U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has updated its fee schedule for Form I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker—H-1B and H-1B1 Petitions, to reflect the additional required fees for online filings. According to the American Immigration Lawyers...
Topic: Immigration Updates
DOS Announces New Exchange Visitor Program for Japan
On April 19, 2024, the Department of State (DOS) announced a new international exchange visitor program for Japan. The program authorizes an exception under the Specialist category in the Exchange Visitor Program regulations to permit Japanese language and culture...
Cap Reached for Additional Returning Worker H-2B Visas for Early Second Half of FY 2024
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced on April 18, 2024, that it has received enough petitions to reach the cap for the additional 19,000 H-2B visas made available for returning workers for the early second half of fiscal year (FY) 2024 with...
Employment Authorization Granted to Eligible Palestinians under DED
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has issued a significant update for Palestinians in the United States, as detailed in a recent Federal Register notice. Effective immediately, Palestinians covered by Deferred Enforced Departure (DED) are eligible to...
New Audit Measures for EB-5 Regional Centers
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has announced new audit measures under the EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act of 2022, affecting all designated regional centers. Under the 2022 law, USCIS must conduct audits at least once every five years for each...
Expansion of Schedule A, Group II Definition to Support STEM Talent
In a significant development for employers and individuals involved in the STEM fields, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has announced an update to the definition of "Schedule A, Group II" occupations, which is part of the agency's efforts to...
Miller Mayer’s Steve Yale-Loehr Quoted re AntiDiscrimination Challenges
Miller Mayer immigration attorney Steve Yale-Loehr was quoted by Bloomberg Law News in SpaceX, Walmart Court Wins Imperil DOJ’s Immigration Bias Probes. The article noted that Justice Department efforts to prevent businesses from discriminating against work-authorized...
USCIS Issues New Guidance on Medical Exam Validity
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has issued new guidance on the validity of Form I-693, Report of Immigration Medical Examination and Vaccination Record. For all forms that were properly completed and signed by a civil surgeon on or after November 1,...
USCIS Announces Rule to Increase Automatic Extension Period for Work Permits
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced a temporary final rule to increase the automatic extension period for certain employment authorization document (EAD) holders from 180 days to 540 days. This temporary measure, which took effect April 8, applies to...
Higher Immigration Fees Took Effect April 1
Effective April 1, 2024, higher immigration fees took effect following a U.S. district court judge’s refusal to block a U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) fee rule. USCIS has primarily targeted employers sponsoring workers, with fee increases of 70% for...
