President Biden has issued a memorandum authorizing Deferred Enforced Departure (“DED”) for Palestinians effective February 14, 2024. Palestinians may remain in the U.S without fear of deportation if they are unable to maintain their status for the next 18 months. With DED, they may also obtain work authorization. Palestinians who are here as international students in F-1 status will also benefit from relief.
Read MoreThe Department of State (DOS) has issued its March 2024 Visa Bulletin. After very little movement in February, there will be forward movement in several family and employment-based immigrant visa categories. None of the categories will retrogress.
Read MoreAs a follow up to our earlier message regarding the increase in USCIS filing fees effective April 1, 2024, USCIS also will start imposing a fee on employers filing petitions using Forms I-129, I-129CW and I-140 to fund the agency’s Asylum Program. The fee for each petition is an additional $600 for large employers (defined as 26 or more full-time employees), $300 for small employers (defined as 25 or fewer full-time employees), and $0 for non-profit employers. The new Asylum Program fee will help subsidize the costs associated with processing asylum applications for which there is no government filing fee.
Read MoreDue to the ongoing civil war and extraordinary humanitarian conditions in Syria, the Department of Homeland Security has announced the extension and redesignation of Syria for Temporary Protected Status (“TPS”) until September 30, 2025. Syrian nationals in the United States who currently benefit from TPS will be able to extend their status for an additional 18 months, from April 1, 2024, through September 30, 2025.
Read MoreUSCIS will increase filing fees effective April 1, 2024. The agency has not raised its filing fees in over seven years, and took a year to review the 5,400 comments it received after it first announced fee increases in January 2023. Despite the major increases for certain filings, USCIS will provide special fee discounts for qualified nonprofit organizations and small business employers. Through these fee increases, USCIS intends to hire more officers to help reduce the case processing backlog and improve operational efficiency.
Read MoreUSCIS has announced the registration window for this year’s H-1B Lottery will open on March 6, 2024 at 12pm (EST) and will close on March 22, 2024 at 12pm (EST). During this period, US employers can register foreign nationals for the annual H-1B lottery with information on their valid passport or travel document. Registrations can only be submitted online. Once the registration window closes, USCIS will not accept any new registrations.
Read MoreThe Department of State (DOS) has issued its February 2024 Visa Bulletin. February’s Visa Bulletin is quite disappointing as there will be very little forward movement in both the family and employment-based immigrant visa categories. Fortunately, there are no retrogressions in any of the categories.
Read MoreUSCIS recently updated its policy manual for international students and their dependents. A major positive development has been the agency’s recognition that international students can continue to qualify for student status even if they have been sponsored for employment or family-based green card petitions.
Read MoreUSCIS has announced that it will raise the filing fee for premium processing requests (Form I-907) effective February 26, 2024. Petitions and applications filed on or after February 26, 2024 with the incorrect filing fee will be rejected and returned to the petitioner or applicant.
Read MoreThe State Department (DOS) announced today that it will launch the Stateside Visa Renewal Pilot Program for certain qualified H-1B visa applicants to renew their visas domestically in the United States. They have capped the number of H-1B visa applications they will accept to approximately 20,000. The pilot program will run from January 29, 2024 through April 1, 2024, and will open approximately 4,000 visa application slots for each of the first five weeks of the program.
Read More
