Immigration law is at the forefront of public dialogue these days. Womble Bond Dickinson’s Immigration Solutions team helps employers navigate high-stakes, constantly shifting immigration challenges to avoid potential problems and secure the talent they need to make their companies thrive. The following newsletter, drafted by Womble Bond Dickinson Immigration Solutions attorneys, covers some of the recent and most important developments in immigration law.

02/26/2024    U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) issued a notice reminding the public that fees for premium processing increased effective 2/26/2024.

02/21/2024    USCIS announced that it will be launching a pilot of E-Verify+ in 2024. USCIS states that E-Verify+ will streamline the Form I-9 and employment eligibility verification process.

02/20/2024    USCIS published Frequently Asked Questions (“FAQs”) from several public sessions it held on the new USCIS organizational accounts required to be used for the FY2025 H-1B electronic registration season.  The new organizational accounts launch on February 28, 2024, and registrations will be accepted through March 22, 2024.

02/14/2024    USCIS published FAQs regarding the final rule to adjust filing fees of certain immigration benefits.  The final rule and fee increases will go into effect on April 1, 2024.  

02/14/2024    President Biden issued a memorandum determining that it is in the foreign policy interest of the United States to defer for 18 months the removal of any Palestinian subject to certain noted conditions and exceptions.

02/12/2024     USCIS published Adjustment of Status filing charts for March 2024.  All family-sponsored preference categories must use the “Dates for Filing” chart of U.S. Department of State’s (“DOS”) visa bulletin for March 2024, and all employment-based preference categories must use the “Final Action Dates” chart.

02/11/2024    USCIS invited the public to a stakeholder engagement on Afghan nationals seeking to be paroled into the United States for urgent humanitarian reasons or significant public benefit.  The engagement will take place on Wednesday, March 20, 2024, from 2-3 p.m. Eastern.  

02/09/2024    USCIS released its FY2023 data showing that it completed 10 million immigration cases and reduced its backlog for the first time in over a decade. Further, USCIS announced that its data also improved customer experience, addressed humanitarian needs, and strengthened employment-based immigration.

02/06/2024    DOS published the March 2024 Visa Bulletin.

2/02/2024    USCIS published a final rule, effective March 4, 2024, amending the H-1B regulations to implement a “beneficiary-centric” selection process for registrations in the annual H-1B lottery.  It also provides start date flexibility for certain H-1B cap-subject petitions and implements additional integrity measures to H-1B registrations.