In prior blog posts we have drawn attention to U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) making unannounced site visits to workplaces where H-1B or L-1 workers are employed and other measures the agency uses to detect H-1B fraud. Officers make such visits to...
Updated March 28, 2024On January 30, 2024, U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that it had published a final rule to adopt a new filing fee schedule. This is the first new fee schedule issued by USCIS since 2016. In its Frequently Asked...
On December 27, 2023, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) published a rule to adjust the premium processing service (PPS) fees as follows:Form I-129 (H, L, E, O, TN, etc.) - increase from $2,500 to $2,805Form I-140 - increase from $2,500 to $2,805Form I-539 (F,...
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced on December 13, 2023 that it has received a sufficient number of H-1B petitions to reach the statutory H-1B visa “cap” for fiscal year (FY) 2024. The USCIS announcement states:USCIS has received a...
On July 31, 2023, USCIS announced that it ran a second H-1B lottery on 2023 (FY 2024) registrations. The USCIS announcement states: We now have randomly selected, from the remaining FY 2024 registrations properly submitted, a sufficient number of registrations...
On January 27, 2023, USCIS announced the dates for the upcoming H-1B cap registration window and selection process. Selection will be via random lottery, as in prior years. In its announcement USCIS stated that the registration period will open at 9:00am PT / 12:00pm...
Pursuant to a recent settlement agreement, USCIS has agreed to resume its earlier practice of adjudicating I-539 status extensions and I-765 work permit applications at the same time that the principal’s I-129 is adjudicated - a.k.a. “bundling.” In recent years,...
Effective December 12, 2022, USCIS updated its Policy Manual to automatically extend the validity of green cards for Lawful Permanent Residents who have applied for naturalization. Form N-400 receipt notices will include an automatic two-year extension of the green...
As background, in a new rule issued September 29, 2022, the Biden Administration clarified and aligned the existing Public Charge rule with long-standing USCIS practice, which requires most “green card” applicants to show that they will not need to primarily rely on...
