WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) published a final rule to adjust certain immigration and naturalization benefit request fees for the first time since 2016. The final rule will allow USCIS to recover a greater share of its operating costs and support more timely processing of new applications.

The final rule is the result of a comprehensive fee review, as required by law, and follows the January 2023 publication of a notice of proposed rulemaking. The review concluded that the current fee schedule falls far short in recovering the full cost of agency operations, including the necessary expansion of humanitarian programs, federally mandated pay raises, additional staffing … Read more “USCIS Issues Final Rule to Adjust Certain Immigration and Naturalization Fees”

USCIS seeks to update regulations with proposed rulemaking to improve program efficiency and integrity

WASHINGTON – Today, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), through U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) that would modernize the H-1B specialty occupation worker program by streamlining eligibility requirements, improving program efficiency, providing greater benefits and flexibilities for employers and workers, and strengthening integrity measures. The H-1B program helps U.S. employers hire the employees they need to meet their business needs and remain competitive in the global marketplace, while adhering to all U.S. worker protections under the law.

“DHS continues to develop and implement regulations that increase efficiency and … Read more “DHS Issues Proposed Rule to Modernize the H-1B Specialty Occupation Worker Program”

In March 2023, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) conducted an initial random selection on properly submitted electronic registrations for the fiscal year (FY) 2024 H-1B cap, including for beneficiaries eligible for the advanced degree exemption. The initial filing period for those with selected registrations for FY 2024 was from April 1, 2023, through June 30, 2023.

USCIS recently announced the need to select additional registrations to reach the FY 2024 H-1B numerical allocations. We now have randomly selected, from the remaining FY 2024 registrations properly submitted, a sufficient number of registrations projected as needed to reach the cap. We have notified all prospective petitioners with selected registrations from … Read more “FY 2024 H-1B Registration Update”

US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) stated on January 28, 2022, that the registration period for Fiscal Year 2023 will begin on March 1, 2022, 12nn EST and end on March 18, 2022, 12nn EST. Employers can register prospective employees via the USCIS online H-1B registration system during this 18-day period, either directly or through their representatives.

The H-1B visa program allows US employers to hire foreign workers for a limited time in occupations that require the theoretical and practical application of a body of highly specialized knowledge as well as a bachelor’s degree or higher in the specified specialty or its equivalent. Congress has set aside 65,000 visas for … Read more “H-1B cap season is quickly approaching!”