On April 04, 2024, The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued a policy alert announcing official guidance in the USCIS Policy Manual clarifying the validity period of Form I-693, Report of Immigration Medical Examination and Vaccination Record, also known as the medical exam. Generally, all green card applicants are required to submit a valid medical exam to prove to the USCIS that the applicant’s green card application cannot be denied for health-related reasons. According to the USCIS, all medical examinations signed by a Civil Surgeon on or after November 1, 2023, will rem ..read more

The Department of State has just issued the May 2024 Visa Bulletin. This blog post analyzes this month's Visa Bulletin. Visa Bulletin Table A: Final Action Dates -- Applications with these dates may be approved for their Green Card (Permanent Residency card) or Immigrant Visa appointment. Employment-based All Chargeability  Areas Except Those Listed CHINA- mainland  born INDIA MEXICO PHILIPPINES 1st C 01SEP22 01MAR21 C C 2nd 15JAN23 01FEB20 01APR12 15JAN23 15JAN23 3rd 22NOV22 01SEP20 15AUG12 22NOV22 22NOV22 Table B: Dat ..read more

USCIS has announced a temporary final rule increasing the automatic extension period for certain employment authorization documents (EADs) from 180 days to 540 days. The rule applies to eligible workers with pending renewal applications filed on or after October 27, 2023, and to those who file renewal applications between April 8, 2024, and September 30, 2025. Eligible workers include, but are not limited to: E-1/2/3 spouses (A17); L-1 spouses (A18); Certain H-1B spouses; and Workers with pending Adjustment of Status applications (C9). A full list of the eligible categories may be found on t ..read more

MU Law will be hosting a FREE webinar for our clients and friends on Friday, April 12, 2024 at 12PM Eastern (11AM Central). Join us for this FREE webinar to learn more about the USCIS' new online filing for H1Bs ..read more

On March 21, 2024, USCIS announced that they would be extending the registration period for the 2024 (fiscal year 2025) H-1B cap registration. The initial registration opened at noon eastern on March 6, 2024 and was scheduled to run through noon eastern on March 22, 2024. The registration period will now run through noon eastern on March 25, 2024. The extension of the registration period is due to a temporary USCIS outage that was experienced by some registrants. The registration process during this extended period will remain the same and USCIS still intends to notify registrants that they ar ..read more

The Department of State has just issued the April 2024 Visa Bulletin, which is the sixth of the 2024 US fiscal year.  This blog post analyzes this month's Visa Bulletin. Visa Bulletin Table A: Final Action Dates -- Applications with these dates may be approved for their Green Card (Permanent Residency card) or Immigrant Visa appointment. Employment-based All Chargeability  Areas Except Those Listed CHINA- mainland  born INDIA MEXICO PHILIPPINES 1st C 01SEP22 01MAR21 C C 2nd 15JAN23 01FEB20 01APR12 15JAN23 15JAN23 3rd 22NO ..read more

The Department of State has just issued the March 2024 Visa Bulletin, which is the sixth of the 2024 US fiscal year.  This blog post analyzes this month's Visa Bulletin. Visa Bulletin Table A: Final Action Dates -- Applications with these dates may be approved for their Green Card (Permanent Residency card) or Immigrant Visa appointment. Employment-based All Chargeability  Areas Except Those Listed CHINA- mainland  born INDIA MEXICO PHILIPPINES 1st C 15JUL22 01OCT20 C C 2nd 22NOV22 01JAN20 01MAR12 22NOV22 22NOV22 3rd 08SEP22 01SE ..read more

 MU Law will be hosting a FREE webinar for our clients and friends on Tuesday, February 13, 2024 at 2PM Eastern (1PM Central). Join us for this FREE webinar to learn more about: H-1B Cap Basics, Registration Process, and Projections What is a Specialty Occupation? H-1B Dependency Special Issues for Staffing Companies, Third Party Placements Employer-Employee relationships, end-client documentation Cap-gap for F-1s as well as CPT/OPT maintenance New H-1B Rules Top 10 things H-1B employers can do to stay compliant PLEASE JOIN US ..read more

Effective April 1, 2024 the USCIS will increase filing fees on many immigration applications.  In addition to the fee increase, the USCIS has also introduced the new Asylum Program Fee of $600, which will be an add-on to all new I-129 (H-1B, L-1, and other) and I-140 petitions.  Nonprofit petitioners will be exempt from the new Asylum Program Fee, while employers having 25 or fewer full-time employees will be subject to a reduced Asylum Program Fee of $300. With the fee increase, the USCIS has also lengthened the premium processing timeframe from calendar days to business days.  ..read more

MU Law will be hosting a FREE webinar for our clients and friends on Tuesday, February 13, 2024 at 2PM Eastern (1PM Central). Join us for this FREE webinar to learn more about: H-1B Cap Basics, Registration Process, and Projections What is a Specialty Occupation? H-1B Dependency Special Issues for Staffing Companies, Third Party Placements Employer-Employee relationships, end-client documentation Cap-gap for F-1s as well as CPT/OPT maintenance New H-1B Rules Top 10 things H-1B employers can do to stay compliant PLEASE JOIN US ..read more