DHS Implements More Temporary Changes Due To COVID-19

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