United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) continues to provide support to Ukrainian citizens and their immediate family members through a specialized re-parole process that went into effect Feb. 27, 2024. Eligibility Criteria: To qualify for re-parole, applicants must demonstrate: That they are a Ukrainian citizen or immediate family member who was paroled into the United States on or after Feb. 11, 2022; That there are continued urgent humanitarian reasons or significant public benefit for a new period of parole, as well as any additional factors; That they warrant a favorab ..read more

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced April 1, 2024, that they had received enough electronic registrations for unique beneficiaries during the initial registration period to reach the fiscal year (FY) 2025 H-1B quota of 65,0000 regular H-1B cap petitions along with 20,000 petitions allotted for the advanced degree exemption (master’s cap). USCIS has randomly selected enough properly submitted registrations for unique beneficiaries estimated as needed to reach the H-1B cap and has notified all prospective petitioners with selected beneficiaries that they are eligible to f ..read more

On April 1, 2024, changes to various immigration processes will take effect, including the following: Certain USCIS Forms Take Effect—with No Grace Period. Starting April 1, 2024, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will only accept the 04/01/24 versions of Form I-129 and I-485. 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. New USCIS Fees Take Effect. As GT previously reported, on Jan. 31, 2024, USCIS published a Fed ..read more

U.S. Citizen and Immigration Services (USCIS) recently has issued some Advance Paroles with errors. The Advance Parole is a travel authorization document that permits certain applicants for adjustment of status (green card) or refugee/asylee status to return to the United States. It must be approved prior to travel outside the United States.  Recently, USCIS has issued some Advance Parole documents indicating Temporary Protected Status (TPS), instead of the correct adjustment of status or refugee/asylee process designation. The TPS parole is only granted to an individual who is recognized ..read more

The registration period for the fiscal year (FY) 2025 H-1B cap petitions opened at noon ET March 6, 2024, and will continue to run through noon ET March 22, 2024. Employers seeking to file an H-1B cap-subject petition must electronically register during this period using a U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) online account. The registration process includes basic information about the prospective petitioner and each beneficiary along with a $10 registration fee for each beneficiary. The registration process for FY 2025 is governed by the final rule published Feb. 2, 2024, which t ..read more

On March 8, 2024, the U.S. Department of State (DOS) published the April 2024 Visa Bulletin. This is the first bulletin in the second quarter, and it reflects advances in most employment-based categories, as follows: EB-1 EB-1 China: advances six weeks to Sept. 1, 2022; EB-1 India: advances five months to March 1, 2021; and EB-1 All Other Countries: remains current. EB-2 EB-2 China: advances one month to Feb. 1, 2020; EB-2 India: advances six weeks to April 15, 2012; and EB-2 All Other Countries: advances seven weeks to Jan. 15, 2023. EB-3 EB-3 China: remains the same at Sept. 1 ..read more

Earlier in 2024, the Department of Homeland Security introduced a regulation to reform the H-1B lottery process, shifting from an employer-centric to a beneficiary-centric selection. While this change may improve overall selection rates, high demand for H-1B visas is projected to continue to exceed the available annual 65,000 numeric limit (cap). Employers should therefore be prepared to discuss alternative options for employees who are not selected in this year’s H-1B registration process. I. H-1B Cap Exemption To obtain H-1B visa status for an employee, an employer’s H-1B registration must e ..read more

This week, Kate Kalmykov and Nataliya Rymer attended a series of meetings in Amsterdam with colleagues and industry professionals on global migration, as well as with the GT Amsterdam office.  Key takeaways for 2024 include:  Companies will continue to focus on cost-saving measures in 2024 Many global migration teams have set cost savings targets—either headcount, spend, or both Assignments & Business travel is expected to remain at 2023 levels and has not yet bounced back to pre-pandemic levels  International hiring will continue, and we may see an increase in shorter over ..read more

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Department of Justice (DOJ) recently issued a fact sheet to guide employers on electronically completing, modifying, or retaining Form I-9. The joint guidance applies to employers using private sector commercial or proprietary I-9 software programs to complete Form I-9 or participate in E-Verify. Requirements for Employers Using Electronic Form I-9 Software Programs DHS permits completing Form I-9 electronically provided that the I-9 software complies with I-9 and E-Verify requirements. The DHS/DOJ fact sheet confirms that employers, rather than th ..read more

Greenberg Traurig Immigration & Compliance Practice attorneys Kate Kalmykov, Jennifer Hermansky, Nataliya Rymer, and Luna Ma will be visiting 11 cities across the globe from February to May 2024. Please refer to the below graphic for date and location details and click here to schedule an appointment with a GT attorney. Click on the image to view larger ..read more