COVID Vaccination Requirement for International Air Travel Ends May 11; End to Border Travel Vaccine Requirement Forthcoming
After May 11, 2023, nonimmigrants traveling by air to the United States will no longer be required to show proof of Covid vaccination, according to a White House statement. The announcement does not impact land border travel, but confirms that…
USCIS Received Record Number of Eligible Registrations for the FY 2024 H-1B Cap, Including Surge in Multiple Registrations Per Individual
USCIS received a record 758,994 eligible registrations for the FY 2024 H-1B cap season – a 60% increase over last year’s eligible registration pool. The agency selected 110,791 beneficiaries to reach the H-1B quota of 85,000, for an overall selection…
USCIS Extends Temporary Suspension of Biometrics Collection for Some H-4, L-2, and E Derivative Applicants; Confirms Forthcoming Permanent Biometrics Exemption for All I-539 Applicants
Through September 30, 2023, USCIS will continue to suspend the biometrics collection requirement for applicants seeking H-4, L-2, and E derivative changes of status and extensions of stay on Form I-539. The temporary suspension had been set to terminate on…
May 2023 Visa Bulletin Update – USCIS to Honor Final Action Dates 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 Final Action Dates listed in the State Department’s May 2023 Visa Bulletin. Employment-Based Priority Date Cutoffs for May…
May 2023 Visa Bulletin – EB-2 and EB-3 Retrogression for All Countries, Except China and India; EB-3 China Advances; and in Coming Months, EB-1, EB-2, and EB-5 for India and EB-1 China Likely to Retrogress
Next month, EB-1 India and China will maintain their Final Action cutoff date of February 1, 2022, and Dates for Filing cutoff date of June 1, 2022. The EB-2 India Final Action and Dates for Filing cutoff dates will remain…
March 2023 DOL PERM and PWD Processing Times
As of March 31, 2023, the Department of Labor (DOL) was conducting analyst review for PERM applications filed in July 2022 or earlier, and processing audited cases with priority dates of April 2022 or earlier. DOL is working on standard…
New Consular Fees Take Effect May 30
A revised State Department fee schedule that increases fees for nonimmigrant visa applications and border crossing cards will take effect on May 30. The fee increases are not as steep as those proposed by the agency in a December 2021…
USCIS Completes FY 2024 H-1B Cap Selection Process
The annual quota of 85,000 new H-1B cap registrations was met in the initial registration period for employment in FY 2024, according to USCIS. The precise number of cap registrations has not yet been disclosed. The agency has completed the…
USCIS Terminates COVID-19 Accommodation on RFEs, NOIDs, Appeals, and Other Responses
The USCIS deadline extension policy that has been in place in some form since March 2020 ends today. For USCIS notices dated after March 23, petitioners and applicants will no longer have an additional 60 days to respond and will…
April 2023 Visa Bulletin – EB-2 Retrogresses for All Countries Except China; EB-3 China Advances; USCIS to Accept Employment-Based Adjustment Applications Based on Final Action Dates
In April, USCIS will return to accepting adjustment of status applications based on the Visa Bulletin Final Action Dates chart, rather than the more generous Dates for Filing chart that it had been using the past several months. Next month,…
Travel Tips for F-1 Students on OPT or Planning 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…
FY 2024 H-1B Registration Period Closes; USCIS Expected to Conduct Selection Lotteries and Notify Employers By March 31
The H-1B cap registration period for FY 2024 closed today at 5pm EDT. No further registrations are being accepted. In the coming days, USCIS is expected to conduct lotteries to select enough registrations to meet the FY 2024 quota of…
USCIS Extends FY 2024 Cap Registration Deadline to Monday, March 20, at 5:00 pm ET
The registration deadline is being extended because of technical problems that affected the USCIS H-1B cap registration site late Thursday. Employers and their immigration counsel will have more time to submit registrations for the FY 2024 H-1B cap selection lotteries. …
FY 2024 H-1B Cap Registration Period Closes March 17
Employers and their immigration counsel have until Friday, March 17 at noon ET to submit registrations for the FY 2024 H-1B cap lottery. Employers should work with their immigration counsel to complete their review and approval of draft registrations as…
DHS Extends and Redesignates Somalia for Temporary Protected Status; Expands Employment Options for Somali F-1 Students
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has extended and redesignated Somalia for Temporary Protected Status (TPS), from March 18, 2023 to September 17, 2024. The registration period for new TPS applicants will run from March 13, 2023 to September 17,…
CDC Lifts COVID Test Requirement for Travel from China
As of March 10, 2023 at 3pm ET, there is no longer a COVID test requirement for air travelers coming from mainland China, Hong Kong, or Macau, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Nonimmigrants traveling…
February/March 2023 DOL PERM and PWD Processing Times
As of March 9, 2023, the Department of Labor (DOL) was conducting analyst review for PERM applications filed in June 2022 or earlier, and processing audited cases with priority dates of March 2022 or earlier. DOL is working on standard…
USCIS Expands Premium Processing Eligibility to Certain F-1 OPT and STEM OPT Applications
Starting today, USCIS will accept Form I-907 premium processing requests for F-1 students with a pending Form I-765 employment authorization document (EAD) application if the student is filing for pre- or post-completion OPT, or for a STEM OPT extension. Starting…
FY 2024 H-1B Cap Registration Begins
Employers and their immigration counsel may register foreign nationals for the FY 2024 H-1B cap lottery beginning today at noon ET through Friday, March 17 at noon ET. USCIS is expected to receive a very large number of online registrations…
USCIS Revises Child Age-Out Calculation Policy to Benefit Some Adjustment of Status Applicants
USCIS has revised its Child Status Protection Act (CSPA) policy so that fewer child adjustment of status applicants risk “aging out” of the ability to obtain a green card due to reaching age 21 and no longer qualifying as a…
March 2023 Visa Bulletin – Main Employment-Based Categories Hold Steady; USCIS to Accept Employment-Based Adjustment Applications Based on Dates for Filing
In March, USCIS will continue to accept adjustment of status applications based on the monthly Visa Bulletin’s Dates for Filing Chart, rather than the Final Action Dates Chart. The Dates for Filing and Final Action Dates for the EB-1, EB-2,…
Ninth Circuit Vacates Order on TPS Termination for Several Countries, Agrees to Full Panel Rehearing
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has vacated an earlier decision that would have permitted DHS to terminate Temporary Protected Status (TPS) designations for El Salvador, Haiti, Honduras, Nepal, Nicaragua and Sudan, and has agreed to an en banc rehearing…
U.S. Visa Revalidation Pilot Coming This Year, State Department Official Says
In an interview with Bloomberg Law, a State Department official said the agency would begin a pilot program this year to allow certain foreign nationals to revalidate expired and expiring visas in the United States, without the need to travel…
Extension of Working Holiday/Work and Travel Program Between Ireland and the United States
The United States and Ireland have agreed to extend their Working Holiday/Intern Work and Travel Program for an additional five years. Established in 2008, the program allows Irish citizens or permanent residents who are students or recent graduates to spend up to 12…
DHS Announces Automatic Extension of Hong Kong DED-Related EADs
The Department of Homeland Security has announced an automatic two-year extension of Employment Authorization Documents (EADs) for individuals benefiting from Deferred Enforced Departure (DED) for Hong Kong. Hong Kong DED-related EADs expiring on February 5, 2023 have been automatically extended…