USCIS Updates (2023)
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11/09/2023
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Affirmative asylum seekers must provide interpreters beginning September 13, 2023

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U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services reminds affirmative asylum seekers that, beginning September 13, 2023, they must bring an interpreter to their asylum interview if they are not fluent in English or wish to continue with their interview in a language other than English.

If you need an interpreter and do not bring one, or if your interpreter is not fluent in English or the language you speak, and does not establish good cause, we may consider this a failure to appear for your interview and may dismiss your request. asylum application or refer your asylum application to an immigration judge. We will determine good cause on a case-by-case basis.

The interpreter must be fluent in English and a language you speak fluently and must be at least 18 years old. The interpreter must not be:

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• Your attorney or accredited representative;

• A witness to testify on your behalf;

• A representative or employee of the government of your country of nationality (or, if you are stateless, your last country of habitual residence); either

• A person with a pending asylum application who has not yet been interviewed.

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On September 23, 2020, we published a temporary final rule (TFR) requiring affirmative asylum seekers to use our contracted telephone interpreters for their asylum interviews, instead of bringing an interpreter to the interview. We published this TFR to reduce the spread of COVID-19 during asylum interviews with USCIS asylum officers while the national emergency and the COVID-19 public health emergency were in effect. We published four subsequent TFRs extending the requirement, and the current extension will be in effect until September 12, 2023. This fourth extension provided additional time after the national and public health emergencies expired to allow us to prepare to return to the previous regulatory requirement. With the expiration of the TFR, we will return to the former regulatory requirement that an affirmative asylum seeker provide an interpreter under 8 CFR 208.9(g).

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Taken from the USCIS.GOV website.

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IRS Updates
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07/28/2022
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Under the American Rescue Plan, employers are entitled to tax credits for providing paid leave to employees who take time off related to COVID-19 vaccines.

FS-2021-09, April 2021

The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARP) allows small and medium-sized employers, and certain government employers, to claim refundable tax credits that reimburse them for the cost of providing paid sick and family leave to their employees due to COVID-19 , including license. that employees take to receive or recover from COVID-19 vaccines. ARP tax credits are available to eligible employers who pay sick and family leave from April 1, 2021 through September 30, 2021.

Below are some basic facts about employers eligible for tax credits and how these employers can claim the paid leave credit for employees taking leave to receive or recover from

COVID-19 vaccines.

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Eligible employers.
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An eligible employer is any business, including a tax-exempt organization, with fewer than 500 employees. An eligible employer also includes a government employer, other than the federal government, and any agency or instrumentality of the federal government that is not an organization described in section 501(c)(1) of the Internal Revenue Code. Self-employed workers are eligible for similar tax credits.

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Paid sick and family leave for which tax credits can be claimed.
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Eligible employers are entitled to tax credits for wages paid for leave taken by employees who are unable to work or telework for reasons related to COVID-19, including leave taken to receive COVID-19 vaccines or to recover. from any injury, disability, illness or condition related to vaccines. These tax credits are available for wages paid for leave from April 1, 2021 through September 30, 2021.

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The amount of tax credits and how they are calculated.

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ARP paid leave credits are tax credits against the employer's share of the Medicare tax. The tax credits are refundable, meaning the employer is entitled to payment of the full amount of the credits if it exceeds the employer's share of the Medicare tax.

The paid sick leave wages tax credit is equal to paid sick leave wages for reasons related to COVID-19 for up to two weeks (80 hours), limited to $511 per day and $5,110 total, at 100 percent of the employee's regular salary. pay rate. The tax credit for family leave wages paid is equal to family leave wages paid for up to twelve weeks, limited to $200 per day and $12,000 total, at 2/3 the employee's regular rate of pay. The amount of these tax credits is increased by allocable health plan expenses and contributions for certain collectively bargained benefits, as well as the employer's share of Social Security and Medicare taxes paid on wages (up to daily and total limits respective).

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Claiming the credit.
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Eligible employers can claim tax credits for sick and family leave paid to employees, including leave taken to receive or recover from COVID-19 vaccines, for leaves from April 1, 2021 through April 30. September 2021.

Eligible employers report their total paid sick and family leave wages (plus eligible health plan expenses and collectively bargained contributions and the eligible employer's share of Social Security and Medicare taxes on paid leave wages) for each quarter on your federal employment tax return, usually Form 941, Employer's Quarterly Federal Tax Return PDF. Most employers use Form 941 to report income tax and Social Security and Medicare taxes withheld from employees' wages, as well as the employer's share of Social Security and Medicare taxes.

In anticipation of claiming the credits on Form 941 PDF, eligible employers can retain federal employment taxes they would otherwise have deposited, including federal income tax withheld from employees, the employee share of taxes Social Security and Medicare and the eligible employer portion. of Social Security and Medicare taxes with respect to all employees up to the amount of the credit for which they are eligible. The Form 941 instructions PDF explains how to reflect reduced liabilities for the quarter related to the deposit schedule.