U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has announced the extension and expansion of previously declared filing fee exemptions and expedited application processing for specific Afghan nationals. These measures aim to facilitate the resettlement of Afghan nationals and, in many instances, enable family reunification in the United States by expediting the processing of their requests for employment authorization, Employment Authorization Documents (EADs), long-term status, immediate relatives' status, and related services.

Certain individuals renewing their employment authorization through Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization, are now eligible for an automatic extension of up to 180 days for their expiring employment authorization and/or employment authorization documents (EADs) while their renewal application is under review.

WASHINGTON – Today, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), through the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), and the Department of Labor (DOL) issued a temporary final rule, making an additional 64,716 H-2B temporary nonagricultural worker visas available for fiscal year (FY) 2024, in addition to the statutory cap of 66,000 H-2B visas available annually.

WASHINGTON—U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) outlining adjustments to certain immigration and naturalization benefit request fees. The proposed fees aim to enable USCIS to more comprehensively cover its operating costs, reinstate and maintain efficient case processing, and prevent future case backlogs.

WASHINGTON—U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has provided updated guidance in the USCIS Policy Manual regarding the determination of when an immigrant visa number "becomes available" for the purpose of calculating a noncitizen’s age in specific situations under the Child Status Protection Act (CSPA).

To acquire lawful permanent resident status in the United States based on a parent’s approved petition for a family-sponsored or employment-based visa, a child typically must be under the age of 21. If a child turns 21 during the immigration process, they may "age out," rendering them ineligible to immigrate with the parent based on the parent’s petition.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services is discontinuing the stipulation that civil surgeons must sign Form I-693, Report of Immigration Medical Examination and Vaccination Record, within 60 days of an individual applying for an underlying immigration benefit, including Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has officially announced the expansion of myProgress (formerly known as personalized processing times) to encompass Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization, and Form I-131, Application for Travel Document.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has announced updates to its visa availability approach for streamlining the management of the Form I-526, Immigrant Petition by Alien Investor, inventory, with the aim of enhancing operational efficiency.

USCIS has recently concluded the second random selection process from the pool of previously submitted registrations to meet the numerical allocations for the FY 2024 H-1B cap. A sufficient number of registrations were randomly selected, and all prospective petitioners with chosen registrations have been notified.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has released policy guidance (PDF, 311.12 KB) in the USCIS Policy Manual to explicitly state that a sole proprietorship is ineligible to file a petition on behalf of its owner. This clarification arises from the understanding that a sole proprietorship lacks a distinct legal identity separate from its owner.