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YOUR TRUSTED GUIDE TO THE AMERICAN DREAM®

YOUR MONTHLY IMMIGRATION GUIDE

November 2021

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Dear Friends and Colleagues:


It is a time for giving thanks and I believe gratitude is a daily practice and not something we save up for that one Thursday in November. By chance, I came up with something that keeps me on the gratitude train. Imagine the feeling when you let pure gratitude for a person, a situation, an event or an accomplishment shower over you. Feel the soothing, cleansing metaphorical hot water warming your soul and experience a final exhilarating splash of cold to give you chills. Imagine letting yourself go and surrendering to that feeling of gratitude and letting it wash over you. I call them "gratitude showers" and I recommend that we take at least one everyday. See how this simple practice can brighten your day, increase your energy and create happiness! I am taking one right now and so grateful for all of you!



With lots of love,


Elizabeth xo

Happy Thanksgiving from the

Garvish Immigration

Law Group Family

Suspension of Entry for Certain People Who

Pose a Risk of Transmitting Covid-19


Effective on November 29, 2021 the entry for certain immigrants and nonimmigrants who were physically present in countries where the Omicron variant has been detected was suspended. The countries in which the Omicron variant was detected are as follows:


  • Republic of Botswana
  • Kingdom of Eswatini
  • Kingdom of Lesotho
  • Republic of Malawi
  • Republic of Mozambique
  • Republic of Namibia
  • Republic of South Africa
  • Republic of Zimbabwe


For more information, please visit the following website:

A Proclamation on Suspension of Entry as Immigrants and Nonimmigrants of Certain Additional Persons Who Pose a Risk of Transmitting Coronavirus Disease 2019

Automatic Work Authorization Extensions for Certain Spouses of Nonimmigrant Visa Holders


On November 12, 2021, USCIS issued a new Policy Guidance that allows automatic extensions of employment authorization for certain H4, E, and L non-immigrant dependent spouses. Such policy will do the following, effective immediately:


  • Grant automatic extensions of work authorization permits to certain L, E, and H-4 dependent spouses if they filed for extensions before their work authorization's date of expiration, with the applicant’s Form I-94 Arrival/Departure Record showing unexpired status beyond the EAD expiration date.


  • Allow the previously mentioned dependents to provide the following documents to their employers for I-9 purposes:
  • Form I-94 showing unexpired nonimmigrant status
  • A timely work authorization renewal application Form I-765 stating “Class requested” as either (a)(17), (a)(18), or (c)(26) as applicable
  • An expired EAD card issued under one of the categories listed above


Until now, USCIS has allowed timely filed EAD card renewal applications to be automatically extended for up to 180 days in certain immigrant and nonimmigrant categories, but not for H-4 visa holders, spouses of H-1Bs, or L-2 visa holders, spouses of L-1 intracompany transferees. Due to the long delays in work authorizations adjudications, several foreign dependents have lost their jobs and caused economic hardships to U.S. entities.


USCIS changes in policy are triggered by the recent court case decision Shergill v. Mayorkas, a lawsuit that was filed in federal court in the Western District of Washington (Seattle).


For more information, please visit the following website:

SUBJECT: Employment Authorization for Certain H-4, E, and L Nonimmigrant Dependent Spouses

USCIS Settlement Is Good News For L-1 And H-1B Visa Spouses

USCIS Commemorated Veterans Day With Special Naturalization Ceremonies


USCIS honored Veterans Day this year by holding more than 90 ceremonies naturalizing more than 4,440 current and former members of the military and their families.


“USCIS is committed to serving the U.S. military community by making sure they have meaningful and efficient access to the immigration benefits they or their families may be entitled to,” said USCIS Director Ur M. Jaddou. “USCIS is dedicated to improving policies and procedures that assist service members and their loved ones on their path to U.S. citizenship.”


Additionally, USCIS Director Jaddou will strengthen the agency’s collaborative partnership with the National Park Service (through a memorandum of understanding) to ensure citizenship ceremonies continue to be held at national parks and historic federal landmarks that best represent the strength and spirit of the United States.


For more information, please visit the following website:

USCIS Commemorates Veterans Day with Special Naturalization Ceremonies

DHS Announces Countries Eligible for

H-2A and H-2B Visa Programs


The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), in consultation with the Department of State (DOS), has announced the lists of countries whose nationals are eligible to participate in the H-2A and H-2B visa programs in the next year. The notice listing the eligible countries will be published in the Federal Register on Nov. 10, 2021.


The H-2A and H-2B visa programs allow U.S. employers to bring foreign nationals to the United States to fill temporary agricultural and nonagricultural jobs, respectively. Typically, USCIS approves H-2A and H-2B petitions only for nationals of countries that the secretary of homeland security has designated as eligible to participate in the programs.


For the next year, the secretary of homeland security, with the concurrence of the secretary of state, has decided to:



  • Add Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Republic of Cyprus, the Dominican Republic (currently only eligible for the H-2A program), Haiti, Mauritius, and Saint Lucia to the list of countries eligible to participate in the H-2A and H-2B programs.
  • No longer designate Moldova as an eligible country for the H-2A visa program because it no longer meets the regulatory standards for that program. However, Moldova’s eligibility for the H-2A program remains effective until Jan. 18, 2022.


DHS maintains its authority to add countries to the eligible countries lists at any time, and to decide not to designate any country at the end of the one-year period. Examples of factors that could result in the exclusion of a country or the removal of a country from the list include fraud, abuse, denial rates, overstay rates, human trafficking concerns, and other forms of noncompliance with the terms and conditions of the H-2 visa programs by nationals of that country that are contrary to U.S. interest.


For more information, please visit the following website:

DHS Announces Countries Eligible for H-2A and H-2B Visa Programs

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U.S. Travel Ban Ended on November 8, 2021


On November 8, the White House opened its land borders with Canada and Mexico to fully vaccinated travelers. Indeed, it also lifted the the 18-month ban on visitors from the European Union, China, Iran, South Africa, Brazil and India, as long as they can show proof of vaccination. A negative coronavirus test is also required for those traveling by air. No quarantine is further required, regardless of how visitors enter.


With these policy changes, travelers entering the U.S. will be admitted based on vaccination status, rather than the country-by-country restrictions. For the past 18 months, all visitors that did not have a National Interest Exception (NIE) from the banned countries, including those who are members of the European Union and a handful of others, have been prohibited from traveling directly to the United States.


The CDC will also issue an order directing airlines to collect phone numbers and email addresses of travelers for a new contact-tracing system. Additional details of the contact-tracing system have not yet been outlined.

For more information, please visit the following website:

A Proclamation on Advancing the Safe Resumption of Global Travel During the COVID-⁠19 Pandemic

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December 2021 Visa Bulletin


The December 2021 Visa Bulletin is out! EB-1, EB-2 and EB-3 for “rest of the world” (except China and India) remains current.


  • EB-1 India remains current
  • EB-2 India moves up to 01MAY12
  • EB-3 India remains 15JAN12
  • EB-1 China remains current
  • EB-2 China moves up to 01JAN19
  • EB-3 China remains 22MAR18


Click here to see December's visa bulletin

Garvish Immigration

Law Group

ADDITIONAL NEWS

Click the titles to access the information


Learn which U.S. embassies and consulates have reopened amid COVID-19


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