OUTSIDE THE BOX THINKING, DELIVERING CUTTING EDGE SOLUTIONS!

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced on Monday, March 27th, that it has received enough electronic registrations during the initial registration period to reach the fiscal year (FY) 2024 H-1B cap, including the master’s cap. They stated that selections were made randomly from among those applicants that correctly registered. USCIS has notified all prospective petitioners with selected registrations that they are eligible to file an H-1B cap-subject petition for the beneficiary named in selected registration. Registrants’ online accounts will now show one of the following statuses for each registration: Submitted, Selected, Denied or Invalidated-Failed Payment! 

For more information, please read the USCIS news alert, “FY 2024 H-1B Cap Season Updates”! 

 
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The Department of State has released its latest Visa Bulletin.

Click the link to view the April 2023 Visa Bulletin

The monthly Visa Bulletin has changed. The bulletin now summarizes the availability of immigrant numbers during the reported month for: “Application Final Action Dates” (consistent with prior Visa Bulletins) and “Dates for Filing Applications,” indicating when immigrant visa applicants should be notified to assemble and submit required documentation to the National Visa Center using Consular Processing (outside of the US) or file on their own with USCIS Form I-485 (within the US).

MVP Law Group, P.A. makes available the information and materials in this forum for informational purposes only. The information is general in nature and does not constitute legal advice or any contractual obligations. Further, the use of this site, and the sending or receipt of this information, does not create an attorney-client relationship between us. Therefore, your communication with us through this forum will not be considered as privileged or confidential.

Question #1 – E-Verify

Do all businesses need to enroll in the USCIS E-Verify program? I run a small business with only 5 employees.

The American Immigration Council (AIC) has released all fifty states and the District of Columbia, for a total of fifty-one updated state-by-state fact sheets highlighting immigration data and facts. These fact sheets highlight the demographic and economic impact of Immigrants in each state.

With national immigration policy being discussed, we thought that it would be a good time to provide some statistics on the Immigrant population in the United States as provided by this AIC research. Once a week we will be posting a blog with information on three states at a time. This week we will highlight; Louisiana, Maine and Maryland!

The AIC has compiled research which shows that Immigrants are an essential part of each of these states’ economy, labor force and tax base. As our economy continues to grow, Immigrants and their children are a growing economic and political force as consumers, taxpayers and entrepreneurs. As United States economic continues to grow, immigrants and their children will continue to play a key role in shaping the economic and political future of each of these states.

The Administrative Appeals Office (AAO) provides an updated ‘processing times’ in table form, with information on FY2023 first quarterly completions; October 2022 to December 2022. These figures indicate the time that it takes from the date the case is received at AAO coming from the Service Center or District Office to completion.

AAO Processing Times were released with processing dates as of 1/11/23. If you filed an appeal, please review the link below to determine the applicable processing time associated with your particular case.

Note: Starting with the January 2017 Administrative Appeals Office (AAO) Processing Times Report, the AAO has changed how it presents processing time data. The AAO will now provide, by form type, the total number of case completions for the fiscal year quarter and the percentage completed within 180 days, cases completed divided by their projected case goal.

On March 15th, USCIS placed their new fee schedule, Form G-1055 on their web site! Please review the link below for more information and to view the new fee schedule. Notice the edition date is 03/15/23 and can be found at the bottom of the form. 

 Update to Form G-1055, Fee Schedule. New Edition Dated 03/15/23 

 
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We wanted to find a new way to engage our reader base. Every other Friday, we will post the ten (10) best/most frequently asked questions received during the week from our h1bvisalawyerblog, Facebook, and Twitter readers. We will answer those questions and provide the Q&A on our H-1B Visa Lawyer Blog.

If you have a burning question, are seeking assistance with a difficult immigration related case, wish to discuss your views on Comprehensive Immigration Reform, DREAMers, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, priority dates, the monthly visa bulletin, adjustment applications, etc., please contact us by submitting your question/comment/viewpoint in our comment box provided on our H-1B Visa Lawyer Blog.

Our next “Q & A Forum” will take place this Friday, March 24, 2023. Act now and submit your questions!

Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has published a notice in the Federal Register extending and redesignating Somalia for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for 18 more months, from 3/18/23 through 9/17/24. Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro N. Mayorkas stated, “Through the extension and redesignation of Somalia for Temporary Protected Status, the United States will be able to offer safety and protection to Somalis who may not be able to return to their country, due to ongoing conflict and the continuing humanitarian crisis,”. 

 
Federal Register Notice: DHS Notice Extending and Redesignating Somalia for TPS 

 
For further details please review the USCIS New Release, “DHS Publishes Federal Register Notice Extending and Redesignating Somalia for Temporary Protected Status“. 

On February 23, 2023, U. S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) listed a copy of their PowerPoint Presentation on FY2024 H-1B Electronic Registration Process given as a webinar on the same date. The webinar was mostly an overview of the USCIS online account features and instructions for the FY 2024 H-1B Electronic Registration Process.

Review the USCIS Provided PowerPoint Presentation for more details: USCIS FY2024 H-1B Electronic Registration Process (PPTX)

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