Update Applicable to:
All employers.

What happened?
On July 25, 2022, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that it is extending certain COVID-19-related flexibilities through October 23, 2022, to assist applicants, petitioners, and requestors.

What are the details?
Under these flexibilities, USCIS considers a response received within 60 calendar days after the due date outlined in the following requests or notices before taking any action if the request or notice was issued between March 1, 2020, and October 23, 2022, inclusive:

• Requests for Evidence;
• Continuations to Request Evidence (N-14);
• Notices of Intent to Deny;
• Notices of Intent to Revoke;
• Notices of Intent to Rescind;
• Notices of Intent to Terminate regional centers;
• Notices of Intent to Withdraw Temporary Protected Status; and
• Motions to Reopen an N-400 Pursuant to 8 CFR 335.5, Receipt of Derogatory Information After Grant.

In addition, USCIS will consider a Form I-290B, Notice of Appeal or Motion, or a Form N-336, Request for a Hearing on a Decision in Naturalization Proceedings (Under Section 336 of the INA), if:

• The form was filed up to 90 calendar days from the issuance of a decision we made; and
• We made that decision between November 1, 2021, and October 23, 2022.

USCIS has evaluated which flexibilities can and should be extended permanently to take the lessons learned from our pandemic posture. As a result of this evaluation, the reproduced signature flexibility announced in March 2020 will become a permanent policy on July 25, 2022.

For more information, please see the links below:

USCIS COVID-19 Updates

USCIS Announcement

USCIS Announcement (3/20/2020)

Article

What do employers need to do?
Employers should review the links above and take advantage of the extension to ensure they comply with the law.

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