DHS Announces Details on Deferred Enforced Departure for Palestinians
Deferred Enforced Departure (DED) for Palestinians will be valid for an 18-month period, from February 14, 2024 until August 13, 2025. During this period, eligible Palestinians will be protected from removal and may apply for employment or travel authorization. Palestinian…
DHS Extends and Redesignates Ethiopia for TPS, Extends Relaxed Employment Options for Ethiopian F-1 Students
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has extended and redesignated Ethiopia for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for 18 months, from June 13, 2024 through December 12, 2025. The registration period for eligible individuals to submit initial TPS applications under the…
February/March 2024 DOL PERM and PWD Processing Times
As of February 29, 2024, the Department of Labor (DOL) was conducting analyst review for PERM applications filed in March 2023 or earlier, and processing audited cases with priority dates of December 2022 or earlier. DOL is working on standard…
May 2024 Visa Bulletin – No Movement in Main Employment-Based (EB) Categories
The Final Action dates for EB-1, EB-2, EB-3, and EB-5 will remain unchanged in May. USCIS will honor Final Action Dates for employment-based categories in May. A closer look According to the State Department’s May Visa Bulletin, Final Action cutoff dates…
USCIS Announces New Guidance on Form I-693 Medical Exam Validity Period
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has announced that any Form I-693, Report of Immigration Medical Examination and Vaccination Record, that was properly completed and signed by a civil surgeon on or after November 1, 2023, does not expire and can be used…
USCIS Revives 540-Day Auto-Extension for Certain EAD Renewals
U. S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will again temporarily increase the automatic extension period of expiring Employment Authorization Documents (EADs) for certain EAD renewal applicants, from the current maximum of 180 days to a temporary new maximum of 540…
U.S. Provides Third Gender Option on Application for Citizenship
As of April 1, 2024, applicants filing for U.S. citizenship will have the option to select “X” as their gender on their application forms per an Alert posted on the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) website. The introduction of this additional…
Guidance on Travel Preparations for F-1 Students on OPT or Awaiting a Change of Status to H-1B
If you are an F-1 student who has applied for or is working on optional practical training (OPT) or who will be the beneficiary of a petition to change status to H-1B in this year’s H-1B cap filing season, make…
USCIS Completes FY 2025 H-1B Cap Selection Process
The annual quota of 85,000 H-1B cap beneficiaries was met in the initial registration period for employment in FY 2025, according to USCIS. The precise number of cap registrations submitted has not yet been disclosed. The agency has completed the…
DHS Extends and Redesignates Burma (Myanmar) for Temporary Protected Status; Extends Relaxed Employment Options for Burmese F-1 Students
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has extended and redesignated Burma (Myanmar) for Temporary Protected Status (TPS), from May 26, 2024 through November 25, 2025. The registration period for new TPS applicants will run from March 25, 2024 to November…
Immigration Agencies Funded for the Rest of FY 2024
Over the weekend, Congress passed a minibus spending package that will fund several federal agencies – including immigration agencies – through September 30, 2024, and President Biden signed the bill into law. The issue A matter of hours after funding…
New USCIS Fees to Take Effect April 1, with Significant Increases for Employment-Based Filings
Effective April 1, 2024, USCIS will increase and create separate filing fees for H-1B, L-1, and other temporary worker case types. The H-1B petition fee will rise to $780, from $460, a 70% increase. The L-1 petition fee will increase…
USCIS Extends FY 2025 H-1B Cap Registration Deadline to March 25 at Noon ET
USCIS is extending the registration deadline because of outages that affected the H-1B cap registration system. Employers and their immigration counsel will have more time to submit registrations for the FY 2025 H-1B cap selection lotteries. The original deadline was…
FY 2025 H-1B Cap Registration Period Closes March 22
Employers and their immigration counsel have until Friday, March 22, at noon ET to submit registrations for the FY 2025 H-1B cap lottery. Employers should work with their immigration counsel to complete their review and approval of draft registrations as…
DHS Renews Expanded Employment Options for Certain Venezuelan F-1 Nonimmigrants
DHS has published a Federal Register notice extending the suspension of certain employment authorization restrictions for Venezuelan F-1 nonimmigrants (and those with no nationality who last habitually resided in Venezuela) who are experiencing severe economic hardship as a direct result of the current crisis in Venezuela.…
April 2024 Visa Bulletin – Most Employment-Based Categories Will Advance, But State Dept. Projects Little to No Movement in Employment-Based Categories in Coming Months
The EB-1 China Final Action Date will advance by six weeks to September 1, 2022, and the EB-1 India Final Action Date will advance by five months to March 1, 2021. The EB-2 Final Action Date for all countries except…
FY 2025 H-1B Cap Registration Begins March 6, with New System and Requirements
Employers and their immigration counsel may register foreign nationals for the FY 2025 H-1B cap starting at noon ET on March 6, 2024 through noon ET on March 22, 2024. All cap registrations must be drafted and submitted online during…
Congress Passes Short Stopgap Spending Bill; Immigration Agencies Funded Through March 22
Congress has passed another short-term spending bill that will fund some federal agencies – including immigration agencies – through March 22, while other federal agencies will be funded through March 8. President Biden is expected to sign the bill, which…
H-1B Cap Update – USCIS Officially Launches New Organizational Account System
Employers can now create new organizational accounts and upgrade existing accounts in USCIS’s revised online H-1B cap registration system. H-1B cap registration opens at noon ET on March 6, 2024. Employers must have an account in order to register beneficiaries…
Reminder – Effective February 26, Premium Processing Fees to Increase
The premium processing fee for I-140 immigrant worker petitions and most Form I-129 nonimmigrant worker petitions will increase to $2,805, from $2,500. Fees for premium processing of certain other petitions and applications will also increase. The new fees will take…
DOL Extends Comment Period for RFI on Revising Schedule A to May 13
The Department of Labor (DOL) has extended the public comment period on its Request for Information (RFI) on revising Schedule A to May 13, 2024, from February 20, 2024. The extension notice was published in the Federal Register. The RFI, which was published…
President Biden Announces Deferred Enforced Departure for Palestinians
The White House has designated Palestinians for Deferred Enforced Departure (DED). The DED order blocks removal of certain Palestinians from the United States for 18 months, and instructs the Department of Homeland Security to provide employment authorization to eligible DED…
January 2024 DOL PERM and PWD Processing Times
As of January 31, 2024, the Department of Labor (DOL) was conducting analyst review for PERM applications filed in January 2023 or earlier, and processing audited cases with priority dates of December 2022 or earlier. DOL is working on standard…
March 2024 Visa Bulletin – Modest Movement for EB-1 India and China and Worldwide EB-2 and EB-3 Professionals; USCIS to Honor Final Action Dates for Employment-Based Categories
The EB-1 China Final Action Date will advance by two weeks to July 15, 2022, and the EB-1 India Final Action Date will advance by one month to October 1, 2020. The EB-2 Final Action Date for all countries except…
USCIS Announces H-1B Cap Registration Schedule for FY 2025, Including Initial Details on the New Organizational Account System
The FY 2025 H-1B cap registration period will open at noon ET on March 6, 2024 and will close at noon ET on March 22, 2024. All cap registrations must be drafted and submitted online during this period. A beneficiary-centric…