MARCH 2024 VISA BULLETIN: ANALYSIS

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	01SEP20	01JUL12	08SEP22	08SEP22

Table B: Dates of Filing

The USCIS is expected to use the Table a Final Action chart for I-485 employment-based filings. See: USCIS Visa Bulletin Dates

MU Law Analysis

Philippines and All Other EB-3 continued slow, although uninspiring, progress by one week to September 8, 2022. China and India EB-3 remained at their February Visa Bulletin dates, September 1, 2020 and July 1, 2012, respectively.  

There is a similar story in EB-2.  China and India EB-2 remained at their February Visa Bulletin dates, January 1, 2020 and March 1, 2012.  Philippines and All Other EB-2 advanced one week to November 22, 2022.

MU Law expects similar progress in the next few months, followed by a slowdown and we get closer to the end of the fiscal year. 

H-1B 2024 Cap Webinar

 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!

USCIS ANNOUNCES FEE INCREASE EFFECTIVE APRIL 1, 2024

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.  In a separate rule taking effect February 26, 2024, the USCIS has increased the premium processing fee from $2500 to $2805.

Form / Case Type	Current Fee	New Fee
H-1B (Form I-129) for companies with 25+ employees	$460	$1,380
H-1B (Form I-129) for companies with less than 25 employees	$460	$760
L-1 (Form I-129) for companies with 25+ employees	$460	$1,985
L-1 (Form I-129) for companies with less than 25 employees	$460	$995
Dependents of H or L (Form I-539)	$370	$470
Employment-Based Green Card (Form I-140) for companies with 25+ employees	$700	$1,315
Employment-Based Green Card (Form I-140) for companies with less than 25 employees	$700	$1,015
Green Card Application (Form I-485*)	$1,225	$1,440
Employment Authorization Document (Form I-765)	$410	$470
Advanced Parole Travel Permit (Form I-131)	$575	$630
Family-Based Green Card (Form I-130)	$535	$675
USCIS Immigrant Visa Fee	$220	$235

*It is important to note that the USCIS has unbundled the I-485 fees from the related I-131 Advanced Parole (travel document) and I-765 EAD (Employment Authorization Document) fees.  Under the current process, a separate I-765 and I-131 fee are not charged when the I-765 and I-131 are filed or renewed based on an I-485. 

Under the new rule, I-131s filed based on an I-485 will require the full fee payment of $630.  I-765s filed based on a pending I-485 will require a 50% reduced fee of $260.  As an example, an adult filing an I-485 for a green card with a related Advanced Parol and EAD application would pay:

• I-485 Filing Fee: $1440
• I-765 Filing Fee: $260
• I-131 Filing Fee: $630

Total: $2330

The H-1B cap registration fee will also increase from $10 to $215 per registration.  However, this specific increase will not take effect until March 2025.

H-1B 2024 Cap Webinar

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!

USCIS ANNOUNCES H-1B CAP REGISTRATION WINDOW AND CHANGES TO REGISTRATION PROCESS

The fiscal year 2025 (March 2024) H-1B cap registration period will open at noon eastern on March 6, 2024 and run through noon eastern on March 22, 2024. For fiscal year 2025 H-1B cap filings, employers will also have the option of filing Form I-129 electronically on the USCIS website.

On January 30, 2024, USCIS announced a final rule to reduce the potential for fraud in the H-1B registration process. The new rule selects H-1B cap entries by each unique employee, instead of by each registration. This gives each employee the same chance of selection, regardless of how many registrations were submitted on that employee’s behalf.

With this update to the registration process, the employee is required to include valid passport or travel document information, and a employee cannot register under more than one passport or travel document.

USCIS has also provided clarification that for H-1B cap petitions, a start date after October 1 of the relevant fiscal year is allowed.