Conversely, if all businesses would have been unable to immediately find reasonable labor substitutes for the position the EAD holder filled, then businesses would have lost productivity. [52] e.g., INA sec. N.Y. Times, Jan. 4, 2022, i.e., When can I ask about my case? What does this processing time mean? (You can access Emma by clicking on the Ask Emma icon on the top right of this page). This is especially concerning where the backlog involves employment authorization and documentation, which is critical to applicants' livelihoods and the financial well-being of their families, as well as U.S. employers' continuity of operations. After the 18-month period, automatic extensions of employment authorization and EAD validity will revert to the up to 180-day period for those eligible applicants who timely file renewal Form I-765 applications after October 26, 2023. approximately 18 months). For an initial hire, the employee must present the employer with acceptable documents evidencing identity and employment authorization. The lists of acceptable documents can be found on the last page of the Form I-9. Although this represents a substantial increase, there was a 29 percent increase in Form I-765 renewal applications in the auto extension categories. Such adverse impacts on employers and businesses, who have already experienced significant economic harm on account of the pandemic, gives cause to address an emergency situation as quickly as possible to prevent further imminent harm to an increased number of renewal applicants and their employers. 6. As noted elsewhere in this preamble, the number of applicants who face expiration of the up-to-180-day automatic-extension each month is approximately 30,000. As demonstrated above, calendar years 2020 and 2021 were difficult years for USCIS because unprecedented If the TFR is published on April 1, 2022, then the applicant's EAD automatically becomes valid from April 1, 2022, up to November 23, 2022, which is 540 days after June 1, 2021, the expiration date on the face of the EAD. They would thus incur direct costs associated with seeking new employment. Certain noncitizens may file Form I-765 concurrently with a related benefit request if permitted by the form instructions or as announced by USCIS. 8 CFR 274a.12(c)(9). This rule temporarily amends existing Department of Homeland Security (DHS) regulations to provide that the automatic extension period applicable to expiring Employment Authorization Documents (Forms I-766 See, e.g., 370 F.3d 1174, 1179 (D.C. Cir. https://www.phe.gov/emergency/news/healthactions/phe/Pages/2019-nCoV.aspx. See USCIS estimates it will take the agency to the end of CY 2022 to fill the current level of vacancies. Two identical passport photographs, write A-Number on back of them. H-4 EAD Provision 9. Concurrent Filing - H1B, H4, H4 EAD. render a noncitizen ineligible for future benefits such as adjustment of status,[14] 2d 92, 108 (D.D.C. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), on the last business day of January 2022, there were 11.3 million job openings and 6.3 million unemployed people. 89.3, 674.1 [180] v. Secure .gov websites use HTTPS https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/economy/reports/2012/11/16/44464/there-are-significant-business-costs-to-replacing-employees/. Individuals could be unemployed due to this normal turnover or from any number of case-specific factors and conditions. 37. USCIS Issues Immigration Rule To Expand Premium Processing - Forbes These records neither distinguish between an EV case for an initial EAD, a renewal EAD, or the EV case result, but they do provide information that we can draw from regarding employment. https://www.dhs.gov/sites/default/files/publications/immigration-statistics/yearbook/2019/yearbook_immigration_statistics_2019.pdf. 174. USCIS-2022-0002, through the Federal eRulemaking Portal: [36], Noncitizens who have filed applications for creation of record of lawful admission for permanent residence (C16). This document has been published in the Federal Register. It is not an official legal edition of the Federal Immigration Legal Resource Center, et al. . This policy memorandum (PM) provides guidance to U.S. See Asylumworks, et al. See Between FY 2013 and FY 2017, despite significant staffing increases, receipt growth in asylum office workloads outpaced the expansion of asylum office staffing and the establishment of new or expanded facilities needed to support additional staffing growth.). Because granting an expedite request means that USCIS would adjudicate the requestor's benefit ahead of others who filed earlier, we carefully weigh the urgency and merit of each expedite request. See 1992), DHS has invoked the exception appropriately in this case given the totality of the circumstances in which this TFR is implemented:[148] Those backlogs in other program areas strained USCIS resources, which, when coupled with USCIS' worsening fiscal situation beginning in late 2019 and continuing into 2020 and part of 2021, hindered USCIS' ability to allocate resources to respond to the increase in Form I-765 filings in a manner that would allow USCIS to continue to meet its 3-month internal processing goal as it historically had. This amount represents significant cost savings to businesses under this rule. LC USCIS currently grants employment authorization based on a pending asylum application in 2-year increments. First, there will be impacts to eligible individual EAD holders in terms of their ability to maintain labor earnings. Module D collates the monetized impacts and reports the discounted terms, since the TFR will stretch past one year. [198] This data therefore corresponds to the probability graph in showing that once the 90th percentile is reached, the lapse-durations begin to diverge from the distribution to that point and gravitate to almost zero. RA), which yields a population that could range from 266,841 to 375,545. To achieve USCIS' processing goal of 3 months,[129] and (3) noncitizens who have properly filed applications for suspension of deportation under section 244 of the INA (as it existed prior to April 1, 1997), cancellation of removal pursuant to section 240A of the INA, or special rule cancellation of removal under section 309(f)(1) of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (C10). See also In accordance with the criteria above, note specific handling procedures in the following circumstances: See the USCIS Adoption Contact Information webpage for information on how to make expedite requests for adoption cases. (last updated Mar. DHS estimates that stabilized earnings to EAD renewal applicants ranges from $81.3 million to $6,388.6 million with a primary estimate of $1,713.5 million (annualized, 7 percent), depending on the wages the EAD renewal applicants earn, the number of EAD renewal applicants affected, and the duration of the gap in employment authorization that would occur without this rule. Sept. 11, 2020). The Secretary of Homeland Security's (Secretary) authority for the regulatory amendments made in this TFR are found in: section 274A(h)(3)(B) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), 8 U.S.C. Therefore, the individuals who filed those renewal applications and relied on the automatic extension to maintain employment already would have experienced job loss as a result of the lack of employment authorization and/or EAD validity. TPS beneficiaries must file during the designated period in the applicable USCIS was, however, able to apply overtime funds to the renewal Form I-765 workload in an attempt to control the growing backlog during the last quarter of FY 2021. For more information, seeUSCIS Policy Manual, Volume 1, Part A, Public Services, Chapter 5, Requests to Expedite Applications or Petitions[1 USCIS-PM A.5]. News Release, USCIS Announces FY 2021 Accomplishments, (Dec. 15, 2021), As fully detailed in the preamble, this TFR temporarily amends existing DHS regulations to provide that the automatic extension period applicable to expiring employment authorization and/or Employment Authorization Documents (Forms I-766 or EADs) for certain renewal applicants who have filed Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization, will be increased from up to 180 days to up to 540 days for a period of 540 days ( Therefore, the more adjustment of status applications USCIS is able to process, the fewer Form I-765 renewal applications USCIS will receive (based on pending INA 245 adjustment of status applications). If the need for the action is not immediate, expedited processing is not warranted. In either instance, USCIS does not know, and is unable to reasonably estimate, how many individuals or what percentages of the populations may be separately employment authorized or otherwise not relying on the EAD to document their employment authorization. This feature is not available for this document. [164] We note that we are assuming that the individuals are employed full time, as 2,080 annual work hours corresponds to a five-day work week and 8-hour work-day. [205], The Instruction Manual establishes categorical exclusions that DHS has found to have no such effect. (Mar. 247d), in response to COVID-19, which is caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Para tener acceso a este sitio en Espaol, presione aqu, https://www.uscis.gov/green-card/green-card-processes-and-procedures/visa-availability-priority-dates/visa-retrogression), USCIS processing times Currently, applicants in specific categories who are seeking to renew their expiring EADs are eligible for an automatic extension of that employment authorization and/or EAD for up to 180 days if they meet certain requirements. however, approximately 257,000 remained unadjudicated, including approximately 75,000 impacted by priority date retrogressions that may leave them pending for many years, and thereby eligible for C09 EADs over this extended period. See This temporary and extraordinary circumstance has created an emergent and urgent situation for noncitizens and U.S. employers as gaps in employment authorization and documentation have a highly detrimental impact on noncitizen workers and their U.S. employers. Impact of Pandemic Response Measures, p. 6, in Backlog Reduction of Pending Affirmative Asylum Cases: Fiscal Year 2021 Report to Congress (Oct. 20, 2021), Ts A print-out of your electronic I-94 form. Expedite requests from government agencies (federal, state, or local) must be made by a senior-level official of that agency. Historically, there have been limited Form I-765 categories that require biometrics submission; (including fees for Form I-765), which does not fully cover the costs of administering current and projected volumes of immigration benefit requests. 45. Therefore, for example, in situations where the underlying status that provides employment authorization would expire prior to 540 days, USCIS may include specific information on the applicant's Form I-797C receipt notice as to how long the automatic extension of the individual's EAD will last. [134] [38], Noncitizens who have properly filed legalization applications pursuant to section 245A of the INA, 8 U.S.C. 214(c)(2)(E), 8 U.S.C. See, e.g., See EAD Renewal Processing Time. The average individual share across these eleven subsectors was 6.9 percent, while for the entire remainder the individual average was 0.3 percent. Through the use of overtime, USCIS was able to continue to maintain its assigned staffing levels to affirmative asylum processing, but this option was not available in 2020, due to USCIS' worsening fiscal situation beginning in late 2019 and continuing into 2020 and part of 2021. As of February 2022, the labor force participation rate was at 62.3 percent, having recovered about 66 percent of what was lost at height of the COVID-19 pandemic compared with the February 2020 rate of 63.4 percent. If USCIS did not adjudicate the application within that timeframe, the applicant was eligible to be issued an interim document evidencing employment authorization with a validity period not to exceed 240 days. [7] Specifically, in the years leading up to FY 2022, asylum application receipts outpaced available resources leading to an increase in pending asylum cases, both in affirmative and defensive filings, as shown in Table 5. This rule was drafted and reviewed in accordance with E.O. Based on this average search time, in cases where affected EAD renewal applicants would not be able to immediately return to their previous jobs once their EAD is approved, the duration of lapsed earnings this TFR is addressing is likely higher than that we have relied on from the analysis of the data. 40. Follow the website instructions for submitting comments. See ), as amended by the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996 (SBREFA), requires an agency to prepare and make available to the public a regulatory flexibility analysis that describes the effect of the rule on small entities ( Twenty-seven resulting data points were employed for the analysis. Feb. 7, 2022). Solid Waste Table 16Worksheet for Impact Allocation Across Two Years. with correlation tuned to 0.661. See This page was not helpful because the content: Preparing for Your Biometric Services Appointment, How to Track Delivery of Your Notice or Secure Identity Document (or Card), Identity Verification and the USCIS Immigrant Fee, Tips on Finding Your A-Number and DOS Case ID, Forms Processed at USCIS Lockbox Facilities, Additional Information on Filing a Reduced Fee Request, Lockbox and Service Center Filing Location Updates, Department of State (DS) Forms and Other Non-USCIS Forms, DHS advisory memorandum(Healthcare/Public Health section, pages 7-9) (PDF), Standard Occupational Classification (SOC), Humanitarian or Significant Public Benefit Parole for Individuals Outside the United States. 172. Temporary increase in the automatic extension period. If an asylum application is pending for up to 5 years or more, as is currently the case for some applications,[112] Recently, however, it has become apparent that the 180-day automatic extension is not enough for a growing number of renewal applicants. The portion of the total estimate of stabilized income that would represent this prevented transfer payment will depend on the ability of businesses to have found replacement labor in the absence of this rule. [185] 55. 6,312.4. (2021), As of December 2021, the median processing time for adjustment of status applications (Form I-485) is 13.2 months, however some adjustment applications remain pending much longer because of regression in the cutoff dates used to determine when an immigrant visa is immediately available. publication in the future. [18] Source: USCIS analysis of EAD data; provided by DHS, USCIS, OPQ, Claims 3 database; obtained on 12-17-2021. Accordingly, $1,713.5 million is the estimated monetized cost savings from this rule for prevented productivity losses and this rule will result in preventing $0 from being transferred from affected EAD renewal applicants to replacement labor. A border case included credible and reasonable fear interviews, as well as Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP) non-refoulement interviews. In the early weeks of COVID-19 restrictions, assignments were adjusted to provide telework-suitable work as logistics relating to industrial hygiene were put in place to expand capacity for on-site functions while providing appropriate protections for on-site workers. removing the provision and replacing it with the current 8 CFR 274a.13(d). https://www.bls.gov/news.release/archives/empsit_12032021.pdf DHS assumes that all EAD renewal applicants are employed full-time; DHS recognizes that some employees may work only part-time. The data is found in the methodological appendix, located in the Docket for this rulemaking. As the percentiles increase, the durations increase at a consistent rate; however, the upper percentile exhibits a significant jump. 2. That said, in 2023, the average processing time for work permits is 3.6 months, down from 4.1 months . 205. 166. https://www.bls.gov/news.release/archives/ecec_09162021.htm While the current provision at 8 CFR 274a.13(d)(4), and, likewise, the provision in this TFR, do not require that qualifying Notices of Action specify the automatic extension period, in practice, USCIS issues a Form I-797C Notice of Action to all renewal applicants with general information regarding who is eligible for an automatic extension and currently includes an explanation of the up to 180-day automatic extension period. DHS regulations outline three classes of noncitizens who may be eligible for employment in the United States, as follows:[2], Noncitizens in the first class, described at 8 CFR 274a.12(a), are authorized to work incident to status for any employer, as well as to engage in self-employment, as a condition of their immigration status or circumstances. The near-term captures the dates of January 1, 2022, to mid-April, 2022, when the TFR is expected to take effect. See Such applicants are still authorized for employment incident to status but would no longer have a valid EAD. https://www.regulations.gov, authorization may be subject to civil money penalties. See Accordingly, this rule is effective immediately upon publication.[200]. (June 25, 2020), https://www.bls.gov/oes/2020/may/oessrci.htm the Federal Register. If you cannot submit your comment by using [65] 5. As a result, renewal applicants are losing their jobs and employers suddenly are faced with finding replacement workers during a time when the U.S. economy is experiencing more job openings than available workers. Alejandro N. Mayorkas, et al., Preserve access to wages for EAD renewal applicants. Aliens whose automatic extension under paragraph (d)(1) expired before May 4, 2022, will receive an automatic resumption of employment authorization and the validity of their Employment Authorization Document, as applicable, for an additional period beginning from May 4, 2022, and up to 540 days from the expiration of their employment authorization and/or Employment Authorization Document as shown on the face of such document. 200. 48. https://www.uscis.gov/about-us/uscis-response-to-covid-19 Cookie Notice DHS does not expect material impacts to the U.S. labor market from this TFR. Federal Register If processing times for asylum applications were reduced to 3 years, the applicant would need only file to renew employment authorization once, saving USCIS adjudicatory resources. 102. The increase in pending asylum cases contributed to the increase in C08 renewal filings in FY 2021, which further impacted the Form I-765 renewal backlog. 11. 1103(a)(3), authorizes the Secretary to establish such regulations as the Secretary deems necessary for carrying out the Secretary's authority under the INA, and section 214 of the INA, 8 U.S.C. DHS estimates that approximately 14,500 renewal applicants per month will join the group of approximately 66,000 renewal applications who faced a lapse in employment authorization and/or EAD validity as of December 2021. [136] 5. Efforts to improve timely processing and remove bureaucratic hurdles are underway. An asylee cannot apply for initial employment authorization earlier than 150 calendar days after the date USCIS or the immigration court accepts the asylum application. Correlation: Turnover Cost % and Earnings. Start Printed Page 26635 You can generally request expedited processing by calling the USCIS Contact Center at 800-375-5283 (TTY 800-767-1833) or by asking Emma after you have obtained a receipt notice. The expedite decision simply informs the requestor whether USCIS will take the benefit request out of date order and issue a decision (approval or denial) faster than the normal processing time. Therefore, if each individual was hired by one and only one business, the number of employers impacted would converge to the maximum population. https://www.uscis.gov/newsroom/news-releases/uscis-announces-fy-2021-accomplishments. This table of contents is a navigational tool, processed from the Interviewing rooms that previously accommodated asylum officers, asylum applicants, interpreters (if present), and attorneys (if present) all in one room, now would accommodate just the asylum officer, with applicants and any other participants each sitting in separate interview rooms and connecting electronically. Applicants from China and India seeking adjustment of status based on the employment-based third preference category experienced visa retrogression in their respective filing categories as of October 1, 2021, impacting approximately 75,000 applicants. The figures represent the total cost over two years. On September 29, 2020, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California in Additionally, under the Homeland Security Act sec. webpage, https://www.uscis.gov/working-in-the-united-states/permanent-workers/eb-5-immigrant-investor-program, Frequently Asked Questions About Processing Times, When to expect to receive your Green Card, Inquire about a case outside normal processing time. How long does USCIS take to process an EAD renewal? - Quora [201] Employment separations can generate substantial labor turnover costs to employers that can be divided into several components. Q. Use the PDF linked in the document sidebar for the official electronic format. Additionally, DHS believes that issuing this temporary rule is a reasonable approach to implement this temporary measure, which will be effective for only a finite period. 1255 (C09);[53] [FR Doc. [97], Table 4Surge in Renewal Form I-765 Filings, In the eight months following April 2021, the receipt numbers for these categories fell to an average of 52,400 receipts per month, but that was still 21 percent above the average monthly total for CY 2020. [177] 81 FR at 82455-82463 (AC21 Final Rule). If so, you can use the steps outlined below to obtain a new EAD. While the number of businesses affected is unknown, DHS's analysis suggests that, if this rule were not implemented immediately, businesses that employ affected EAD holders would incur approximately $4,037.6 million in labor turnover costs for the separation and replacement these employees. Properly filed Form I-765 for a renewal of your employment authorization and/or EAD before your current EAD expired, and Are otherwise eligible for a renewal, which means that: Your renewal application is under a category that is eligible for an automatic extension (see the list of categories below); and e.g., Reddit, Inc. 2023. For example, USCIS also encountered large increases of filings of Form I-131, Application for Travel Document, possibly related to the increase in filings of Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence. 68. (last visited Mar. Call the USCISContactCenterat 800-375-5283 (TTY 800-767-1833)to request expeditedprocessing based on yourpositionas a healthcare worker or a childcare workerwithan EADapplication that meets the above criteria. The final rule was issued after a proposed rule was published in the 671 F.2d 607 (D.C. Cir. Title II of UMRA requires each Federal agency to prepare a written statement assessing the effects of any Federal mandate in a proposed rule, or final rule for which the agency published a proposed rule, that includes any Federal mandate that may result in a $100 million or more expenditure (adjusted annually for inflation) in any one year by State, local, and Tribal governments, in the aggregate, or by the private sector. Beyond the financial and economic impact that gaps in employment create for the employer and the noncitizen, if the noncitizen engages in unauthorized employment, such activity may render a noncitizen removable,[13] UR 66. For more information on visa retrogression, overtime) and was continuing to explore ( You can apply for i485 only if you are filing i485 when your priority date is current or i485 is pending. Unfortunately, USCIS' previous financial strains, including a preliminarily enjoined 2020 Fee Rule, continuing workforce shortfalls due to a previously threatened furlough, attrition, a hiring freeze, and an unusual spike and sustained increase in filings at a rate above that which USCIS can match continue to impact processing times for renewal Forms I-765. Because of the recent spike in processing times, however, DHS has determined that 180 days is no longer sufficient to prevent gaps in employment authorization and documentation for most eligible applicants. 187. No. 98. For example, an applicant seeking asylum is eligible for employment authorization on the basis of the pendency of the asylum application. v. 1) The report reflects the most up-to-date estimate available at the time the database is queried. Additionally, any advice found here IS NOT legal advice. There is an important caveat to the adjusted populations upon which DHS will base our estimated impacts. [29], Noncitizens granted TPS, regardless of the employment authorization category on their current EADs (A12 or C19). The increase in the number and duration of pendency of asylum and adjustment of status applications, which form the basis for the two most populous EAD filing categories eligible for the automatic extension under 8 CFR 274a.13(d)(1), may have led to this sustained increase in applications for initial and renewal employment authorization (in the C08 and C09 categories, respectively), which further compounded the Form I-765 adjudication backlog.[98]. As an example, USCIS expanded telework flexibility arrangements under which an employee could perform the duties and responsibilities of such employee's position, and other authorized activities, from an approved worksite other than the location from which the employee would normally work. Table 8 below summarizes these two scenarios and the primary estimate of this rule (Tables 8A and 8B capture the impacts at 3 and 7 percent rates of discount, respectively).

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