USCIS WILL SELECT A SECOND ROUND OF H-1B CAP REGISTRATIONS

The USCIS has announced in a News Alert that it will select a second round of H-1B registrations in the Fiscal Year 2024 H-1B Cap lottery (FY 2024 refers to CAP registrations filed in March 2023).

 

While there are only 85,000 H-1B cap-subject visas available each year, a staggering 758,994 registrations were entered into the H-1B lottery for FY2024. MU previously released a blog post on this announcement here.

 

The second round of selections indicates that not enough H-1B filings were submitted between April 1, 2023 and June 30, 2023 to meet the 85,000 H-1B CAP.

 

USCIS noted in its News Alert that it will announce once the second-round selection process is completed. Those with selected second-round registrations will have their or their attorney’s myUSCIS accounts updated to include a selection notice, which includes details of when and where to file.

Webinar - H1Bs for Registered Nurses

MU Law will be hosting a FREE webinar for our clients and friends on Tuesday, August 22, 2023 from 2:00-3:00 pm Eastern (1:00-2:00 pm Central).

 

Join us for this FREE webinar to learn more about:

• H1Bs for Registered Nurses – Schedule A vs. H1B Timeline
• Registered Nurse Beneficiary Requirements
• Registered Nurse Position Requirements (BS in Nursing)
• H1Bs for Registered Nurses at Cap Exempt Institutions
• Staffing Companies vs. Direct Placement

 

PLEASE JOIN US!

USCIS EXPANDS MYPROGRESS TO FORM I-765 AND FORM I-131

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services recently announced they will be expanding myProgress (formerly known as personalized processing times) to Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization, and Form I-131, Application for Travel Document. myProgress was previously available to applicants with an online USCIS account who had filed Form N-400, Application for Naturalization; Form I-90, Application to Replace Permanent Resident Card; or Form I-130, Petition for Alien Relative.

myProgress is a tool created by the USCIS to provide personalized estimates of wait times for “major milestones” on an applicant’s case. According to the USCIS, the estimated wait times are based on historical patterns of cases with similar facts. However, the USCIS did note that these wait times are not guaranteed, as the USCIS cannot take into consideration all possible processing delays.

To view estimated wait times via myProgress, applicants must first create a USCIS online account or log into their existing account and select their pending application. Applicants should see a myProgress tab, which displays the estimated wait time until their case has a decision. This tab will also display a check mark beside three milestones as they are completed:

• Confirmation that the application was received;
• Biometric services appointment (if required) has been completed; and
• The decision on the pending case.

myProgress will not provide information about the applicant’s eligibility to file an Outside of Normal Processing Time service request. To determine their eligibility, Applicants will still be required to visit the public Check Case Processing Times webpage.

WHAT DOES THE AUGUST RETROGRESSION MEAN FOR FUTURE PRIORITY DATES?

The retrogression cut-off in the EB3 category pushed back priority dates to 2020.  While a retrogression is never great news, this retrogression is not as dramatic as it might seem at first look.  Our sense is that when the October 2023 visa bulletin is published, it will show an EB-3 (non-India and non-China) with a mid-2022 priority date.  However, because the Department of State is not forthcoming with their demand and usage data, please assume large error bars around our projection.

A significant retrogression of priority dates is common nearly every summer.  Visa numbers began to run out toward September 30, which is the end of the fiscal year.  The DOS is trying to use the last of the 140,000 annual employment-based visas in September.  (Note- in some years the employment-based visa quota is greater than 140,000).  While the DOS could theoretically release all 140,000 immigrant visas on October 1 every year, they do not do this so that there is a steady stream of immigrant visas throughout the year.

In October an additional 140,000 EB visas will be allocated, which is why we expect the dates to progress again.  Again, it is difficult to be too precise with an October 2023 EB-3 projection because we do not know too much about the DOS’ demand and usage data.

AUGUST 2023 VISA BULLETIN: NO MORE VISAS

The Department of State just issued the August 2023 Visa Bulletin. This blog post analyzes this month's Visa Bulletin.

Visa Bulletin

Table A: Final Action Dates -- Applications with these dates may be approved for their Green Card (Permanent Residency card) or Immigrant Visa appointment.

Employment- based	All Other	CHINA- mainland  born	INDIA	MEXICO	PHILIPPINES
1st	01AUG23	01FEB22	01JAN12	01AUG23	01AUG23
2nd	01APR22	08JUL19	01JAN11	01APR22	01APR22
3rd	01MAY20	01JUN19	01JAN09	01MAY20	01MAY20

USCIS

The USCIS is expected to use Table A: Final Action Dates chart for I-485 employment-based filings. A Beneficiary must be current on the above Table A chart to file their I-485, Adjustment of Status applications. See: USCIS Visa Bulletin Dates

MU Law Analysis

As we explained last month, the DOS has almost exhausted all employment-based visas for FY 2023.  As a result, almost all categories retrogressed will retrogress even further in August, essentially ending visa issuance until the start of the next fiscal year on October 1, 2023.  There were some slight improvements in the Chinese dates probably reflecting strained US-Chinese relations and decreased demand related to COVID in the 2019-2022 time frame.

These EB-3 retrogressions mean that the USCIS and DOS overextended priority dates earlier in the year and did not see the demand for the visa numbers that were there.

The Visa Bulletin includes a Note about EB-3s, indicating that the demand exceeded the expectation.  Accordingly, MU does not expect any progression in EB-3 for the rest of the fiscal year.

Even the EB-1 dates were retrogressed, including the Indian date by 10 years.  The Visa Bulletin does say that the Indian EB-1 dates should return to at least February 2022 at the start of the next fiscal year.