southern border, and to reform the immigrant visa system, and for other purposes.”

Categories
Updates

The “Johnson Memo”: ICE to Prioritize Enforcement

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The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Acting Director Tae Johnson released its ICE memorandum known as the “Johnson Memo” and laid out three priorities for enforcement:

  • national security,
  • border security and
  • public safety.

The new memo applies to every stage of enforcement, from deciding whether to arrest someone to deciding whether to deport them.

Presumed priorities are defined in the memo under these 3 categories.

For the third presumed priority under public safety, the individual must have been convicted of an aggravated felony or trigger the gang participation prong and must pose a threat to public safety. ICE officers are instructed to consider various factors before deciding to arrest or deport. These factors include: first, the extensiveness, seriousness, and recency of the criminal activity; and second, presence of mitigating factors, including, but not limited to:

  1. Personal and family circumstances;
  2. Health and medical factors;
  3. Ties to the Community;
  4. Evidence of rehabilitation; and
  5. Whether the individual has potential immigration relief available.

Prioritizing enforcement is a dramatic departure from the prior administration policy of deporting families who have lived for years in the United States, terrorizing immigrant communities and a reported increase in “collateral” arrests of individuals who were separated from their families.

The Johnson Memo is only an interim memo, and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary will publish new rules for ICE officers, likely within 90 days. If you or any family member is at risk of removal or arrest, or has a final order of removal, it will be best to contact our office to determine if you fit the criteria for a presumed priority or not. Since this Memo does not completely take out ICE’s authority to apprehend, detain and remove individuals, one may want to have his or her case analyzed to determine whether it falls outside the presumed priority and if available reliefs are available.