During the first quarter of 2024, immigration judges completed twice as many cases compared to the same period last year, as per data from the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse at Syracuse University. Nearly 200,000 cases were resolved from October to December 2023, up from 132,000 cases during the corresponding period in the previous year. This increase is crucial given the immigration courts’ backlog, which has grown by a million cases over the past year. By December 2023, there were 3,287,058 active pending cases in immigration courts. Despite accelerated hiring of new immigration judges during the first three years of the Biden administration, judges still grapple with an average caseload of 4,500 cases per judge.

USCIS announced an update to its Policy Manual providing that at its discretion and under certain conditions, it may excuse a nonimmigrant’s failure to timely file an extension of stay or change of status request if the delay was due to extraordinary circumstances beyond the control of the applicant or petitioner.

The USCIS is starting a new process for most applicants, petitioners, and requestors, and their attorneys and accredited representatives to pay for certain benefit request forms by mail or remotely instead of in person at a field office. Under the new process, applicants may mail either a check or Form G-1450, Authorization for Credit Card Transactions, to the field office with their benefit request.

The Clears White House Review casts its impact beyond temporary work visas, extending to those pursuing permanent residency or U.S. citizenship. Proposed adjustment anticipates a 19% increase in the naturalization application fee, rising from $640 to $760. The EB-5 Investor Visa Program could undergo a substantial revision, potentially doubling initial I-526 petition fees from the current $5,450 to $11,160. I-829 petition fees, crucial for eliminating residency conditions, may see an almost 150% increase from $3,825 to $9,535.

According to recent government data, there are now 3 million pending cases in immigration courts around the U.S. The backlog has tripled since 2019, growing by more than one million cases in the last year alone. The uptick in cases is largely driven by unprecedented surges in the number of migrants seeking asylum after being apprehended for crossing the border illegally. Immigration attorneys and advocates say the case backlog and subsequent long wait times for court dates are damaging to an already strained asylum system.

DOS released guidance and FAQs on the pilot program to resume domestic visa renewals for qualified H-1B non-immigrant visa applicants who meet certain requirements. Applications will be accepted between January 29 and April 1, 2024, or when all application slots are filled, whichever comes first.

The US is mulling granting India “treaty country status” under which the new E1 and E2 visa options will open for Indian traders and businessmen travelling to American cities. The two countries are also discussing a proposal to allow H-1B visa holders and their family members to renew their visas in America only, without having to travel to India

Some 1,029 New York companies signed up to express interest in hiring immigrants and asylum seekers with work authorization. But how many jobs have been filled through the Department of Labor initiative is less clear.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has received enough petitions to reach the cap for the additional 20,716 H-2B visas made available for returning workers for the first half of fiscal year 2024 with starting dates on or before March 31, 2024, under the H-2B supplemental cap temporary final rule (FY 2024 TFR). Jan.9, 2024, was the final receipt date for petitions requesting supplemental H-2B visas under the FY 2024 first-half returning worker allocation.

USCIS will launch organizational accounts for non-cap filings and the fiscal year (FY) 2025 H-1B cap season. The introduction of organizational accounts will allow multiple individuals within an organization, such as a company or other business entity, and their legal representatives to collaborate on and prepare H-1B registrations, Form I-129, Petition for a Non-immigrant Worker, and associated Form I-907, Request for Premium Processing Service.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services today issued policy guidance on how we analyze an employer’s ability to pay the proffered wage for immigrant petitions in certain first, second, and third preference employment-based immigrant visa classifications, including instances when the sponsored worker is changing employers.

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