Category: News

The nation’s immigration apparatus, including the Department of State (DOS), U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the Department of Labor (DOL), and the immigration court system (EOIR) has taken dozens of measures in response to the growing reach and severity of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Changes happen virtually daily. Please follow the links below to learn more about just some of the current actions most relevant to Maine that impact not only immigrants, nonimmigrants, and U.S. citizens, but also public health, and business and economic activity.

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DOS changes:

• Routine visa services are suspended at all U.S. embassies and consulates abroad as of March 20, 2020.   All routine immigrant and nonimmigrant visa interviews are cancelled until further notice.
• H-2 visas are deemed “essential to the economy and food security” and as a result, as of March 26, 2020,  normally required interviews will be waived for most beneficiaries of H-2A or H-2B visa petitions.
• J-1 International Exchange visa programs that involve travel to or from countries subject to heightened CDC or DOS alert levels are temporarily suspended as of March 17, 2020.
• However, certain J-1 physicians and medical professionals received additional guidance on March 26, 2020.
• DOS advises U.S. citizens and residents to avoid all international travel as of March 19, 2020.  Country specific warnings are here.

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USCIS changes:

• USCIS offices temporarily closed to the public from March 18^th to at least April 7, 2020. This includes USCIS local field offices, asylum offices, application support centers (ASCs) and the few remaining international USCIS offices that serve U.S. citizens living abroad. Updates on office closings in the U.S. and at USCIS offices abroad can be found here.
• USCIS will reuse previously submitted biometrics to process work permit extension applications, for those with biometrics appointments on or after March 18th  who cannot comply with biometrics requests due to ASC office closures , as of March 30, 2020.
• USCIS extends response deadlines by 60 days for replies to certain requests for evidence or notices of intent to deny or revoke or terminate, or certain appeals of decisions  issued between March 1, 2020 and May 1, 2020.
• USCIS states testing, preventive care and treatment for COVID-19 will not trigger “public charge” problems for immigrants (in an effort to ensure that immigrants will not be afraid to seek appropriate COVID-19 healthcare). This statement is as of March 13, 2020.
• E-Verify extends timeframes for employers to act on tentative nonconfirmations.
• USCIS relaxes “wet signature” requirements on certain applications, accepting electronically reproduced signatures on submissions dated March 21, 2020 or later, although the documents with original signatures will eventually need to be supplied.
• Premium processing is suspended of all new employment-based nonimmigrant (E-1, E-2, H-1B, H-2B, H-3, L-1A, L-1B, LZ, O-1, O-2, P-1, P-1S, P-2, P-2S, P-3, P-3S, Q-1, R-1, TN-1 and TN-2) form I-129 visa petitions or immigrant form I-140 visa petitions as of March 20, 2020.

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 ICE changes:

• Form I-9 requirement of in-person review of work authorization documents is being temporarily relaxed for new employees being on-boarded who will be working remotely due to COVID-19.   Read the notice for the specifics of which employers ICE will allow to take advantage of this temporary flexibility.
• ICE states enforcement actions will not take place at medical facilities (in an effort to ensure that immigrants will not be afraid to seek COVID-19 related preventive care or treatment). This statement is as of March 15, 2020.
• ICE issues FAQs for management of international student issues by SEVP-certified educational institutions were updated as of March 27, 2020 and are available here.

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CBP changes: 

• CBP announces arrival or entry restrictions into the U.S. for those coming through:
  • land ports of entry along the Canadian-US border from March 20—April 20, 202.;
  • land ports of entry along the Mexican-US border from March 20—April 20, 2020.
  • all but specified airports who have traveled from or had recent presence in the United Kingdom or the Republic of Ireland, as of March 17, 2020.
  • all but specified airports who have traveled from or had recent presence in the Schengen Area countries, as of March 14, 2020.
  • all but specified airports who have traveled from or had recent presence in China or Iran, as of February 2, 2020 and March 2, 2020, respectively.
• CBP temporarily suspends operations at Trusted Traveller enrollment centers nationwide, affecting enrollment by U.S. travelers in Global Entry, NEXUS, SENTRI and FAST programs, effective on March 18, 2020 until at least May 1, 2020.
  

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  DOL changes:

• DOL and USDA to share information, to assist H-2A employers whose workforce arrivals have been delayed due to travel restrictions, of nearly 20,000 H-2A and H-2B workers with expiring contracts who might be available to transfer to different employers’ labor certification applications, as of March 19, 2020.
• The Office of Foreign Labor Certification advised about processing changes related to labor certification applications that will be in effect from March 25^th to at least June 30, 2020.

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EOIR changes:

• All immigration court hearings scheduled through May 1, 2020 are suspended for non-detained immigrants (such as many asylum seekers in Maine).

The Corona Virus, Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, H.R. 748, was enacted on March 27, 2020. Despite immigrants’ importance to the U.S. workforce and economy, millions will get no direct financial assistance from the $2 trillion COVID-19 relief bill – neither the cash “Recovery Rebates” of up to $1200 per individual or $2400 per couple under certain income limits, nor the expanded federal COVID-19 unemployment insurance (UI) benefits to workers whose jobs and incomes have disappeared as a result of the pandemic.

The Recovery Rebates will only be issued to individuals with Social Security numbers. Many U.S. citizens and permanent residents are married to immigrants who do not yet have Social Security numbers, and the law specifically states that no rebate will be issued unless both spouses have Social Security numbers. Additionally, many work-authorized nonimmigrants, asylum seekers, and others with Social Security numbers who are not yet permanent residents will be excluded from the Rebates.

Undocumented workers, including those critical to many sectors of the U.S. economy such as essential workers in agriculture and health and eldercare, who often pay taxes with taxpayer identification numbers, also are excluded from the both the Recovery Rebates and the expanded UI benefits.

Immigrants, regardless of legal status, are impacted by COVID-19’s effects. Failure to include many of them in the CARES Act not only jeopardizes their and their families’ health and safety, but also harms the communities in which they live, as this article outlines.

In any future relief legislation, Congress should include all immigrants, regardless of status. COVID-19’s effects have no regard for national origin or immigration status.   The nation’s public health and economic responses shouldn’t either.

Employers who use the E-Verify electronic employment authorization verification system should be sure to inform themselves of temporary changes in implementation policies due to COVID-19.

Recent changes can be found here.

Many U.S. physicians are individuals from other countries who pursued their medical degrees and residencies here.   Many continue to practice in the U.S. after completing their education and training by obtaining H-1B visas for skilled professionals.

However, these visas are extremely restrictive, allowing doctors to work only where specified in the visa petitions filed by their employers on the doctors’ behalves. This prevents these doctors from being deployed to hospitals or other settings where they could be needed as part of the public health response to COVID-19, if those hospitals were not specified in their visa petitions.

This article in Bloomberg Law explains the problem, and the need for action to introduce flexibility into the H-1B visa program so that these critically needed doctors can assist where needed without restriction.

UPDATE:  On May 14, 2020, the administration announced that the temporary change noted below that was due to expire on May 19th regarding I-9 form completion is being extended an additional 30 days.  Further 30 day extensions were granted, through August 19, 2020.

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For employers that have transitioned their employees to working remotely due to COVID-19,   Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has announced a temporary relaxation of the requirement for in-person inspection of work authorization documents when completing the I-9 form during onboarding of new employees who will be working remotely.   Employers will still need to see the employees’ documents transmitted electronically, and attach copies to the I-9 form.

Additionally, once the workplace resumes normal operations, the employee must present the original work authorization documents to the employer.

See the details, including specifics about which employers can take advantage of this temporary change, here, and guidance from the Society for Human Resource Management here.

L.D. 647, An Act To Attract, Educate and Retain New State Residents To Strengthen the Workforce,  MeBIC’s highest legislative priority during this state legislative session, made good progress in early March.

MeBIC and partners proposed that at least $475,000 be earmarked for sections 2,3, and 5 of the bill in the supplemental budget’s line for workforce development-related adult education funding.   MeBIC was gratified when the  Education and Cultural Affairs Committee and the Innovation, Development and Economic Advancement Committee both supported that recommendation in their budget reports to the Appropriations and Financial Affairs Committee.

Only days later, the reality of the COVID-19 pandemic descended on the State House, appropriately prompting revised revenue forecasts and a substantially revised supplemental budget.   Funds for workforce development-related adult education programming were cut in half, with no specific recommendations for how they would be spent, in the supplemental budget enacted by the Legislature prior to its early adjournment.

MeBIC will continue to work for funding for L.D. 647 if the Legislature returns for a special session after the COVID-19 crisis wanes.  In the meantime, MeBIC is advocating with the Department of Education to stress the continued importance of directing adult education funding to increasing capacity to educate the English language learners who are so critical for Maine’s vibrant communities and workforce.

The Department of Homeland Security announced that qualified Somalis can reregister for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) from March 11 through May 11, 2020.  As announced previously, TPS for citizens of Somalia is being extended until September 17, 2021.

Work permits for most Somalis who currently have TPS or have prior reregistration applications pending are automatically extended through September 13, 2020 as long as reregistration is completed by May 11th.  Employers and TPS re-registrants can find more information about automatic employment authorization extensions on the USCIS Somali TPS page.   Automatic extensions are necessary because of USCIS delays in processing TPS work permit applications.  Once granted, Somali TPS work permits will be valid through September 17, 2021.

TPS is offered when the U.S. government determines that civil conflict or natural disaster has created conditions making it inadvisable for citizens of the designated countries who are already in the U.S. at the moment of the TPS designation to return to their home countries. Individuals with TPS are allowed to stay and work in the U.S. legally during the TPS period.  Somalia was first designated for TPS  in 1991, and was most recently re-designated in 2012.

UPDATES: 

• As of March 9, 2020, DHS had not provided notice of releasing the 35,000 additional visas, but the Office of Foreign Labor Certification issued a FAQs on March 9, 2020 regarding issues raised by the Department of Homeland Security’s May 5, 2020 announcement.  Scroll down on this page to find the March 9, 2020 FAQs.
• On March 20, 2020, Department of State (DOS) announced it would suspend all routine visa processing at U.S. Consulates abroad.
• On March 26, 2020,  recognizing the importance of the H-2 visa programs to U.S. employers, DOS announced that it would waive visa interviews for most beneficiaries of approved H-2A and H-2B visa petitions so that visa issuance could continue despite most U.S. consulates being closed to the public.
• The Department of Labor and USDA announced an information sharing initiative to identify H-2A and H-2B workers whose current positions are ending who might be able to transfer to other employers’ labor certifications to fill seasonal positions starting in the second half of FY 2020.

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On March 5, 2020, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced that it will release 35,000 more H-2B visas beyond the 33,000 cap for the second half of FY 2020, for positions for seasonal non-agricultural workers with start dates between April 1, 2020 and September 30, 2020.

The visas were authorized by Congress in the omnibus budget bill enacted in December 2019.  However, Congress authorized over 69,000 additional visas.  It is disappointing that DHS is releasing barely half of that number, falling far short of the need, as has happened for the last several years.

In addition, the additional H-2B visas are accompanied by new conditions and constraints:

• • The visas will be released in two batches:  20,000 for positions beginning April 1st, and 15,000 for positions beginning  May 15th;
  • 10,000 visas will be reserved for seasonal workers coming from El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras, ostensibly to stem the flow of persons arriving at the southern border without visas;
  • The visas will be generally limited to returning H-2B workers;
  • The start date on the H-2B petition and the employer’s start date of need will be required to coincide exactly.

Also, on March 6, 2020, DHS published a notice formalizing that effective immediately, “a printed copy of the electronic final determination form granting temporary labor certification under the H–2B program through the U.S. Department of Labor’s new Foreign Labor Application Gateway system must be submitted with an H–2B petition as evidence of an original approved temporary labor certification.”

Once again, the limited number of additional H-2B visas, coupled with the additional conditions, will result in the H-2B program failing to meet the seasonal hiring needs of Maine’s employers.    Congress needs to get to work and accomplish immigration reform.

On March 3, 2020, Hancock County Commissioners were asked to consent to refugee resettlement.  After considering testimony from community members and MeBIC, as well as letters from Catholic Charities Maine (CCM), the state’s only refugee refugee resettlement agency, and others, the commissioners voted unanimously to welcome refugees in the unorganized territories under its jurisdiction.

Various Maine counties have been asked to consider this question due to an Executive Order (E.O.) purporting to give states and localities veto power over refugee resettlement, even though CCM has never resettled refugees in those counties and has no plans to do so.  That E.O. is currently enjoined, but the Hancock County Commissioners were asked to proactively address the issue regardless of the ultimate outcome of the litigation challenging the E.O.’s legality.

MeBIC testified in support of sending a message of welcome, given that Hancock County’s population has far more residents over age 65 than under 18 (24.6% versus 17.1%, respectively, in 2018), and needs more working age adults and families, regardless of their origins and immigration status.   MeBIC also pointed out studies finding that refugees have higher workforce participation than native born U.S. citizens, are entrepreneurial, and that even if they receive federal assistance when they first arrive, within 10 years they have paid more in taxes than they ever received in public benefits.

For vibrant communities and a strong economy, MeBIC pointed out, all Maine counties should telegraph that they welcome immigrants and refugees.  Hancock County Commissioners made a smart economic decision when they did just that.

A report about the Commissioners’ vote in the Bangor Daily News can be found here, and another report from WGME is here.

The Department of Homeland Security announced that qualified Yemenis can reregister for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) from March 2 through May 1, 2020.  As announced previously, TPS for citizens of Yemen is being extended from March 4, 2020 through September 3, 2021.

Work permits for most Yemenis who currently have TPS or have prior reregistration applications pending are automatically extended through August 30, 2020 as long as reregistration is completed by May 1st.  Employers and TPS re-registrants can find more information about automatic employment authorization extensions on the USCIS Yemen TPS page.   Automatic extensions are necessary because of USCIS delays in processing TPS work permit applications.  Once granted, Yemeni TPS work permits will be valid through September 3, 2021.

TPS is offered when the U.S. government determines that civil conflict or natural disaster has created conditions making it inadvisable for citizens of the designated countries who are already in the U.S. at the moment of the TPS designation to return to their home countries. Individuals with TPS are allowed to stay and work in the U.S. legally during the TPS period.  Yemen was first designated for TPS in 2015, and was re-designated in 2017.

 

As we’ve written previously, Canada has similar demographics to the U.S. – an aging population and low birthrates.  However, Canada’s immigration response in recent years has diverged sharply from the U.S’s approach.  While the U.S. has taken multiple steps in recent years resulting in reduced legal immigration, in contrast, Canada has actively liberalized its immigration policies to attract more immigrants.

Canada’s approach appears to be paying off.  The Wall Street Journal reports that Canada’s rate of population growth is outpacing all the other G7 countries, and its economy expanded by 1.5% in 2019, second in the G7 only to the U.S.  As the article  notes,

Canada’s labor force grew 2% last year according to data from the OECD, faster than the U.S. and Japan….. Most of that was fueled by population growth, about 80% of which comes from immigration.

The growing head count, in turn, has supported growth in consumer spending and a rebound in home sales and prices that began during the second half of last year. That helped Canada overcome a sharp slowdown in trade, muted business investment and a cooling global economy last year.

While Canada experienced an economic slowdown in 2019 compared to the pace of its economy from 2010-2018, without immigration, the scenario would have been worse.  As one economist stated, immigration isn’t  “just the main game in town, it’s the only game in town.”

You can find the article here.

MeBIC, together with the Maine State Chamber of Commerce and other MeBIC business partners is working to get at least partial funding for L.D. 647, An Act To Attract, Educate and Retain New State Residents To Strengthen the Workforce, which was approved by the State Legislature in 2019 and carried over to this session for funding.

While L.D. 647 predated issuance of the Maine Economic Development Strategy 2020-2029 report, it is a workforce development bill  that squarely aligns with, and will jump-start reaching that report’s objectives to attract new talent expressed at Action B4.

State revenues in FY 2020 have exceeded projections.  Nonetheless, the Appropriations and Financial Affairs (AFA) committee has bills before it collectively costing over a billion dollars.  We recognize that getting full funding ($1.5 million/year) for L.D. 647 this year is highly unlikely, and so must prioritize what parts of the bill are the most urgently needed this year.

Statewide, adult education students attending English as a Second Language (ESL) classes comprised 41.7% of all adult education students during the fall 2019 semester, and in some cities that percentage is nearly 60%.  Adult education programs confirm that if they had more capacity their ESL student population would be even higher, but currently they fall far short of meeting the demand.

English is the key to immigrants, from manual laborers to professionals, getting and advancing in employment.  MeBIC and our partners have asked the AFA committee to prioritize Sections 2, 3, and 5 of L.D. 647,  funding additional ESL classes and combined job skills/ESL classes, as well as a Welcome Center in Lewiston to help immigrants get jobs that reflect their capabilities.

We are still early on in the Appropriations process.   Stay tuned, and contact MeBIC if your business would like to help us in this funding effort.  L.D. 647 will help Maine’s immigrants reach their full potential in our communities and workforce, benefiting them, Maine’s employers, and the State’s economy.

On March 1, 2020, a new registration system announced more than a year ago will take effect for employers hoping to obtain H-1B visas for temporary professional level staff.

Many employers in the U.S. seek H-1B temporary worker visas to employ highly educated and skilled professionals.  Often these are individuals who have received their educations at U.S. universities and may already have worked for their petitioning employer through “optional practical training” during or immediately after completion of their undergraduate or graduate degrees.

Most positions are subject to a statutory cap of 65,000 H-1B visas, plus another 20,000 H-1B visas for individuals who have attained masters, or higher, degrees.

In the past, filing petitions with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has begun on April 1st of each year for positions starting during the next fiscal year.  For several years now, the cap has been reached within 5 days of April 1st, with demand for the visas far outstripping supply.

To prevent employers from investing the time and expense of preparing detailed H-1B visa petitions only to be shut out by the cap’s exhaustion, this year,  employers must “register” their intention to file for H-1B visas between March 1 and March 20, 2020.  If registrations for  H-1B positions exceed the visa cap, registered employers not making it under the cap will be informed so that they can avoid continuing on with preparing the visa petitions.

The new process will not diminish the hardship to employers who cannot get H-1B visas for talented employees if they are shut out by the low visa cap.  But at least it could lessen the amount of salt in the wound by allowing employers to avoid expending the time and funds required to prepare the full H-1B visa petition.

You can read more details about the new process here.

The fundamental reality is that the H-1B cap does not reflect the demands of today’s economy.   Decades ago, there was no cap, and market forces determined the number of H-1B visas granted each year.  It’s time to seriously consider returning to that system.

In January, 2020, Penobscot County was asked to refuse to consent to refugee resettlement, despite the fact that Catholic Charities Maine (CCM), the state’s only refugee resettlement agency, has never resettled refugees in Penobscot County.  In the end, after receiving facts  (see below) about refugee resettlement from CCM and data about the positive economic contributions of refugees from MeBIC, and community feedback supporting refugees, the Penobscot County Commissioners agreed to welcome refugees if they should ever want to live there.

Other counties have entered the debate recently, as well, with Piscataquis and Franklin County Commissioners  voting not to consent to refugee resettlement.  Again, CCM has never resettled refugees in those counties, nor do they have plans to do so.  And refugees are free to move anywhere in the country, just as U.S. citizens can, regardless of where they are initially resettled.

Both Franklin and Piscataquis Counties have declining populations, more residents over age 65 than under age 18, unemployment under 4%, and a shrinking workforce.  They should be sending messages to attract new residents, regardless of their origins.  Their recent votes send a contrary message that may discourage immigrants and nonimmigrants, whether temporary seasonal or professional level workers, international students, and even U.S. born children of immigrants, from choosing to live and work in their counties.

Hancock County has been asked by county residents to affirmatively consent to refugee resettlement, should CCM ever wish to resettle refugees there, and will take the issue up on March 3rd.   Franklin County will also receive more information from CCM and MeBIC about refugees and the resettlement process,  and feedback on its vote not to consent, at its March 3rd meeting.

The issue was raised due to an unprecedented Executive Order (E.O.) issued by the President on September 26, 2019 purporting to give states and localities veto power over refugee resettlement. That (E.O.) was enjoined by a federal court on January 15, 2020 while its legality is challenged.  Prior to that Governor Mills gave Maine’s consent to participate in refugee resettlement, as the state has done for over 40 years. Given the historic and current contributions of refugees and immigrants to Maine’s communities and economy, Governor Mills made the right choice for Maine’s future from a values and an economic perspective.

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Facts about refugees:

Despite starting there lives over in the U.S. from scratch, in a relatively short period, refugees contribute more to the economy in taxes than they consume in public benefits. A draft government report found in 2017 that within ten years of arrival in the U.S., refugees contributed more in taxes than they received in benefits.[1]   A 2017 National Bureau of Economic Research working paper found that within six years of arrival, refugees have higher rates of labor force participation than native U.S. citizens, even if their wages may be lower, and within twenty years of arrival, have contributed $21,000 more in tax payments than they received in public benefits.[2]

Other data indicates that refugees become entrepreneurs at higher rates than U.S. citizens and even than other immigrants, and in 2015, refugee-owned businesses generated over $4.6 billion in business income nationwide.[3] That year refugees also paid nearly $21 billion in federal, state, and local taxes, and had over $56 billion in purchasing power. More refugees are in their prime working years than the native-born population, with over 77% of them of prime working age in 2015, compared to over 49% of native U.S. citizens.[4] Data specifically for Maine’s District 2  (in which each of the counties considering the “refugee consent” sit) indicates that in 2014, more than 750 immigrants, including refugees, owned businesses, and immigrants paid more than $34 million in state and local taxes.[5]

[1] https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/09/19/us/politics/document-Refugee-Report.html

[2] https://www.nber.org/papers/w23498

[3] https://research.newamericaneconomy.org/report/from-struggle-to-resilience-the-economic-impact-of-refugees-in-america

[4] Id.

[5] https://www.newamericaneconomy.org/locations/maine/maine-district-2/

On February 24, 2020, the administration’s new “public charge” regulation took effect, even though its legality is still being legally challenged.

As explained previously, the impact of the new rule will divide families by falling most heavily on intending immigrant immediate family members of U.S. citizens and permanent residents.  It will also affect those selected to apply to immigrate through the Diversity Visa Lottery.  These two populations are likely to see a dramatic increase in immigrant visa and permanent residency denials.

But the rule also applies to anyone requesting an initial nonimmigrant (temporary) visa or admission as a nonimmigrant,  as well as to those immigrating through their employment.  As a practical matter, none of these latter categories are likely to see increases in “public charge” denials.  That does not mean that the new public charge rule won’t affect them, however.

Nonimmigrants and immigrants alike to whom the rule applies will have to answer questions about past public benefits receipt, despite their ineligibility for the benefits at issue in most cases.  For nonimmigrants, these questions will be a nuisance, but not overly burdensome.

However, immigrants, even those immigrating through employment, will now have to answer detailed questions to prove their ability to be self-sufficient.  If they are applying for residency from inside the U.S., they will need to complete the new 18 page USCIS form I-944, and provide documentation not only of their own, but also of their household members’ income,  taxes paid, health insurance coverage, credit reports, assets, debts and liabilities (including credit card debt).  They will also have to list their employment and educational history, even if already provided previously, and document their language proficiency in English and any other languages.  Immigrants applying for an immigrant visa at a U.S. consulate abroad will have to complete the new 4 page DS-5540 form and provide information about health insurance coverage, educational history, income, tax filings, assets and liabilities, but will not have to provide as many documents as those inside the U.S. must.

The new questions, forms, and documentation requirements will substantially increase the time and expense involved in preparing the paperwork for nonimmigrant or immigrant visa issuance abroad, or for immigrant applications in the U.S.   The I-944 form is particularly daunting, with 15 pages of instructions that could confuse many, especially those navigating the process without legal representation.

Estimates are that new rule will lower legal immigration by hundreds of thousands of people annually, particularly U.S. citizens’ and permanent residents’ immediate family members, although the exact impact remains to be seen.

However, two things are certain: the new public charge rule injects a daunting new level of complexity into already complicated immigration procedures, and the U.S. economy, which needs more people, not less, to shore up its aging population and workforce, will suffer as a result of this rule.