Legislative Updates

• Two immigration bills were introduced in Congress this week: The Dignity Act and The Essential Workers for Economic Advancement Act.

• The Dignity Act, introduced by Reps. Maria Elvira Salazar (R-Fla) and Veronica Escobar (D-Tex), would, among other things, provide a path to citizenship for Dreamers, individuals with Temporary Protected Status, and undocumented immigrants; update the legal immigration process; and provide resources to secure U.S. borders.

• The Essential Workers for Economic Advancement Act will be re-introduced by Reps. Lloyd Smucker (R-Pa) and Henry Cuellar (D-Tex). The bill would allow job creators to address chronic workforce shortages.

DOJ Announces Several Settlements Regarding Discriminatory Job Ads

• DOJ’s Immigrant and Employee Rights (IER) determined that American CyberSystems Inc. violated the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) when it recruited for two positions using advertisements that unlawfully excluded certain applicants based on their citizenship statuses.

• One job advertisement sought only U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents (LPRs). The company wrongfully believed it could only hire U.S. citizens and LPRs for the position because it was regulated by the International Traffic in Arms Regulation (ITAR) and Export Administration Regulations (EAR). Both regulations permit employment of U.S. nationals, refugees, and asylees. The second advertisement sought only H-1B visa holders.

• DOJ’s IER posted this flyer to help employers ensure their ads for positions subject to ITAR and EAR still comply with anti-discrimination laws.

• In another published settlement, IER also determined that Infosoft Solutions Inc. violated the INA when it posted six job ads that only sought workers seeking sponsorship.

• IER also published settlement agreements with 10 companies that it found had all posted discriminatory job ads on a college recruiting platform. The companies each posted at least one job ad on the university website that excluded non-U.S. citizens.

USCIS Changes How It Will Review Applications Parole Program for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans

• The parole program has received more applications than anticipated. As of May 17, 2023, USCIS will randomly select about half of the 30,000 monthly total, regardless of filing date, from the entire pending workload of applications. It will then review the other half of the monthly total by prioritizing the oldest pending applications.

• Under this new review system, processing times will vary and supporters should check their case status in their online account or via Case Status Online.

State Department Delays Visa Fee Increase

• DOS is delaying the visa fee increase until June 17, 2023, because the final rule was delivered to Congress April 17, 2023, and 60 days must pass between the delivery date and final issuance.

• As a reminder, fees for B, TN, H, L, O, E, and border crossing cards are all increasing.