The Department of Homeland Security has issued a final regulation that will make important changes to H-1B and other non-immigrant visas, employment-based green card applications and Employment Authorization Documents.
According to DHS, the regulation provides the following new benefits:
- Streamlining the process for US employers to workers for green cards
- Increase job portability and provide greater stability and job flexibility for such workers
- Increased transparency and consistency in the application of agency policy
The rule covers the following subjects:
- Codifying policies regarding H-1B extensions beyond six years under AC21
- Codifying policies regarding INA 204(j) portability allowing certain workers with pending adjustment of status applications to change employers
- Codifying policies regarding H-1B portability allowing workers to begin employment with a new employer upon the filing of a new H-1B petition
- Counting workers against the H-1B cap including clarifying when time spent abroad counts against H-1B time and determining which workers are “cap-exempt” as a result of previously being counted against the cap
- H-1B cap exemption determinations for employers
- Protections for H-1B whistleblowers
- Survival of an I-140 petition when an employer attempts to revoke it
- The establishment of priority dates in green card cases
- Retention of priority dates when workers change employers or accepts promotions
- Eligibility for employment authorization for backlogged employment-based green card applicants with “compelling circumstances”
- Extension of the H-1B’s ten day before and after grace periods to E-1, E-2, E-3, L-1 and TN classifications
- Creation of new 60 day grace periods for workers who stop working prior to the end of a non-immigrant validity period (applicable to E-1, E-2, E-3, H-1B, H-1B1, L-1, O-1 or TN classifications)
- H-1B licensing requirements
- Automatic extension of EAD validity for 180 days for certain work card categories
- The end of the 90-day adjudication requirement for EADs
The rule is set to take effect on January 17th.