USCIS Now Accepting Refiling of Rejected Forms I-140 with E-certification or Electronically Reproduced Signatures
On March 20, 2020, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced they would officially begin accepting electronic signatures in addition to wet ink. This temporary change is the result of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, inviting flexibility.
On March 24, 2020, the Department of Labor (DOL) Office of Foreign Labor Certification (OFLC) also announced that ETA Forms 9089 and Application for Permanent Employment Certification (ETA 9089), will be issued electronically to employers and their authorized attorneys or agents. ETA Forms 9089 are forms issued by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) to allow employers to seek what is known as “permanent labor certification” for a prospective employee.
Prior to their announcement, USCIS noted that they may have inadvertently rejected some Forms I-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Workers, that included these e-certified ETA-9089s or blue ETA-9089s with electronically reproduced signatures.
Going forward, USCIS is asking any petitioners who have been affected by these inadvertent rejections to resubmit their Form I-140 with the blue ETA Form 9089s or e-certified ETA-9089s with either wet original signatures and/or scanned copies of the original signatures as well as a copy of the rejection notice. In the event the petitioner’s inadvertently rejected ETA-9089 has expired between March 20 and May 18, 2020, USCIS will accept the re-filed Form I-140 petition along with the inadvertently rejected, expired ETA-9089 during the national emergency.
For additional information, please contact MLG at info@meyerlawgroup.us.