In March 2019, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) revised Form I-539 Application to Extend/Change Non-Immigrant Status. While form revisions are common, and usually only interesting to immigration attorneys, this set of revisions has significant impacts that applicants and U.S. employers should be aware of. Form I-539 impacts H-4, L-2, TD, and O-3 visa holders, as well as many others. Perhaps the most notable update to the form is the requirement that every I-539 applicant pay an additional fingerprinting fee and attend a fingerprinting appointment. The result has been an increase in processing times to an average of 4-6 months, with some services centers taking as long as 7-9 months. These lengthy processing times are not just a nuisance; they are impacting applicant’s abilities to obtain or extend drivers licenses, travel internationally, and in some cases, work.
Certain I-539 applicants are eligible to concurrently apply for work cards, called EADs, allowing them to work in the U.S. Lately we have seen a pattern where USCIS will not begin reviewing these EAD applications until the underlying status is extended. For H-4 and L-2 visa holders extending their status, these new delays have significantly impacted their employment in the U.S. Unlike many other visa categories, H-4 and L-2 visa holders do not get to automatically keep working while their EAD application is pending. For many, these new delays are leading to loss of a job, loss of financial earnings, and disruption to U.S. employers.
While USCIS allows applicants to file their EAD renewal 180 days in advance of current expiration date, in many cases these new requirements are increasing total processing times well beyond 180 days. Additionally, because of the new fingerprinting requirement, these applications can no longer be easily expedited. USCIS used to allow these applicants to have their status extended at the same time the primary worker’s (H-1B, L-1, etc.) underlying petition was approved when a premium processing fee was paid. USCIS stated that it will no longer extend this courtesy. In short, planning ahead is crucial for dependents on temporary visas in the U.S. moving forward.