DHS Fee Rule Under Federal Review – Steep Increases Anticipated for Employment-Based Petitioners
A final DHS fee regulation that would increase the filing fees for many immigration benefit filings has been submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review. The new fee regulation is expected to increase and create separate…
Premium Processing Fees Will Increase Effective February 26
The premium processing fee for I-140 immigrant worker petitions and most Form I-129 nonimmigrant worker petitions will increase to $2805, from $2500. Fees for premium processing of certain other petitions and applications will also increase. The new fees will take…
State Department Announces Extension and Expansion of the Nonimmigrant Visa Interview Waiver Program
The U.S. State Department’s visa interview waiver program has been extended effective January 1, 2024. The program will remain in effect indefinitely and will be reviewed annually. The classes of applicants eligible for the program have been expanded and now…
Labor Department Solicits Input on Occupations Eligible for Streamlined Green Card Processing
The U.S. Department of Labor has set a February 20, 2024 deadline for submission of public comments on expanding the list of “Schedule A” occupations exempt from the PERM labor certification process. The DOL notice presents a rare opportunity for…
Domestic Visa Renewal Pilot Program Opens January 29 to Limited Group of H-1B Visa Applicants
The pilot program will be limited to eligible foreign nationals who received an H-1B visa from (1) a U.S. consulate in India between February 1, 2021 and September 30, 2021, or (2) a U.S. consulate in Canada between January 1,…
Stateside Visa Renewal Pilot Clears Federal Review
A State Department pilot program that will permit certain H-1B nonimmigrants to apply for visa renewal within the United States has cleared the Office of Management and Budget federal review process, putting the pilot closer to implementation. The next step…
Proposal to Request Public Comment on Expanding List of Occupations Eligible for Streamlined Green Card Processing Clears OMB
A U.S. Department of Labor proposal to solicit public input on possible expansion of the “Schedule A” list of occupations exempt from the PERM labor certification process has cleared Office of Management and Budget (OMB) review and is expected to…
DHS Publishes FR Notice Extending TPS Re-registration Periods for El Salvador, Haiti, Honduras, Nepal, Nicaragua, and Sudan
Consistent with its September announcement, the Department of Homeland Security has published a Federal Register (FR) notice, reiterating the extensions of the periods to re-register for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) under the existing designations of El Salvador, Haiti, Honduras, Nepal, Nicaragua, and…
H-1B Cap Is Reached for FY 2024
USCIS today announced that it has received enough cap petitions to fill the 85,000 slots available for H-1B employment in the current fiscal year. Earlier this year, USCIS conducted two separate lottery selections, in March and in July, to select…
January 2024 Visa Bulletin Update – USCIS to Honor Dates for Filing for Employment-Based Categories
Next month, USCIS will accept employment-based adjustment of status applications from foreign nationals with a priority date that is earlier than the Dates for Filing listed in the State Department’s January 2024 Visa Bulletin. Employment-Based Priority Date Cutoffs for January…
January 2024 Visa Bulletin – Significant Movement for EB-1 India and EB-5 India, Strong Movement Across Most Other Employment-Based Categories
The EB-1 India Final Action Date will advance by three years and eight months, to September 1, 2020, and the Date for Filing will advance by a year and a half, to January 1, 2021. The EB-1 China Final Action…
Immigration Agencies Announce Their Fall 2023 Regulatory Plans
The Department of State plans to implement the limited H-1B domestic visa renewal pilot program in February 2024. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has delayed to April 2024 the publication of a final rule that would increase filing fees for…
November 2023 DOL PERM and PWD Processing Times
As of November 30, 2023, the Department of Labor (DOL) was conducting analyst review for PERM applications filed in December 2022 or earlier, and processing audited cases with priority dates of August 2022 or earlier. DOL is working on standard…
October 2023 DOL PERM and PWD Processing Times
As of October 31, 2023, the Department of Labor (DOL) was conducting analyst review for PERM applications filed in December 2022 or earlier, and processing audited cases with priority dates of July 2022 or earlier. DOL is working on standard…
Congress Passes Stopgap Spending Bill; Immigration Operations Funded Through February 2
Congress has passed a short-term spending bill that will fund some federal agencies - including immigration operations - through February 2, 2024, while other federal agencies will be funded through January 19, 2024. President Biden is expected to sign the…
December Visa Bulletin – Slight Movement for China EB-2 and EB-3, No Change in Remaining Employment-Based Categories; USCIS to Honor Dates for Filing in December
In December, USCIS will accept employment-based adjustment of status applications from foreign nationals with a priority date that is earlier than the Dates for Filing listed in the State Department’s December 2023 Visa Bulletin. The Dates for Filing for all…
DOL to Seek Public Feedback on Streamlined Green Card Eligibility for STEM and Other Occupations
A U.S. Department of Labor proposal to solicit public input on possible expansion of the “Schedule A” list of occupations eligible for streamlined green card processing has been submitted to the Office of Management and Budget for review. The proposal…
Holiday Travel Guidance for Foreign Nationals
If you are a foreign national planning to travel internationally this holiday season, make sure that you have all the necessary documents, including a passport with sufficient remaining validity, a valid U.S. visa in the appropriate classification, and advance permission…
Preparing for a Possible November 17 Federal Shutdown
If appropriations legislation or a stopgap spending bill is not passed by Congress by November 17, 2023, the federal government will enter a partial shutdown on November 18. A shutdown would mean that Department of Labor immigration functions such as…
Reminder – FY 2025 Diversity Visa Lottery Registration Ends November 7
Entrants have until Tuesday, November 7, 2023 at noon EST to register online at the State Department’s official lottery website. Lottery applications must conform to the State Department’s strict requirements. A closer look Registration for the Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 Diversity Visa (DV)…
New Executive Order on Artificial Intelligence Asks Federal Agencies for Initiatives to Attract and Retain Foreign AI Talent
President Biden has issued a wide-ranging Executive Order to establish guidelines for artificial intelligence (AI) security, innovation, and advancement – including several immigration provisions related to the attraction and retention of foreign talent in AI. The order directs the State…
Reminder – Starting November 1, New Edition of Form I-9 Becomes Mandatory
The new edition of Form I-9, dated August 1, 2023, will become mandatory for all employers on November 1, 2023. Through October 31, 2023, employers may continue to use the previous edition, dated October 21, 2019. The new form does…
USCIS Proposes Modernization of the H-1B Program
A new proposed rule seeks to enhance integrity and prevent misuse of the H-1B cap registration system, revise the definition of an H-1B specialty occupation, strengthen cap-gap protections for F-1 students awaiting a change of status to H-1B, and clarify…
Israeli Nationals Eligible for Visa Waiver Program Starting Today
Effective immediately, Israeli nationals are now eligible to apply for travel to the U.S. visa-free for business or pleasure under the Visa Waiver Program (VWP). The effective date for Israeli eligibility to travel under VWP has been moved up from…
Stateside Visa Renewal Pilot Moves Closer to Implementation
Details of the State Department’s long-awaited stateside visa renewal pilot are undergoing federal review, the next step toward executing the program. The pilot is expected to permit certain nonimmigrants with an expired or expiring visa to apply for renewal of…