The State Department announced that the annual limit of EB-4 visas has been reached for fiscal year 2024.

Key Points:

  • All visas available in the Employment-Based Fourth Preference (EB-4) category for FY 2024 have been issued.
  • The Immigration and Nationality Act limits the number of EB-4 visas issued annually to 7.1% of the worldwide employment limit.
  • Embassies and consulates may no longer issue EB-4 visas for the rest of FY 2024. The annual limit resets on Oct. 1, the start of FY 2025, and issuance of EB-4 visas may resume at that time.

Additional Information: EB-4 visas allow a wide variety of special immigrants, including religious workers, special immigrant juveniles, certain U.S. government employees, certain international organization retirees and certain international broadcasting employees, among others, to legally reside and work in the United States.

This alert has been provided by the BAL U.S. Practice Group.

Copyright © 2024 Berry Appleman & Leiden LLP. All rights reserved. Reprinting or digital redistribution to the public is permitted only with the express written permission of Berry Appleman & Leiden LLP. For inquiries, please contact copyright@bal.com.

The Office of Foreign Labor Certification (OFLC) within the Department of Labor announced it would delay implementing revised H-2A job order and application forms associated with the Farmworker Protection Rule until further notice.

Key Points:

  • The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Georgia issued a preliminary injunction in the case Kansas, et al. vs. U.S. Department of Labor on Aug. 26, preventing DOL from enforcing the Farmworker Protection Rule in certain states.
  • Affected states include Georgia, Kansas, South Carolina, Arkansas, Florida, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia.
  • The injunction also includes Miles Berry Farm and members of the Georgia Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association.
  • DOL is reviewing the court order and assessing options to comply with it.
  • OFLC has delayed updating the FLAG system to implement revised H-2A job order and application forms associated with the Farmworker Protection Rule, originally scheduled to begin on Aug. 28, until further notice.

Additional Information: The Farmworker Protection Rule is a final rule published by DOL in June intended to strengthen protections for temporary nonimmigrant agricultural workers, enhance the department’s capabilities to monitor program compliance and take necessary enforcement actions against program violators.

This alert has been provided by the BAL U.S. Practice Group.

Copyright © 2024 Berry Appleman & Leiden LLP. All rights reserved. Reprinting or digital redistribution to the public is permitted only with the express written permission of Berry Appleman & Leiden LLP. For inquiries, please contact copyright@bal.com.

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Foreign Labor Certification (OFLC) announced it will fully decommission the legacy Permanent Online System on Dec. 1.

Key Points:

  • OFLC implemented the Foreign Labor Application Gateway, or FLAG System, in 2023 to replace the Permanent Online System as part of a technology modernization initiative.
  • On Dec. 1, the legacy Permanent Online System will become inaccessible and users will be redirected to the FLAG System portal.
  • Permanent Online System account holders who need to request specific case action or upload documents for an application submitted via the legacy system should complete any action in the system by Nov. 30 at 7 p.m. ET.

Additional Information: OFLC will continue processing applications that are still pending in the Permanent Online System after Nov. 30. Stakeholders who need to submit materials or request case action on such applications must do so via email sent to PLC.Help@dol.gov. Documents should be submitted as PDFs and named with the case number and title of attachment. Stakeholders should continue to check their email for correspondence related to these pending applications.

This alert has been provided by the BAL U.S. Practice Group.

Copyright © 2024 Berry Appleman & Leiden LLP. All rights reserved. Reprinting or digital redistribution to the public is permitted only with the express written permission of Berry Appleman & Leiden LLP. For inquiries, please contact copyright@bal.com.

The State Department announced that the annual limit of EB-1 visas has been reached for fiscal year 2024.

Key Points:

  • All visas available in the Employment-Based First Preference (EB-1) category for FY 2024 have been issued.
  • The Immigration and Nationality Act limits the number of EB-1 visas issued annually to 28.6% of the worldwide employment limit.
  • Embassies and consulates may no longer issue EB-1 visas for the rest of FY 2024. The annual limit resets on Oct. 1, the start of FY 2025, and issuance of EB-1 visas may resume at that time.

Additional Information: EB-1 visas allow individuals with extraordinary ability that have received national or international recognition, outstanding professors and researchers, and multinational executives and managers to legally reside in the United States and contribute across many industries, greatly benefitting the U.S. economy.

This alert has been provided by the BAL U.S. Practice Group.

Copyright © 2024 Berry Appleman & Leiden LLP. All rights reserved. Reprinting or digital redistribution to the public is permitted only with the express written permission of Berry Appleman & Leiden LLP. For inquiries, please contact copyright@bal.com.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services updated its Policy Manual guidance on when nonimmigrant students may be eligible for Optional Practical Training (OPT) extensions in STEM fields.

Key Points:

  • The updated guidance clarified when nonimmigrant students may count credit for online/distance learning classes and their eligibility for post-completion OPT after finishing associate’s, bachelor’s, master’s or doctoral degree programs.
  • The update explained transfer options between Student and Exchange Visitor Program-certified schools and education levels.
  • The new guidance also corrected the period during which students may apply for STEM OPT extensions and explained options available to individuals during the 60-day grace period following completion of OPT.

Additional Information: Further details about this updated USCIS Policy Manual guidance are available here.

This alert has been provided by the BAL U.S. Practice Group.

Copyright © 2024 Berry Appleman & Leiden LLP. All rights reserved. Reprinting or digital redistribution to the public is permitted only with the express written permission of Berry Appleman & Leiden LLP. For inquiries, please contact copyright@bal.com.

A federal judge in Texas temporarily blocked the Biden administration from approving parole requests under the Keeping Families Together program on Monday.

Key Points:

  • District Court Judge J. Campbell Barker granted a request from 16 states led by Republicans challenging the new program, which opened last week.
  • The judge’s order prevents the Department of Homeland Security from approving cases, though the agency can continue accepting program applications. The order lasts for 14 days but may be extended by the judge.
  • The Keeping Families Together program allows certain undocumented spouses and stepchildren of U.S. citizens to apply for parole in place, which provides deportation protection, the opportunity to apply for work permits and a path to permanent residency and citizenship.

Additional Information: DHS officials stated that they would comply with the decision and stop approving cases but continue to accept applications while defending the program in court. More information and updates can be found on the USCIS Keeping Families Together website.

This alert has been provided by the BAL U.S. Practice Group.

Copyright © 2024 Berry Appleman & Leiden LLP. All rights reserved. Reprinting or digital redistribution to the public is permitted only with the express written permission of Berry Appleman & Leiden LLP. For inquiries, please contact copyright@bal.com.

Starting this week, the U.S. Embassy in Havana will expand visa services, including certain categories for temporary work, trainees, athletes, artists and entertainers.

Key Points:

  • Expanded services include the following categories:
    • H-2A/H-2B/H-3 visas for temporary workers or trainees
    • J visas for exchange visitors
    • L visas for intracompany transferees
    • O visas for workers with extraordinary ability or achievement
    • P-1/P-2/P-3 visas for individual or group athletes, artists and entertainers
    • Q-1 visas for international cultural exchange participants
    • R visas for members of a religious denomination performing religious work
  • Visa interviews will only be scheduled for the applicable forms approved by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services: Form I-797 for H/L/O/P/Q and R visas and Form DS-2019 for J visas.
  • Expanded services do not include nonimmigrant visas for persons who want to enter the United States temporarily for business (B-1 visa) or for tourism (B-2 visa). Cubans must still travel to another U.S. Embassy or consulate for routine B-1/B-2 visa interviews.

Additional Information: A visa appointment is not a guarantee of visa issuance. Applicants must demonstrate their qualifications for the visa under U.S. law and regulations and provide the required application, fees, a valid passport and a current photo. Find more information here.

This alert has been provided by the BAL U.S. Practice Group.

Copyright © 2024 Berry Appleman & Leiden LLP. All rights reserved. Reprinting or digital redistribution to the public is permitted only with the express written permission of Berry Appleman & Leiden LLP. For inquiries, please contact copyright@bal.com.

The Labor Department has posted updated processing times for permanent labor certification (PERM) applications and prevailing wage determination (PWD) requests.

PERM Processing Times: As of Aug. 1, the department was adjudicating applications filed in July 2023 and earlier, conducting audit reviews on applications filed in December 2022 and earlier and reviewing appeals for reconsideration filed in November 2023 and earlier.

Average Number of Days to Process PERM Applications

Determinations

Month

Calendar Days

Analyst Review

 June 2024 407
Audit Review June 2024

565

PWD Processing Times: As of Aug. 1, the National Prevailing Wage Center was processing PWD requests filed in February 2024 and earlier for H-1B OEWS cases and January 2024 and earlier for PERM OEWS cases. For H-1B non-OEWS cases the department was processing requests filed in December 2023 and earlier. For PERM non-OEWS cases, the department was processing requests filed in September 2023 and earlier.

Redeterminations were being considered on appeals filed in March 2024 and earlier for both H-1B and PERM cases.

Center Director Reviews were being conducted for both H-1B and PERM cases filed in August 2023 and earlier.

BAL Analysis: Our data indicates that DOL is just beginning to adjudicate PERM applications filed in July 2023. For PERM OEWS PWD filings, we are now seeing a surge in start dates for March 2024.

This alert has been provided by the BAL U.S. Practice Group.

Copyright © 2024 Berry Appleman & Leiden LLP. All rights reserved. Reprinting or digital redistribution to the public is permitted only with the express written permission of Berry Appleman & Leiden LLP. For inquiries, please contact copyright@bal.com.

The State Department recently announced that annual limits had been reached for EB-3, EW and EB-5 visas for fiscal year 2024.

Key Points:

  • The issuance of all legally available visas in the Employment-Based Third Preference (EB-3) and Other Workers (EW) categories for FY 2024 has been completed.
  • The Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) limits the number of EB-3 and EW visas to 28.6% of the worldwide employment limit, of which not more than 10,000 may be made available in the EW category.
  • The annual limit for the Employment-Based Fifth Preference (EB-5) visa has also been reached.
  • INA limits the number of EB-5 visas to 7.1% of the worldwide employment limit. Unused EB-5 reserved visas from FY 2022 may be made available in the EB-5 unreserved category for FY 2024.
  • Since all available EB-3, EW and EB-5 visas for FY 2024 have been used, embassies and consulates may not issue visas in these categories for the remainder of the fiscal year.
  • The annual limits for EB-3, EW and EB-5 visas will reset with the start of the new fiscal year (FY 2025) on Oct. 1, 2024.

Additional Information: Maximizing EB-3 and EW visas facilitates legitimate travel for essential workers across many industries that greatly benefit the U.S. economy, particularly in the healthcare sector. EB-5 visas create employment opportunities throughout the United States.

This alert has been provided by the BAL U.S. Practice Group.

Copyright © 2024 Berry Appleman & Leiden LLP. All rights reserved. Reprinting or digital redistribution to the public is permitted only with the express written permission of Berry Appleman & Leiden LLP. For inquiries, please contact copyright@bal.com.

The Department of Homeland Security today announced implementation of the Keeping Families Together process, which grants parole in place on a case-by-case basis to certain noncitizen spouses and stepchildren of U.S. citizens.

Key Points:

Additional Information: In its announcement, the agency stated, “Too often, noncitizen spouses of U.S. citizens — many of them mothers and fathers — live with uncertainty due to undue barriers in our immigration system. This process to keep U.S. families together will remove these undue barriers for those who would otherwise qualify to live and work lawfully in the U.S., while also creating greater efficiencies in the immigration system, conducting effective screening and vetting, and focusing on noncitizens who contribute to and have longstanding connections within American communities across the country.”

More information about the process can be found here.

This alert has been provided by the BAL U.S. Practice Group.

Copyright © 2024 Berry Appleman & Leiden LLP. All rights reserved. Reprinting or digital redistribution to the public is permitted only with the express written permission of Berry Appleman & Leiden LLP. For inquiries, please contact copyright@bal.com.