January 5, 2023
Impact [High]
CDC Announces Requirement for Negative COVID-19 Test for Travelers from China
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced that, effective at 12:01am on January 5, 2023, the United States will require a qualifying negative COVID-19 test or documentation of recovery for most air passengers boarding flights to the United States originating from the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and the Special Administrative Regions of Hong Kong and Macau.
Under this new policy, most air passengers (including US citizens and lawful permanent residents) who are two years of age and older and flying to the US will be required to provide paper or digital evidence that they obtained a qualifying negative COVID-19 test no more than two days before their departure from the PRC, Hong Kong, or Macau. Additionally, passengers from the PRC to the United States should be aware of the following considerations:
The negative COVID-19 test requirement applies to air passengers from the PRC regardless of nationality and vaccination status.
The test requirement will also apply to persons traveling from the PRC via third country transit and to passengers connecting through the United States onward to further destinations. The test requirement does not apply if passengers have spent less than 24 hours in China, Hong Kong or Macau
Along with applying this requirement to direct flights from the PRC, passengers transiting through Incheon International Airport, Toronto Pearson International Airport, and Vancouver International Airport on their way to the United States will be required to provide a negative COVID-19 test no more than 2 days before their departure to the United States, if they have been in the PRC in the last 10 days.
The Biden Administration chose these transit hubs because they cover a significant majority of travelers originating in the PRC, Hong Kong, and Macau. The announcement indicates that it will continue to monitor travel patterns and update this policy accordingly.
Passengers who tested positive more than 10 days before the flight can provide documentation of recovery from COVID-19 in lieu of a negative test result if they had COVID-19 within 90 days prior to travel to the US.
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Proposed Rule to Adjust Certain Application Fees for Employment-Based Petitions
On January 3, 2023, DHS proposed a new rule to adjust certain application fees. Under the new fee proposal, US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) would:
Increase H-1B application fee from $460 to $780, which is a 70% increase.
Increase L-1 application fee from $460 to $1385, which is a 201% increase.
Increase the fee for H-1B cap registration from $10 to $215 per registration.
Increase O-1 application fee from $460 to $1055, which is a 129% increase.
Increase Forms I-485 (adjustment of status), I-131 (advance parole), and I-765 (employment authorization document) on paper with biometric services from $1225 to $2820, which is a 130% increase. If the filing includes dependents, the application fee will be significantly higher.
Increase various percentages of other types of employment-based petitions application fees.
Incorporate biometrics costs into the main benefit fee and remove the separate biometric services fee.
Change the premium processing timeframe from 15 calendar days to 15 business days.
Implement lower fees for certain forms filed online.
Pursuant to the Administrative Procedures Act, DHS published the new fee proposal on the Federal Register for 60 days starting on January 4, 2023. During the 60-day public comment period, the public will have the opportunity to comment on the proposed changes and DHS will finalize the fee schedule in response to such comments. Once the comment period ends, DHS will review, make modifications to the proposed fee rule, if any and then publish the final rule.
Vialto Partners will continue to provide additional information on the implementation of the proposed new fee rule as it becomes available.
Contact us
Please reach out to Manish Daftari (manish.daftari@vialto.com) to discuss further.