USCIS Reminds Certain Employment-Based Petitioners to Submit Correct Fees

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On April 1st, 2024, USCIS implemented a change of fees for many application types. As some of these changes have caused confusion amongst petitioners and applicants, USCIS has created a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) page to guide individuals in how to avoid petition rejections due to the submission of incorrect fees.

Despite this new FAQ, there have been reports across USCIS facilities of erroneous rejections and receipt delays that have stemmed from the April 1st changes. If you are an immigration lawyer who is a member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), AILA National has asked members to report these erroneous rejections and receipt delays to them.

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USCIS Provides Statistics on Employers and Beneficiaries for FY 2025 H-1B Cap Initial Registration

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Following up on U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ (USCIS) previous announcement that it had received enough electronic registrations for unique beneficiaries during the initial registration period to reach the fiscal year 2025 H-1B numerical allocations (H-1B cap), including the advanced degree exemption (master’s cap), USCIS reported several statistics in an email blast.

Key Takeaways:

  • USCIS selected 114,017 beneficiaries, resulting in 120,603 selected registrations in the initial selection for the FY 2025 H-1B cap.

  • During the registration period for the FY 2025 H-1B cap, there was a significant decrease in the total number of registrations submitted as compared to FY 2024, including a decrease in the number of registrations submitted on behalf of beneficiaries with multiple registrations.

  • The number of unique beneficiaries this year for FY 2025 (approx. 442,000) was comparable to the number last year for FY 2024 (approx. 446,000).

  • The number of unique employers this year for FY 2025 (approx. 52,700) was also comparable to the number last year for FY 2024 (approx. 52,000).

  • The number of eligible registrations, however, was down dramatically for FY 2025 (470,342) compared with FY 2024 (758,994) — a 38.6% reduction.

  • Overall, there was an average of 1.06 registrations per beneficiary this year in FY 2025 compared to 1.70 for FY 2024.

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Department of State 60-Day Comment Request on SEVIS

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On May 14, 2024, the Department of State made a request for comments on the recording, reporting, and data collection requirements for Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS). Comments are due by 7/15/24.

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DOS Final Rule Allows Attorneys to Provide Assistance at US Embassies in Connection with Passport Appointments, Consular Reports of Birth Abroad and Certain Other Services

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On May 13th, 2024, the State Department published a Final Rule allowing third parties such as attorneys, interpreters, and others to attend certain applicant/requester appointments at U.S. embassies, passport agencies and centers overseas to offer assistance.  This rule will only apply to appointments for U.S. passport applications (either domestically or overseas), appointments related to requests for Consular Reports of Birth Abroad or Certificates of Loss of Nationality of the United States, or appointments for specific other services offered by American Citizens Services (ACS) units at U.S. embassies and consulates overseas.

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DOS Implements New Visa Restrictions for Certain Georgians

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In response to a new “foreign influence” law and related “campaign of intimidation and the use of violence to suppress peaceful dissent,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced on May 23, 2024, that it is implementing “a new visa restriction policy for Georgia that will apply to individuals who are responsible for or complicit in undermining democracy in Georgia, as well as their family members.” He said this includes “individuals responsible for suppressing civil society and freedom of peaceful assembly in Georgia through a campaign of violence or intimidation.”

Secretary Blinken said that “anyone who undermines democratic processes or institutions in Georgia—including in the lead-up to, during, and following Georgia’s October 2024 elections—may be found ineligible for U.S. visas under this policy and precluded from travel to the United States.”

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DHS Issues New ‘Western Hemisphere Parole’ Class of Admission

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As part of the Biden administration’s actions to manage regional migration and facilitate “safe, orderly, and humane processing of migrants,” the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has issued a new class of admission (COA), that will be referred to as “Western Hemisphere Parole (WHP).”

Individuals with this COA can be paroled into the United States, on a case-by-case basis, for up to three years. Such parolees are not authorized to work incident to their parole, DHS said, and must have an Employment Authorization Document (EAD) if they wish to work. DHS said that Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements can provide an initial verification response of parolee with a COA of WHP. The initial response may also include work authorization information if the parolee has an EAD.

DHS noted that WHP parolees may have more than one valid immigration status or category and may also present valid immigration documents that demonstrate other pending applications or approved statuses or categories.

Cuban and Haitian nationals who are paroled into the United States under the WHP COA may be eligible to receive certain public benefits, DHS said.

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Extension and Redesignation of Temporary Protected Status for Ethiopia

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On April 12, 2024, Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas announced the extension and redesignation of Ethiopia for TPS for 18 months. The extension of TPS for Ethiopia allows current beneficiaries to retain TPS through December 12, 2025, if they meet eligibility requirements.

Existing beneficiaries of TPS for Ethiopia seeking to avoid gaps in their employment authorization may re-register during the 60-day re-registration period which runs from April 15, 2024, through June 14, 2024.

The redesignation allows Ethiopian nationals (and individuals having no nationality who last habitually resided in Ethiopia) who have continuously resided in the United States since April 11, 2024, and have been continuously physically present in the United States since June 13, 2024, to file initial applications for TPS, if they are otherwise eligible.

DACA Recipients May Apply for Certain Federal Healthcare Coverage as of November 1st

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Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients will be able to apply for healthcare coverage through certain federal programs pursuant to a final rule that takes effect November 1, 2024.

Main Takeaways:

On May 3rd, 2024, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced a final rule expanding access to healthcare for DACA recipients through the Affordable Care Act Health (ACA) Insurance Marketplace or through a Basic Health Program (BHP).

DACA recipients are three times more likely to be uninsured than the general U.S. population. Approximately 100,000 uninsured DACA recipients who were previously excluded from eligibility are expected to enroll through the ACA Marketplace or a BHP.

During the 60 days following the rule’s November 1st, 2024, effective date, DACA recipients will qualify for a special enrollment period to select a health plan through the ACA Marketplace. Eligible recipients applying for coverage in November 2024 could have ACA Marketplace coverage begin as of December 1st and BHP coverage begin November 1st.

USCIS Ombudsman Encourages DACA Recipients to File Renewals as Early as Possible

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The Office of the CIS Ombudsman encourages recipients to file their Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) renewal requests as early as possible. USCIS's recommendation is to submit the DACA renewal request 150 to 120 days (four to five months) before the expiration; to file the application online in order to communicate with USCIS directly through your personalized online portal and save money on filing fees; and to double-check the filing fees because they have increased as of April 1st, 2024.

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We're Hiring!

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Iandoli, Desai, & Cronin has an immediate opening for a Business Immigration Paralegal.

We are dynamic eight-attorney and twelve paralegal immigration law firm serving professionals, businesses, and academic institutions. Our clients are leaders in medicine, engineering, biotechnology, and academia.  We are currently hiring for a Business Immigration Paralegal position. 

 Business Immigration Paralegal:

  • Assist attorneys in the preparation and filing of employment-based immigrant (EB-1, EB-2, and EB-3) and nonimmigrant (H-1B, O-1, E-2, E-3, L-1 and TN) petitions and supporting documentation

  • Assemble petitions and application packages

  • Communicate with individual clients, HR representatives and government agencies

  • Help individuals gather necessary information/documents

  • Use specialized Case Management software to monitor deadlines and expirations and draft petitions and applications

  • Draft support letters and other documents

  • Track client communications and government correspondence

  • Additional administrative duties may include answering phones, scheduling appointments, generating invoices, filing, and other ad hoc tasks.

Please email résumé and cover letter to careers@iandoli.com with “Immigration Paralegal” in the subject line. No phone calls please. Absolutely no recruiters. Only those candidates selected for an interview will be contacted.

Exclusively working via telecommuting/work-from-home is not feasible. We are in a hybrid model allowing up to 2 days of work from home.