Employment Authorization Expedites for Healthcare Workers

As of January 3, 2022, certain healthcare workers with pending I-765 Applications for Employment Authorization can request expedited processing. The new USCIS policy applies to applicants seeking renewal employment authorization documents (EADs) whose current EADs expire within 30 days or less, or already has expired. The guidance on who qualifies as a healthcare worker is expansive, including not only traditional healthcare workers who provide direct patient care (e.g., physicians, dentists, nurses, pharmacists, social workers, etc.), but also workers involved in medical research and those required to support such areas as clinical operations, infrastructure, support services, administration, security, and intelligence operations across the full spectrum of healthcare including those working in accounting, administrative, engineering, certification, licensing, food service, housekeeping, medical records, information technology, and other sectors.

To request expediting processing, applicants are instructed to contact the USCIS Contact Center at 1-800-375-5283 (TTY 1-800-767-1833) and be prepared to provide evidence of current employment as a healthcare worker. Those whose expedite requests are granted should keep in mind that USCIS may still take several weeks to issue the new EADs. If you need the Firm’s assistance in requesting expedited processing, please contact us.

Major Settlement Changes How USCIS Adjudicates Work Permits for H4 and L2 Nonimmigrant Spouses

The American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) and its litigation partners Wasden Banias and Steven Brown achieved a historic settlement with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in Shergill, et al. v. Mayorkas, which provides structural changes for nonimmigrant H-4 and L-2 spouses suffering from long delayed processing times for the processing of applications for employment authorization.

The litigation successfully achieved the reversal of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) policy that prohibited H-4 spouses from benefiting from automatic extension of their employment authorization during the pendency of standalone employment authorization document (EAD) applications. Although this is a giant achievement, the parties’ agreement will further result in a massive change in position for USCIS, which now recognizes that L-2 spouses enjoy automatic work authorization incident to status, meaning these spouses of executive and managers will no longer have to apply for employment authorization prior to working in the United States.

Watch this space as we await the details of how the settlement agreement will be implemented.