In an effort to improve processing times of employment authorization applications (Form I-765), USCIS has announced that it will increase the validity periods for certain categories of Employment Authorization Documents (EADs) to five years.
Read MoreDHS has announced that it will extend and expand temporary protected status (TPS) for nationals of Afghanistan due to the ongoing conflict and grave humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan. Afghanis who are already benefiting from TPS can extend their status for an additional 18 months from November 21, 2023, until May 20, 2025.
Read MoreBelow are two charts I prepared to show you how much progress has happened over the last five years for the employment and family based categories. For employment-based categories, I have focused on the first three of the five categories. I use the dates from the October Visa Bulletin for the last five years because October is when the fiscal year starts for the US government and the annual allocation of green cards is replenished. The October Visa Bulletin is very important because it usually sets the tone for the year ahead.
Read MoreThe Department of State (DOS) has issued its October 2023 Visa Bulletin. October 1 marks the start of a new fiscal year, so all the immigrant visa categories benefit from new visa numbers, and most immigrant visa applicants see progress in their place in line for permanent residence.
Read MoreThe re-registration period for existing Temporary Protected Status (TPS) beneficiaries from El Salvador, Haiti, Honduras, Nepal, Nicaragua and Sudan has been extended from 60 days to 18 months.
Read MoreDHS has announced that it will extend and expand temporary protected status (TPS) for nationals of Ukraine and Sudan due to the ongoing conflict in both countries.
Read MoreThe Department of State (DOS) has issued its September 2023 Visa Bulletin, which has little movement (if any) in the employment and family-based categories.
Read MoreAs a follow up to our previous update, USCIS has confirmed that it completed its second H-1B lottery on Monday, July 31, and has notified all employers whose registrations were selected.
Read MoreUSCIS announced this morning that it will select additional H-1B lottery registrations from the registrations that were not selected in March 2023 in order to meet the annual limit (“cap”) of H-1B visas allocated for this coming year.
Read MoreUSCIS has announced that it will release an updated version of Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification, on August 1, 2023, which will be shorter and give employers that are enrolled in E-Verify the option to remotely examine the identity and employment authorization documents of their employees when completing the Form.
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