U.S. Extends Temporary Protected Status for Nationals of El Salvador, Sudan, Ukraine, and Venezuela
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) will publish a notice in the Federal Register on January 17, 2025, announcing an 18-month extension of El Salvador’s designation for Temporary Protected Status (TPS). This allows all eligible TPS recipients to retain TPS...
The Potential Federal Shutdown on December 20th and its Effect on the U.S. Immigration Process
What is Happening? The deadline for Congress to pass a new budget to keep funding the federal government agencies is Friday, December 20, 2024 before midnight Eastern Time. The federal agencies responsible for administering the United States immigration process are...
State Department Revises Skills List to Remove Certain Countries; Citizens of Such Countries No Longer Subject to J-1 Two-Year Home Residence Requirement Based on the Skills List
The State Department (DOS) announced on December 9, 2024, a revision of its Exchange Visitors Skills List (“Skills List”) to remove certain countries from the list. The DOS is updating the countries included on the Skills List “based on criteria that is data driven,...
USCIS Processing of Concurrently Filed I-539 and I-765 Applications for H-4 and L-2 Dependents with Principal I-129 Petitions May End on January 18, 2025
As a result of a settlement reached in the Edakunni, et al. v Mayorkas litigation, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) agreed on January 25, 2023, to process Form I-539 applications to extend or change status filed by H-4 and L-2 dependents at...
USCIS Proposed Rule to Modernize or Reform Certain Aspects of the H-1B Nonimmigrant Category Moves Closer to Finalization and Publication
As we reported in our Alert of October 24, 2023, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued on October 23, 2023, a Proposed Rule that seeks to implement significant changes in the H-1B Specialty Occupation nonimmigrant category, including...
January 2025 Visa Bulletin Issued: Dates for Filing (DFF) EB Cut-Off Dates Will Apply; No DFF Movement in Any Categories
The U.S. Department of State has released its January 2025 Visa Bulletin imposing per-country cut-off dates that regulate immigrant visa availability and the flow of Adjustment of Status (AOS) applications and consular Immigrant Visa application interviews and...
DHS Final Rule Makes Permanent the 540-Day Automatic Extension Period for Certain EAD Renewal Applications
In the first of what may be a number of regulatory initiatives taken by the lame-duck Biden administration to protect immigration benefits from elimination by the Trump administration that will take office on January 20, 2025, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS)...
Digital Work Permit Integration with Social Security
China has implemented a digital Work Permit for foreigners and the Work Permit will be integrated into the Social Security Card. The change took effect on December 1, 2024. With this integration of a foreigner’s Work Permit and Social Security Card, the Chinese...
USCIS Announces that the FY2025 H-1B Cap Has Been Reached
United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced today that it has received enough H-1B petitions to reach the Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 65,000 H-1B visa regular cap or quota, as well as the 20,000 H-1B exemption for holders of advanced degrees from...
The Potential Impact of a New Trump Administration on Business or Employment-Based Immigration to the United States
The new Trump administration, that will take office on January 20, 2025, is expected to take several measures to restrict immigration, remove undocumented persons, and enhance border security in the United States. While business immigration was not widely discussed...