A settlement agreement in Edakunni v. Mayorkas, effective for two years, is set to expire on January 18, 2025. Under the agreement, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) said it would bundle the adjudication of the Form I-539 (Application to Extend/Change...
Topic: Immigration Updates
OFLC Publishes List of Randomized H-2B Applications
On January 6, 2025, the Office of Foreign Labor Certification (OFLC) announced that it has published the assignment groups for 8,759 H-2B applications covering 149,953 worker positions with a work start date of April 1, 2025. OFLC said it completed the randomization...
DHS Extends TPS for El Salvador, Sudan, Ukraine, and Venezuela
On January 10, 2025, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced the extension of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for El Salvador, Sudan, Ukraine, and Venezuela. El Salvador: The TPS extension is effective for 18 months, from March 10, 2025, to September 9,...
Cap Reached for Additional H-2B Returning Worker Visas; Petitioners Encouraged to File Under Country-Specific Allocations While Visas Remain Available
On January 10, 2025, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that it has received enough petitions to reach the cap for the additional 20,716 H-2B visas made available for returning workers for the first half of fiscal year 2025 with start dates on...
USCIS Updates O-1 Guidance on Extraordinary Ability Evidence
On January 8, 2025, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) updated its policy guidance, effective immediately, to clarify how it evaluates evidence to determine eligibility for O-1A nonimmigrants of extraordinary ability, including adding examples of...
Miller Mayer’s Steve Yale-Loehr on H-1B Visas and Trump Administration Dynamics
Steve Yale-Loehr was quoted by the Los Angeles Times in California's Tech Titans Say H-1B Visas Are Vital. Will Trump Defy MAGA and Support Them? He said that despite the deficiencies in the H-1B program, he believes that "most employers try to follow the rules. At...
Practice Alert Released on Garcia Perez v. USCIS Litigation
The Northwest Immigrant Rights Project and the National Immigration Litigation Alliance released a practice alert on the final settlement agreement in Garcia Perez v. USCIS, effective September 26, 2024. The alert notes that in that case, four asylum seekers...
Court Rejects Employer’s Challenge to DOL Determination Letter re Posting Required Notices
In Broadgate v. Su, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit rejected an appeal of an order in which the Department of Labor (DOL) had issued a determination letter finding that the company had willfully violated the Immigration and Nationality Act by not...
DHS Raises CBP Civil Monetary Penalties
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has raised civil monetary penalties for various violations. The new penalty amounts, adjusted for inflation, are effective for penalties assessed after January 2, 2025, whose associated violations occurred after November 2,...
VWP Designated Countries List To Be Updated on Website, No Longer Announced in Federal Register
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) published a final rule on December 27, 2024, that updates the agency's practice for notifying the public of countries designated for participation in the Visa Waiver Program (VWP). The VWP's list currently includes 42...
