Medical examinations and vaccination records properly completed and signed by a civil surgeon after Nov. 1, 2023, can be used indefinitely, USCIS has announced. There is no longer any expiration date. Form I-693, Report of Immigration Medical Examination and Vaccination Record, is used by some foreign nationals, including green card applicants, to show they are free from any conditions that would render them inadmissible to the United States on health-related grounds. USCIS eliminated the expiration date because technological advancements now enable civil surgeons who do the medical examinatio ..read more

Washington, D.C. joins a growing group of states requiring employers to include projected salary ranges in job postings and to restrict the use of pay history in setting pay. On Jan. 12, 2024, the mayor of D.C. signed the Wage Transparency Omnibus Amendment Act, which, among other things, requires private employers, regardless of size, to disclose pay ranges in all job postings and advertisements. Because the D.C. budget is controlled by Congress, the Amendment was sent to Congress for a 30-day review on Jan. 22, 2024, with a projected law date of March 9, 2024. The new law is scheduled to go ..read more

The U.S. government has adjusted export control regulations in an effort to protect U.S. national security interests. The revisions primarily affect export of electronic computing items and semiconductors to prevent foreign powers from obtaining critical technologies that may threaten national security. As manufacturers are facing increased demand for their products and critical labor shortages, they may find themselves seeking to hire foreign national talent and navigating U.S. export control and immigration and anti-discrimination laws. Please see our full article co-authored by our immigrat ..read more

Many USCIS filing fees are being adjusted upward beginning on April 1, 2024. That date, of course, is particularly significant. It is the earliest date that Cap H-1Bs can be filed. The H-1B filing fee, for example, will rise from $460 to $780. The ACWIA Fee (to fund the training of U.S. workers) and the Fraud Fee will remain the same: $750-$1,500 (depending on the employer’s size) and $500, respectively. USCIS is adding an Asylum Program Fee (APF) of $600 for most employers filing I-129s (Petitions for Nonimmigrant Workers). That brings the total H-1B fee for most employers up to $3,380 (witho ..read more

The increasing need for talented workers in the United States has more and more employers considering eliminating bachelor’s degree requirements from job descriptions. A recognition of the value of skills and experience over formal education may be driving the trend. See our full article on these issues and considerations here ..read more

 The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has changed its policy manual to make it easier to find and understand all the regulations regarding nonimmigrant students in F and M status. The new guidance consolidates the existing policies and clarifies issues of eligibility, school transfers, practical training and on-and off-campus employment. It provides more transparency and makes it easier for students, employers, and the universities to understand and abide by the regulations. F status is for noncitizens who enter the United States as fulltime students at a college, univers ..read more

In response to the Executive Order (EO) on Artificial Intelligence, on December 21, 2023, the Department of Labor (DOL) issued a request for information in the Federal Register asking for public comment on possible additions to the Schedule A list, including more STEM or non-STEM fields. On October 30, 2023, as part of the EO, President Joe Biden directed government agencies to identify new pathways, and build upon existing programs, to attract and retain the best foreign nationals with AI (and other emerging technologies) knowledge, skills, and education. One of the directives was to solicit ..read more

A change in calculating the availability of immigrant numbers means some foreign national ministers who are in the United States on temporary R-1 religious worker visas and waiting in lines for green cards will have to wait even longer, it seems. Some may even have to leave their congregations. Ministers entering the United States solely to work in the ministry for a bona fide non-profit religious organization fall into a specific green card category: employment-based fourth preference. The fourth preference category includes religious workers and minors in Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (S ..read more

USCIS has launched a new Enterprise Change of Address (E-COA) self-service tool to make it easier for foreign nationals to update their addresses. All foreign nationals, even green card holders, are required to notify USCIS of a change of address within 10 days of the move. Beyond that regulation, it is important to notify USCIS of an address change especially if you have pending cases where USCIS might need to contact you or send you information – such as an Employment Authorization Document or a green card. It is not sufficient to simply notify the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) of the new addre ..read more

Diversity Visa (DV) Electronic Registration for Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 opens at noon ET on October 4, 2023, and closes at noon ET on November 7, 2023. There will be 55,000 Diversity Visas available for FY 2025. There is no cost to register, but, if selected, applicants must pay the visa application or I-485 Adjustment of Status fees. Filing more than one application will lead to disqualification for the program. Individuals born in certain countries are not eligible to apply because more than 50,000 nationals of those countries have immigrated to the United States in the past five years. The li ..read more