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.

8/29/2024    CBS news reported the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”) will reopen the migrant sponsor program for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans with a new vetting process aimed at curbing fraud. This program would permit those eligible to apply for U.S. entry from their home countries

8/27/2024    U.S. Department of State (“DOS”) confirmed that all numbers in the EB-1 preference category for Fiscal Year (“FY”) 2024 have been utilized and that no further EB-1 visas/green cards will be issued for the remainder of this fiscal year.  

8/26/2024    The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Georgia issued a preliminary injunction prohibiting U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) from enforcing the Farmworker Protection Rule in certain states and with respect to certain entities. Until further notice, the Office for Foreign Labor Certification will delay updating its FLAG system to implement the revised H-2A job order and application forms associated with the Farmworker Protection Rule, originally scheduled to begin at 7:00 pm (ET) on August 28, 2024.  

8/26/2024    U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) announced it will not grant any pending parole in place (“PIP”) requests under President Biden’s Keeping Families Together program temporarily after a U.S. District Court in Texas ordered an administrative stay for 14 days.  USCIS will continue to accept applications while the administrative stay is in place. The district court’s administrative stay order does not affect any applications that were approved before the administrative stay order was issued.

8/20/2024    The Associated Press reported that the Philippines has agreed to temporarily host a U.S. immigrant visa processing center for Afghan nationals seeking resettlement in America. This decision, reflecting strengthened U.S.-Philippine ties under President Marcos Jr., is pending final approval as shared by a confidential official source. Only 150 to 300 Afghan applicants will be accommodated in this one-time arrangement.  

8/19/2024    DHS published a final rule implementing President Biden’s program for Keeping Families Together. This rule is effective immediately and details the requirements for how certain noncitizen spouses of U.S. citizens can be considered for “parole”, which includes showing: continuous physical presence in the U.S. for at least 10 years; no disqualifying criminal convictions; and not being a threat to national security and public safety.  

8/16/2024    DOS announced that the annual limit for all EB-3, EW, and EB-5 visas in FY 2024 have been issued. The Immigration and Nationality Act (“INA”) limits EB-3 visas to 28.6% of the global cap, with a 10,000-visa limit for EW. The INA additionally limits EB-5 visas to 7.1% of the global employment-based cap, with 68% for unreserved categories. Issuance for these three categories will resume on October 1, 2024.   

8/14/2024    DHS changed the processing of asylum seekers crossing the U.S.-Canada border to narrow the window of attorney access and increase the use of expedited removal. More information regarding this change was reported by CBS news.  

8/8/2024    Reuters reported that a group of Republican-led states filed a lawsuit seeking to block the Biden Administration from allowing up to 200,000 immigrants brought to the U.S. illegally as children to access federally run health insurance. The 15 states, led by the office of Republican Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach, say a rule adopted by DHS in May violates a federal law that prohibits giving public benefits to people who lack legal immigration status.  

8/8/2024    USCIS determined that, for determining when applications for adjustment of status can be filed in September, the Final Action Dates chart published in DOS’s September 2024 Visa Bulletin must be used for all employment-based preference categories, and the Dates for Filing chart must be used and for all family-sponsored preference categories. 

8/5/2024    USCIS announced it completed a second round of selections in FY 2025 regular H-1B cap lottery.  USCIS indicated a sufficient number of registrations were selected to reach the maximum number of H-1B visas available for FY 2025.  All selected registrations have been notified and must file the Form I-129 by the date indicated in their selection notice.  

8/4/2024    U.S. Customs and Border Protection (“CBP”) announced that it will soon be possible to schedule appointments via CBP One from the states of Tabasco and Chiapas, Mexico, which will enable migrants to make appointments without having to travel all the way to the U.S. border.  

8/2/2024    DOS posted the September 2024 Visa Bulletin which notes that most employment-based preference category limits for FY 2024 are expected to be reached during September.