Legislative Updates

• Bicameral Bills Introduced: The Citizenship for Essential Workers Act has been introduced in both the House and Senate by lawmakers including Sen. Alex Padilla and Rep. Joaquin Castro. The bill aims to create a pathway to citizenship for over five million essential workers and their families who helped keep Americans safe, fed, and healthy during the COVID-19 pandemic.

• Florida Immigration Bill – Florida passed a sweeping new immigration bill that, among other things, mandates the use of E-Verify beginning July 1, 2023 for all private employers of more than 25 employees. See GT Alert.

• Afghan Humanitarian Parole – The Biden administration will permit tens of thousands of Afghans brought to the United States after the Taliban takeover to renew their work permits and humanitarian parole for two more years.

USCIS Publishes FAQs on Parole Programs for Cubans, Haitians, Venezuelans, and Nicaraguans

• The FAQs clarify that supporters must hold lawful status in the United States; therefore, individuals with pending TPS or asylum applications are not eligible to be supporters.

• Businesses and organizations may serve as supporters.

• Cubans, Haitians, Venezuelans, and Nicaraguans who are permanent residents or dual nationals of any other country or hold refugee status in any other country are not eligible to be sponsored via this process.

COVID-19 Vaccine Requirement for International Travelers to U.S. Ending May 11

• The White House announcement explained that the vaccination requirement is ending the same day that the COVID-19 public emergency ends. Beginning May 12, 2023, international travelers to the U.S. no longer need to provide proof that they are fully vaccinated against COVID-19. See GT Alert.

• Similarly, the Department of Homeland Security said that beginning May 12, 2023, it will no longer require non-U.S. travelers entering the United States via land ports of entry and ferry terminals to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19.

USCIS Plans to Improve H-1B Electronic Registration Process with Upcoming ‘H-1B Modernization Rule’

• In announcing the registration numbers for the fiscal year 2024 process, USCIS said it was investigating fraud in the FY 2023 and 2024 H-1B electronic registration processes.

• USCIS reported 780,884 total registrations this year, which is a significant increase from last year’s 483,927 total registrations. This year, 110,791 registrations were selected. See blog post.

• The agency confirmed its commitment to the H-1B program, citing its value to the immigration system and economy, and said it was “working on an upcoming H-1B modernization rule that will propose, among other improvements, bolstering the H-1B registration process to reduce the possibility of misuse and fraud in the H-1B registration system.”