Due to the ongoing armed conflict and grave political instability in Ethiopia, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has announced the extension and expansion of Ethiopia for Temporary Protected Status (“TPS”) until December 12, 2025. Ethiopian nationals in the United States who currently benefit from TPS can extend their status for an additional 18 months, from June 13, 2024, to December 12, 2025.

Effective April 15, 2024, certain Palestinians in the United States may obtain an employment authorization document (EAD), which will be valid through August 13, 2025.  This work authorization is further to President Biden’s memorandum dated February 14, 2024, which allows eligible Palestinians to remain in the United States until August 13, 2025 due to the humanitarian crisis in the Palestinian Territories. The Presidential policy is called Deferred Enforced Departure (DED). 

The Department of State (DOS) has issued its May 2024 Visa Bulletin. In May, there will only be forward movement in the family-based immigrant visa categories. All the employment-based categories will stay the same.  Fortunately, none of the categories will retrogress.

In a significant step towards promoting inclusivity, USCIS has added a third gender option, “X,” defined as “Another Gender Identity” on their naturalization application (Form N-400), which grants US citizenship to lawful permanent residents. This is the first USCIS form to include a third gender option. 

Due to the ongoing instability in Burma following the military coup, the Department of Homeland Security has announced the extension and redesignation of Burma for Temporary Protected Status (“TPS”) until November 25, 2025. Burmese nationals in the United States who currently benefit from TPS will be able to extend their status for an additional 18 months, from May 26, 2024, through November 25, 2025. 

USCIS announced today that it completed selection of the registrations submitted in this year’s H-1B visa lottery.  The agency did not release the number of registrations it received, but based on our firm’s experience, chances of selection seemed higher with the new beneficiary-centric selection process.  USCIS normally releases this data later in the year, and we will update you with these numbers once they are available.

The Department of State (DOS) has issued its April 2024 Visa Bulletin. Like the March Visa bulletin, April’s Visa Bulletin also has forward movement in several family and employment-based immigrant visa categories, and none of the categories will retrogress.

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.

The 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.

As 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.

Due 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.

USCIS 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.

USCIS 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.

The 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.

USCIS 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. 

USCIS 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. 

The 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. 

The Department of State (DOS) has issued its January 2024 Visa Bulletin. As we wrap up 2023 and start 2024, the DOS brought us a pleasant surprise for the new year.  After several months of very little progress in priority dates, we finally will see forward movement in many employment-based immigrant visa categories and final action dates for the family-based immigrant visa categories. And, there will be no retrogressions in any of the categories in January, which is always welcome news.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) has reached a settlement with Apple, Inc. regarding the company’s hiring practices during the test of the labor market for employment-based green card sponsorship that allegedly disadvantaged US citizens and lawful permanent residents.  Apple has agreed to pay $6.75 million in civil penalties and create an $18.25 million back pay fund for eligible victims of their discriminatory hiring practices. 

The Department of State (DOS) has issued its December 2023 Visa Bulletin. This month, there is very little forward movement in all the family and employment-based immigrant visa categories. While this is disappointing, there were no retrogressions in any of the categories for this month.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has announced it will extend and expand temporary protected status (TPS) for nationals of Cameroon due to the ongoing armed conflict, and environmental and sociopolitical crisis in Cameroon. Cameroonians who are already benefiting from TPS (referred to as “TPS beneficiaries”) can extend their status for an additional 18 months, from December 8, 2023 until June 7, 2025. 

The Department of State (DOS) has issued its November 2023 Visa Bulletin. Much like last month, the November 2023 Visa Bulletin is disappointing as there is little forward movement in both the family and employment-based immigrant visa categories.   Fortunately, there are no retrogressions in any of the categories.

The online registration period for the annual green card lottery will open tomorrow, Wednesday, October 4, at 12 noon, Eastern Daylight Time (EDT), and end on Tuesday, November 7 at 12 noon, Eastern Standard Time (EST). We recommend registering as soon as possible because the DOS website slows down or freezes due to very heavy traffic towards the end of the registration period. 

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has announced it will extend and expand temporary protected status (TPS) for nationals of Venezuela due to the ongoing sociopolitical and economic crisis in Venezuela. Venezuelans who are already benefiting from TPS can extend their status for an additional 18 months until September 10, 2025.

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. 

DHS 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. 

Below 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.  

The 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. 

The 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.

DHS 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.