USCIS determined that for May 2024, applicants in all family-sponsored preference categories must use the Dates for Filing chart and all employment-based preference categories must use the Final Action Dates chart.

USCIS issued guidance in the USCIS Policy Manual to update the Schedule A, Group II definition of science or art to align with DOL’s definition. This update does not change policy or operations and is effective immediately and applies to requests that are pending or filed on or after April 10, 2024.

Starting April 1, applicants filing Form N-400, Application for Naturalization, can now request an original or replacement Social Security number (SSN) or card and update their immigration status with the Social Security Administration (SSA) without visiting an SSA office. Noncitizens using the new edition of Form N-400 (dated 04/01/24) can request an SSN or replacement card alongside their application submission. New citizens may avoid the need to visit an SSA field office for these purposes.

USCIS published its final rule and is moving forward with significant fee increases for various immigration applications. This change represents the first major fee adjustment since 2016 and addresses the agency’s operational and financial challenges. The new prices are set to take effect April 1, 2024, meaning all applications postmarked after this date will be charged the new, higher costs.

US Travel Association pushed authorities to work on cutting visa wait time since that affects the FIFA World Cup, a major sports event scheduled for 2026. The average wait time for a US visitor visa in Colombia is around 725 days, similar to those in India and Mexico. The Federal Aviation Administration reauthorization bill is seen as a potential factor that could accelerate the visa processing process.

A lawsuit filed in Colorado challenges recent increases in US immigration fees, including those for EB-5 investment visas. The lawsuit argues that the fee hikes were imposed without proper legal procedure and unfairly targeted certain groups, like EB-5 investors. The plaintiffs also claim the government failed to justify the increases with a required fee study. They are seeking a court order to block the fee increases while the case proceeds.

Congress has set aside $50 million for the U.S. State Department to help “reduce passport backlogs and reduce visa wait times” in a bill signed into law by U.S. President Joe Biden on March 30, and praised by the travel industry this week. The law gives the State Department some discretion. It doesn’t specifically restrict the spending for any visa category, such as for business and leisure rather than education. It also doesn’t mention any specific country for which the State Department should cut wait times.

USCIS has begun implementing a streamlined process for Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization, to provide Employment Authorization Documents (EADs) more efficiently to eligible refugees after they are admitted into the United States. This streamlined process shortens the wait time for an EAD to approximately 30 days instead of several months. All individuals admitted into the United States as refugees on or after Dec. 10, 2023, will receive EADs pursuant to this new process.

In 2023, Indian students in the United States were issued a total of 130,839 F-1 student visas, marking a 14% increase from the previous year, according to an Education Times report. This makes it the second consecutive year where Indians received more US student visas than any other country. Additionally, the total number of F-1 student visas issued in the US in 2023 reached approximately 446,000, an 8.5% rise from 2022 and the highest in a single year since 2016.

USCIS has reached the cap for new H-2B temporary nonagricultural worker petitions for the latter half of FY 2024. March 7, 2024, was the final receipt date for such petitions seeking employment between April 1, 2024, and October 1, 2024. However, exemptions from the cap will still be accepted, including petitions for current H-2B workers seeking extensions or changes in employment terms, as well as those involved in fish egg processing roles.

The US has prolonged the validity period of new US tourist visas and business visas for Kyrgyz citizens to ten years. The $20 reciprocity tariff for B1, B2, and B1/B2 visa applications for holders of Kyrgyz passports has been removed. In January of this year, the US issued 587 B1/B2 visas to Kyrgyzstani nationals.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is updating guidance in the USCIS Policy Manual to further clarify existing policy on providing mobile biometrics collection services to benefit requestors residing in remote locations within the United States. While the standard procedure involves scheduling biometric appointments at local Application Support Centers (ASCs), USCIS recognizes the challenges faced by individuals residing in remote locations. In response to this, USCIS has introduced mobile biometrics collection services to ensure accessibility for all applicants, irrespective of their geographic location.