Week in Review: 9/27 - 10/4

US Immigration News & Notes

New Guidance on EB-1 Eligibility: USCIS issued policy guidance?in its Policy Manual to further clarify the types of evidence they may evaluate to determine eligibility for extraordinary ability (E11) EB-1 immigrant visa classifications.

This policy guidance:

• Confirms that USCIS will consider a person’s receipt of team awards under the criterion for lesser nationally or internationally recognized prizes or awards for excellence in the field of endeavor;
• Clarifies that USCIS considers past memberships under the membership criterion;
• Removes language suggesting published material must demonstrate the value of the person’s work and contributions to satisfy the published material criterion; and
• Explains that while the dictionary defines an “exhibition” as a public showing not limited to art, the relevant regulation expressly modifies that term with “artistic,” such that USCIS will only consider non-artistic exhibitions as part of a properly supported claim of comparable evidence.

This new guidance builds on a?previous EB-1 policy update, providing more clarity to assist petitioners in submitting appropriate evidence that may establish the beneficiary’s eligibility.

This policy update is effective immediately and?is controlling and supersedes any related prior guidance on the topic. For more information, see the?Policy Manual, Volume 6, Part F, Chapter 2.

Global Immigration News & Notes

Canada: Immigration Refugee and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) announced important updates and clarifications to program requirements under the ICT program. The text of the announcement can be found here.

?While basic ICT requirements are intact, the instructions provide additional and specific guidance to processing officers on what they should be looking for when processing ICT applications. As such, we want to highlight some further areas of scrutiny that an application under the program may experience.

1. ?Multi-National Corporation (MNC) definition: The definition of MNC has been specified to mean that the company must be operating in 2 other countries aside from Canada to be able to send a worker to a Canadian branch, affiliate, parent or subsidiary company. Enterprise cannot become MNC by establishing their first foreign enterprise in Canada.
2. Job in foreign country must remain available to the foreign national during their time in Canada
3. Specialized Knowledge, Managers and Significant Economic, Social and Cultural Benefit to Canada: The instructions have been amended to further insist proof that the employee’s transfer to Canada will provide significant economic, social and/or cultural benefits to Canada and that prevailing wage requirements are met.
4. Actively engaged in Business in Canada: The instructions further emphasize the importance of the company to engage in active, and day to day business operations in Canada.
5. Employer/Employee Relationship: ICT specialized knowledge workers must be clearly employed by, and under the direct and continuous supervision of the Canadian enterprise.
6. Remote Work/Co-Working Arrangements: This guidance has been provided much more clearly in the new instructions. If the work of the foreign national can be completed remotely, a reasonable explanation of why the foreign national must be in Canada will be required.

What We’re Reading

A Crackdown Hamed Aleaziz | The New York Times, 10/04/2024

Wanted: Better immigration policy, more immigrants Bloomberg | 10/04/2024

Trump's already harsh rhetoric on migrants is turning darker as Election Day nears James Oliphant | Reuters, 10/04/2024

Yellen Defends Immigration Benefits in Face of Deportation Calls Viktoria Dendrinou | Bloomberg, 10/03/2024

Vance says immigrants caused a housing shortage. Economists disagree. Rachel Siegel | Washington Post, 10/02/2024