USCIS Announces Availability of Additional H-2B Visas for Fiscal Year 2024

WASHINGTON – Today, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), through the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), and the Department of Labor (DOL) published a temporary final rule making available an additional 64,716 H-2B temporary nonagricultural worker visas for fiscal year (FY) 2024, on top of the statutory cap of 66,000 H-2B visas that are available each fiscal year. American businesses in industries such as hospitality and tourism, landscaping, seafood processing, and more turn to seasonal and other temporary workers in the H-2B program to help them meet demand from consumers. The supplemental visa allocation will help address the need for these workers in areas where too few U.S. workers are available, helping contribute to the American economy. The temporary final ru

USCIS Establishes Family Reunification Parole Process for Ecuador

Process will allow family members to reunite in the United States while they wait for immigrant visas to become available

WASHINGTON – U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) today announced a Federal Register notice implementing a new family reunification parole (FRP) process for Ecuador, advancing the Biden-Harris Administration's successful combination of expanded lawful pathways and strengthened enforcement to reduce irregular migration. The FRP processes promote family unity and are

USCIS Changes Filing Location for Form I-907 With Form I-140

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services will begin transitioning the filing location for Form I-907, Request for Premium Processing, when filed with Form I-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Workers, from the service centers to the USCIS lockbox on Nov. 13.

On Nov. 13, the filing location for newly filed Forms I-140 filed at the same time with Form I-907 will change from the USCIS service centers to the USCIS lockbox as part of our efforts to increase efficiency by reducing our footprint at the service centers, digitizing the process, and reducing costs.

This change in filing location does not apply if you are filing Form I-907 for a currently pending Form I-140, or if you are filing Form I-140 with an associated application (such as Form I-765, Form I-131, or Form I-485). We will soon announce filing location changes for these forms, but at this time, they should be file

Visa Bulletin January 2024 Predictions

For official December 2023 Visa Bulletin & Analysis, please click here: https://www.mygcvisa.com/visa-bulletin/2023/visa-bulletin-december-2023.aspx

Please see January 2024 Visa Bulletin Predictions below (for both Family Based and Employment Based categories for all countries):

Family Based:

Final Action Dates

Dates For Filing Applications

"Final Action Date" is the date when when USCIS/DOS may render their final decision on submitted applications. Your priority date should be before this date.

Family- Sponsored	All Chargeability Areas Except Those Listed	CHINA-mainland born	INDIA	MEXICO	PHILIPPINES
F1	08MAR15	08MAR15	08MAR15	15MAY01	22APR12
F2A	01MAR19	01MAR19	01MAR19	01MAR19	01MAR19
F2B	01NOV15	01NOV15	01NOV15	01JUN02	01DEC11
F3	22JAN09	22JAN09	22JAN09	01APR98	01JUL02
F4	15MAY07	15MAY07	01NOV05	08OCT00	22SEP02

"Date for Filing Application" is the date when you can submit I-485/NVC applications to USCIS/DOS. Your priority date should be before this date.

Family- Sponsored	All Chargeability Areas Except Those Listed	CHINA-mainland born	INDIA	MEXICO	PHILIPPINES
F1	08OCT17	08OCT17	08OCT17	15JUN05	08JUN15
F2A	22SEP23	22SEP23	22SEP23	01OCT23	22SEP23
F2B	15FEB17	15FEB17	15FEB17	22OCT04	08NOV13
F3	08MAR10	08MAR10	08MAR10	22JUN01	01DEC03
F4	08MAR08	08MAR08	15MAR06	08MAY01	22MAY04

USCIS Updates Guidance for Special Immigrant Juvenile Petitions

Effective immediately, we are updating guidance in the USCIS Policy Manual (PDF, 343.18 KB) for adjudicating Special Immigrant Juvenile (SIJ) petitions. This update will make the SIJ adjudication process more efficient for some applicants.

We are updating this guidance to align with the July 31, 2023, declaratory order in Casa Libre/Freedom House v. Mayorkas. The 180-day time frame for USCIS to adjudicate an SIJ petition applies only to the initial adjudication of an SIJ petition. It does not extend to the adjudication of any motion or appeal filed after a denial of an SIJ petition.

SIJ is a

DHS Announces Countries Eligible for H-2A and H-2B Visa Programs

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), in consultation with the Department of State (DOS), has announced the lists of countries whose nationals are eligible to participate in the H-2A and H-2B visa programs in the next year. The notice listing the eligible countries will be published in the Federal Register on Nov. 9, 2023.

Effective Nov. 9, 2023, the secretary of homeland security, with the concurrence of the secretary of state, has decided to:

• Add Bolivia to the list of countries eligible to participate in the H-2A and H-2B programs.

DHS maintains its authority to amend the eligible countries lists at any time through publication of a Federal Register Notice, sh

USCIS Potomac Service Center Will No Longer Accept Paper Responses

As of Aug. 21, 2023, the Potomac Service Center (PSC) has begun to move to a new facility in Camp Springs, MD, and can no longer receive paper responses to correspondence such as Notices of Intent to Deny (NOID), Notices of Intent to Revoke (NOIR), Intents to Deny (ITD), Requests for Evidence (RFE) or supporting documentation for filings currently pending at the PSC.

PSC will no longer accept mailed correspondence beginning on Nov. 13, 2023.  All mailed correspondence intended for cases processed by the PSC must be mailed to the Texas Service Center (TSC), unless otherwise noted.

To avoid any processing delays, applicants and their representatives should instead upload their responses to their USCIS online account (for receipt notices that start with IOE-) or mail them to the Texas Service Center at:

USCIS Texas Service Center
Attn: Digital RFE
6046 N Belt Line