As social distancing measures expand across the country in efforts to combat the COVID-19 pandemic, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has had to alter some of its standard requirements to better accommodate today's practical reality. DHS in involved in monitoring a number of typically people-facing immigration procedures and processes such as the I-9 Employment Verification process and in-person interviews and biometrics (fingerprinting) appointments administered by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). USCIS staff is also responsible for receiving and reviewing petitions and applications for a myriad of immigration benefits sought, including requests for continued non-immigrant status in the U.S., green card applications, and requests for Employment Authorization Documents (EADs). However, with calls to reduce in-office contact and the implementation of stay at home orders, immigration practitioners have highlighted the need for flexibility in carrying out certain immigration compliance and filing requirements, and DHS has acknowledged its own need to promote safety for its own workers.
Read the full article on our immigration blog, Knowing Immigration Law.
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