USCIS Immediately Suspends Premium Processing for All I-129 and I-140 Petitions

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced the immediate and temporary suspension of premium processing service for all Form I-129 petitions (including H-1B, L-1 and TN petitions) and I-140 petitions until further notice, due to the coronavirus (COVID-19). USCIS will not accept any new requests for premium processing until further notice. We expect this suspension will last throughout the duration of the national emergency declared on March 13. USCIS will make a public announcement when premium processing service is reinstated. We will notify you once the announcement to resume premium processing is made.

DHS Announces Flexibility in Requirements Related to Form I-9 Compliance

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has issued interim I-9 guidelines specifying that employers with employees working remotely due to COVID-19 (temporarily) will not be required to physically review a new employee’s identity and employment authorization documents in the employee’s physical presence. However, employers must inspect the Section 2 documents remotely (e.g., over video link or by email) and obtain, inspect and retain (i.e., the employee must mail or scan to the employer) copies of the documents within three business days for purposes of completing Section 2. Once the documents have been physically inspected, the employer should add the phrase “documents physically examined” with the date of inspection to the Section 2 additional information field on the Form I-9 (or to Section 3, if the I-9 was prepared as a reverification of a current employee). Employers should also enter “COVID-19” as the reason for the physical inspection delay in Section 2 of the I-9. Once normal operations resume, all employees who were onboarded using remote verification must report to their employer within three business days for in-person verification of their I-9 documentation.   

Employers are permitted to follow these temporary I-9 procedures until May 19, 2020, or within three business days after the termination of the national emergency, whichever comes first. Employers who avail themselves of this option must provide written documentation of their remote onboarding and telework policy for each employee. 

Note that the normal I-9 process of physical inspection of documents is still in place for those employers whose employees are still physically reporting to work. Finally, note that the DHS remote guidelines are not mandatory. Employers may continue to follow standard Form I-9 procedures, including the use of agents to complete verification on the employer’s behalf.

E-Verify Issues COVID-19 Guidance for Employers

According to new USCIS guidance, employers using E-Verify are still required to create cases for their new hires within three business days from the date of hire. Employers must use the hire date from the employee’s Form I-9 when creating the E-Verify case. If case creation is delayed due to COVID-19 precautions, select “Other” from the drop-down list and enter “COVID-19” as the specific reason.

If your E-Verify inquiry results in a tentative nonconfirmation (TNC) response, you must notify the employee as soon as possible and provide them with a copy of the TNC response. After your employee is notified of their TNC and decides whether to take action to resolve it, the employee should acknowledge their decision on the further action notice and sign and date it. At this point, the employer should notify E-Verify of the employee’s decision. Employees who choose to take action to resolve a TNC are referred to the Social Security Administration (SSA), DHS or both agencies as appropriate. 

Normally, the employee has eight working days to contact the relevant agency. However, because SSA offices are closed to the public during the emergency, E-Verify is extending the time frame for employees to take action to resolve SSA TNCs. E-Verify is also extending the time frame for employees to take action to resolve DHS TNCs when an employee cannot resolve a TNC due to a DHS public or private office closure. Employers may not take any adverse action (including termination of employment) against an employee because their E-Verify case is in an interim case status while the employee attempts to resolve their TNC. 

E-Verify has not yet announced how long they are extending the time period to respond to TNCs. We will provide additional updates once we receive further information.  

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.