On September 29, 2020, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California issued a nationwide preliminary injunction and stay on implementation of the 2020 final USCIS fee rule in its entirety. New fees and form versions associated with that rule that were to be required on October 2, 2020, as well as all other aspects of the rule, are now on hold.

The DHS proposed rule to eliminate duration of status (D/S) for F students and their dependents, J exchange visitors and their dependents, and I media representatives is scheduled for publication in the Federal Register on Friday, September 25, 2020. A public inspection copy (256 pages) is available now. There will be a 30-day comment period.

COVID-19 news and updates are maintained on NAFSA's Coronavirus Critical Updates page. Visit that page frequently for the latest information.

The conversion from CIP 2010 to CIP 2020 in SEVIS, initially planned for SEVIS Release 6.54 (now a maintenance release scheduled for September 26, 2020), is now part of SEVIS Release 6.55, scheduled for implementation on October 16, 2020.

On September 11, 2020, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) finished its review of a DHS proposed rule titled, Establishing a Fixed Time Period of Admission and an Extension of Stay Procedure for Nonimmigrant Academic Students, Exchange Visitors, and Representatives of Foreign Information Media. This item at the proposed rule stage, which means that future rule making will proceed through normal APA public notice and comment procedures before any final rule is published. Now that OMB/OIRA has finished its review of the rule and returned it to DHS, the next step is for DHS to send the proposed rule to be published in the Federal Register, and open it for public comment. The first time we will be able to see the content of the proposed rule is when the Office of the Federal Register makes a public inspection copy of the rule available on its website at least 24 hours before it’s scheduled to be published.

On September 10, 2020, NAFSA submitted a comment on the Office of Foreign Labor Certification's proposed revisions to the Permanent Labor Certification (PERM) application form (ETA 9089), instructions, and other information collected under PERM.

The Office of the Citizenship and Immigration Services Ombudsman will offer a webinar titled "USCIS' 2020 Fee Rule" on Thursday, September 17, 2020 at 2:00 p.m. Eastern Time. Requires RSVP to the CIS Ombudsman's Office.

A proposed rule to be published in the Federal Register on September 11, 2020 would change the way DHS defines, collects, and uses biometrics.

On August 28, 2020 SEVP sent DSOs a Broadcast Message informing them of its plan to mail notices to OPT students "who have not reported employer information and have exceeded 90 days of unemployment." The notice gives students 15 days from the date of the notice to update their SEVIS record with employer information or their records will be terminated.

On August 25, 2020, USCIS announced that it "will avert an administrative furlough of more than 13,000 employees" that was scheduled to begin August 30, 2020. But the agency warns that averting the furloughs "comes at a severe operational cost that will increase backlogs and wait times across the board, with no guarantee we can avoid future furloughs" without congressional intervention.