Employers & Immigrants File Lawsuit to Block USCIS Fee Hike
A group of immigrants and employers filed a lawsuit to block the USCIS fee hike from taking effect April 1, 2024. The lawsuit (a motion for a temporary restraining order filed in the U.S. District Court Tenth Circuit) argues that the fee hike should be halted because it was issued without due notice and places an unnecessary burden on certain employers and foreign investors seeking permanent residence in the U.S.
As of now, the new USCIS fees will still take effect on April 1, unless the U.S. district court judge grants the motion for a request for a preliminary injunction.
Green Card Backlog Decreased by 4% in February
The Department of State’s National Visa Center (NVC) saw a decrease in the immigrant visa (IV) backlog, from 338,256 in January to 326,415 in February— a 4% decrease.
The number of green card applicants whose cases were documentarily complete and ready to be scheduled for an interview increased, from 380,407 in January to 374,532 (a 2% decrease). The number of people scheduled for green card interviews also saw an increase — 48,117 in February compared to 42,151 interviews in January.
USCIS Extends Registration Period for 2025 H-1B Cap
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) extended the initial registration period for the FY 2025 H-1B cap.
The registration period was originally scheduled to run through noon Eastern on March 22, 2024, but due to a temporary system outage which impacted some users, USCIS extended it by several days to give more applicants the chance to register. The initial registration period closed on March 25, 2024.
Mexican Government Speaks Out Against Controversial Texas Border Law
In response to Texas’ controversial “Senate Bill 4,” Mexico’s government said the law would cause “substantial tension” at the border and it would not “under any circumstances” process migrants who are returned to its territory from Texas.
Senate Bill 4 would allow state judges to order migrants be removed from the U.S. to border crossing areas in Mexico, regardless of nationality. The law is temporarily blocked by the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.