Employers, Immigrants File Lawsuit to Block USCIS Fee Hike
A group of immigrants and employers have filed a lawsuit to block the USCIS Fee Hike to take effect April 1, 2024. The lawsuit (a motion for a temporary restraining order filed in the Tenth Circuit of the United States District Court) argues that the fee hike should be halted because it was issued without notice and imposes an unnecessary burden on some employers. and foreign investors seeking permanent residency in the United States
Now, the new USCIS fees will still take effect on April 1, unless the U.S. District Court judge grants the motion for a preliminary injunction.
Green card backlog decreased 4% in February
The Department of State’s National Visa Center (NVC) has noted a decrease in immigrant visa backlog (IV)from 338,256 in January to 326,415 in February, a decrease of 4%.
The number of green card applicants whose cases were documented and ready to be scheduled for an interview increased from 380,407 in January to 374,532 (a 2 percent decrease). The number of people scheduled for a green card interview also saw an increase: 48,117 in February, compared to 42,151 in January.
USCIS extends registration period for 2025 H-1B cap
United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) extended the initial registration period for the FY 2025 H-1B cap.
The registration period was originally scheduled to last until noon Eastern Time on March 22, 2024, but due to a temporary system outage that affected some users, USCIS extended it by several days to give more candidates the opportunity to register. The initial registration period closed on March 25, 2024.
Mexican government denounces controversial Texas border law
In response to Texas’ controversial “Senate Bill 4,” the Mexican government said the law would cause “substantial tensions” at the border and it would “under no circumstances” treat migrants returned to its territory from Texas.
Senate Bill 4 would allow state judges to order that migrants be deported from the United States to Mexico border areas, regardless of their nationality. The law is temporarily blocked by the 5th United States Court of Appeals.