U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) recently issued policy guidance addressing the automatic extension of status for H-4, L-2, and E dependent spouses in response to the settlement of a class-action lawsuit.
The guidance states that USCIS will consider L-2 and E dependent spouses (but not H-4 dependent spouses) work-authorized incident to their status, meaning that these dependent spouses will not need an employment authorization document (EAD) to work in the United States. As part of this policy change, USCIS indicated that it would work with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to update the I-94 system to indicate work authorization, as the system in place does not differentiate between work-authorized L-2 and E dependent spouses and non-work-authorized L-2 and E dependent children. USCIS had initially indicated that the new I-94 system would be implemented within 120 days of the policy announcement in November 2021.
On January 31, 2022, CBP began implementing the new I-94 system at ports of entry throughout the United States, issuing admission codes so that E and L spouses’ I-94s now bear a spousal designation in the form of an “S” next to the E or L2 designation (e.g., an L-2 spousal I-94 is now designated as “L2S”). For E and L-2 dependent spouses who last entered the United States before January 31, 2022, and who have pending E dependent or L-2 extension-of-status applications with USCIS, it is expected that USCIS will soon issue approval notices...
As Nigeria prepares for the 2027 general elections, political campaigns and online discussions are expected to intensify across social media and messaging platforms. Alongside legitimate political...