Immigration Week in Review: 3/22 - 3/29

US Immigration: April 1 Reminders

🚨 Reminder! New Forms: USCIS has issued a reminder that, effective April 1, 2024, applicants must use new editions of the following forms:

• Form I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker;
• Form I-129 CW, Petition for a CNMI-Only Nonimmigrant Transitional Worker;
• Form I-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Workers;
• Form I-600, Petition to Classify Orphan as an Immediate Relative; and
• Form I-600A, Application for Advance Processing of an Orphan Petition, and the form’s supplements.

Although USCIS usually provides a grace period when publishing new forms, the forms listed above include changes necessary to administer the new fees.

📫 Fee Rule in Effect on April 1: On Jan. 31, 2024, USCIS published a final rule that adjusts the fees required for most immigration applications and petitions.

• Petitions postmarked on or after April 1, 2024, must include the new fees or USCIS will not accept them.
• USCIS will use the postmark date of a filing to determine which form version and fees are correct but will use the received date for purposes of any regulatory or statutory filing deadlines.

📁H-1B Form I-129 Filing Location: Starting April 1, 2024, H-1B and H-1B1 (HSC) Form I-129 petitions must no longer be filed at the USCIS service centers. All paper-based H-1B and H-1B1 (HSC) Form I-129 petitions must be filed at USCIS lockbox locations. This includes cap, non-cap, and cap-exempt H-1B filings.

• USCIS will reject H-1B or H-1B1 (HSC) petitions received at a USCIS service center on or after April 1, 2024. There will be no grace period provided.
• USCIS has specific mailing addresses for cases that are subject to the H-1B cap. To determine the correct mailing address, please see USCIS’s Form I-129 Direct Filing Addresses page.

H-1B Initial Registration Period Closed

The initial registration period for the fiscal year (FY) 2025 H-1B cap season closed at noon, Eastern Time, on March 25, 2024.

• USCIS has begun randomly selecting unique beneficiaries of properly submitted registrations projected as needed to reach the FY 2025 H-1B numerical allocations (H-1B cap), including the advanced degree exemption (master’s cap).
• USCIS will notify all prospective petitioners with selected beneficiaries that they are eligible to submit an H-1B cap-subject petition for such beneficiaries.
• USCIS will issue another web alert when this process has been completed.

Erickson Immigration Group recorded an informative session on the latest in US immigration and the upcoming election. Our guests looked at the impact of the recent policy and procedural changes on employers and foreign nationals, and what to expect as we look ahead to the 2024 Presidential Election and how employers and foreign nationals can prepare in the months leading up to it.

Watch: Recorded Presentation»

Global Immigration News & Notes

Brazil: On March 27, 2024, the Brazilian government proposed a new decree which again postpones the reinstatement of visa requirements for citizens of the US, Canada, and Australia until April 10, 2025.

Luxembourg: A Luxembourg Ministerial Regulation has fixed the average gross annual salary, increasing the minimum salary threshold for highly skilled third-country national workers applying for an EU Blue Card, effective March 24, 2024.

Mexico: The US Embassy in Mexico City launched a program on March 20, 2024 for first-time visitor visa (B1/B2) applicants to move their appointments to an earlier date with no additional fee, which will reduce the wait time for hundreds of thousands of applicants.

Panama: Panama’s National Immigration Service has further extended the deadline for submitting extensions for expired residence permits to June 30, 2024, for residence permits that expired on or after March 13, 2020. 

United Kingdom: The UK government has updated its guidance for holders of physical immigration documents, as it replaces them with online records of immigration status, known as eVisas.

What We’re Reading

Inflation, Immigration Rank Among Top U.S. Issue Concerns Lydia Saad | Gallup, 3/29/2024 Federal appeals court keeps Texas immigration law SB4 temporarily blocked Kierra Frazier | Politico, 3/27/2024 Who Could Sway the Outcome of the U.S. Election? Mexico’s President By Natalie Kitroeff, Zolan Kanno-Youngs and Paulina Villegas, Photographs by Guillermo Arias | New York Times, 3/26/2024 The true face of immigration Analysis by Stephen Collinson | CNN, 3/28/2024

Opinion: A ship crashed into a Baltimore bridge and demolished the lies about immigration Will Bunch | Philadelphia Inquirer, 3/28/2024

What We’re Listening To

In this Women’s History Month episode of the Immigration Nerds podcast, we explore how immigration is not just about the movement of people, but also about the migration of ideas that enrich lives. Host, and EIG senior attorney, Lauren Clarke, is joined by Diana Parsell, author of the book, Eliza Scidmore: The Trailblazing Journalist Behind Washington’s Cherry Trees, for an inspiring look at a beautiful symbol of cultural exchange and an enduring connection between the people of Japan and America.