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On March 27, 2023, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that it completed the initial H-1B electronic registration selection process for fiscal year (FY) 2024.

The U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Consular Affairs has released the Visa Bulletin for April 2023. The new Visa Bulletin reflects an ongoing trend of backlogs and slowdowns in the visa process, in stark contrast to the progress reflected in the Visa Bulletin in fiscal years 2021 and 2022.

On March 23, 2023, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that COVID-19–related deadline extensions for responses to agency notices or requests, such as Requests for Evidence and Notices of Intent to Deny, have now ended. Requests or notices from USCIS dated after March 23, 2023, must once again be timely filed by the deadlines listed on them by USCIS.

On March 15, 2023, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services issued policy guidance clarifying how the agency analyzes an employer’s ability to pay the proffered wage to support immigrant petitions in the employment-based first, second, and third preference categories.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services recently updated its policy manual, effective as of February 14, 2023, to include new provisions regarding how to calculate a “CSPA age” for dependent children approaching the age of 21.

On March 17, 2023, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services notified the public that it would extend the H-1B cap registration window until Monday, March 20, 2023, at 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time.

On March 6, 2023, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced “the expansion of premium processing for certain F-1 students seeking Optional Practical Training (OPT) and F-1 students seeking science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) OPT extensions.”

On February 23, 2023, the U.S. Department of State updated its guidelines to allow F and M students to apply for their student visas to study in the United States up to 365 days prior to the start date of the program as listed on the Form I-20, Certificate of Eligibility for Nonimmigrant Student Status.

On March 2, 2023, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) notified the public that the 33,000 H-2B cap positions within the second half of the fiscal year had been reached. DHS indicated that the number of positions for which DHS had received petitions surpassed the number of total H-2B temporary nonagricultural worker visas available for fiscal year (FY) 2023. On March 1, 2023, DHS performed a computer-generated random selection process of the petitions that were received on February 27, 2023, assigning the selected petitions receipt numbers and beginning premium processing services.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has confirmed that it will accept employment-based I-485, adjustment of status applications, based on the U.S. Department of State’s March 2023 Visa Bulletin’s “Dates for Filing” visa applications chart.

On February 15, 2023, the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approved a final rule that would increase certain U.S. Department of State fees for visa services. This is the final step prior to publication of the final rule. Once published, the final rule will likely become effective sixty days from its publication, as it has been classified as a major rule change that is economically significant.

In a recent interview, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Visa Services Julie Stufft in the Bureau of Consular Affairs confirmed that the U.S. Department of State will soon allow certain visa holders to renew their visa stamps within the United States, without requiring travel to a U.S. embassy or consulate abroad.

On January 30, 2023, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced a redesign of permanent resident cards (green cards) and employment authorization documents (EADs). The new cards feature state-of-the-art fraud protection technology that aims to combat document counterfeiting and tampering.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ (USCIS) final rule on public charge inadmissibility has been in effect since December 23, 2022. Accordingly, USCIS released a revised Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status, for applications submitted on or after December 23, 2022, for adjustment of status to comply with the newly codified rule.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has announced that the registration period for the fiscal year (FY) 2024 H-1B cap will open on Wednesday, March 1, 2023, at noon ET, and will end on Friday, March 17, 2023, at noon ET. It is only during this period that employers or their representatives can register potential H-1B beneficiaries through a myUSCIS online account.

As we move deeper into the new year, the U.S. government continues to try to resolve the challenges facing the immigration system due to the disruptions of the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting processing backlogs. These challenges may still continue, but new changes and updates have already taken effect—and more will likely come in 2023, impacting employers and the decisions they make with regard to their foreign national employees.

On January 19, 2023, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) reached a settlement in Edakunni v. Mayorkas, which restructures U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ adjudication policies for H-4 and L-2 dependents, including applicable employment authorization documents.

Beginning January 30, 2023, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will accept Form I-907, Request for Premium Processing Service, for Form I-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Workers E-13 (EB-1C) multinational executive and manager petitions and E21 (EB-2) National Interest Waiver (NIW) petitions.

On January 4, 2023, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) that would increase fees for specific immigration and naturalization benefit requests. The department’s U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) cited the expansion of humanitarian programs, federally mandated pay raises, additional staffing requirements, and the need for essential investments as reasons for the proposed increases.

On December 23, 2022, the U.S. Department of State announced that the secretary of state has extended consular officers’ authority to waive the in-person visa interview requirement through December 31, 2023.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently announced that effective 12:01 AM ET on January 5, 2023, travelers entering the United States from flights originating in the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and the Special Administrative Regions of Hong Kong and Macau will be required to present a negative COVID-19 test or proof of COVID-19 recovery.

The U.S. Department of State’s U.S. Mission China Consular Services announced on December 15, 2022, that all routine visa services would be indefinitely suspended. As of December 19, 2022, routine visa appointments at all U.S. consulate offices in China have been canceled, with the exception of some visa appointments already scheduled at the U.S. consulate in Shanghai.

On December 12, 2022, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that it would automatically extend the validity of permanent resident cards (green cards) for lawful permanent residents (LPRs) who have applied for naturalization, i.e., citizenship.

With the pandemic finally drawing closer to an end, many foreign nationals may use the first opportunity they have had in years to plan international travel this holiday season. In order to avoid any unnecessary hiccups when departing from and returning to the United States pursuant to international travel, foreign national travelers may want to confirm that they have all of their documents in order.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) confirmed that a new visa foil design is being released for all nonimmigrant and immigrant visas. The current Lincoln visa foil will soon be replaced with a Bridge visa foil.