USCIS Announces New Premium Processing Fees
The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced a final rule this will increase Premium processing fees to adjust for inflation. Commonly used for Form I-129 (Petition for Nonimmigrant Worker) and Form I-140 (Petition for Foreign Worker), the fee will increase from $2,500 to $2,805, effective February 26, 2024.
11,000 migrants wait in Mexico to cross the US border
A recent migration wave left more than 11,000 migrants waiting in Mexico to legally cross the US border. Those waiting in shelters and camps on the Mexican side of the border hope to enter the United States using one of the legal immigration routes recently established by the Biden administration.
U.S. immigration court backlog reaches more than 3 million cases
THE back the number of pending cases in immigration courts increased by more than 1 million cases in 2023, bringing the total number of pending cases to more than 3 million. Because of the growing backlog, some are not due in court for years, leaving many in limbo when it comes to immigration matters. The Biden administration has tried to reduce the backlog by hiring additional judges for immigration courts across the country.
Foreign workers make up 25% of the U.S. construction workforce
According to the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), foreign-born workers made up a record 25 percent of the workforce. US construction workforce in 2022. Figures show immigrants have played a crucial role in tackling a labor shortage in the construction sector, exasperated by the COVID-19 pandemic.