By: Marcus Hobson and Mahsa Aliaskari

October 1 marks the start of the government’s fiscal year, signaling the release of at least 140,000 new employment-based immigrant visa numbers to be allocated across categories and nationalities in the new fiscal year.  With the exception of one particular subsection, the October 2024

Continue Reading October 2024 Visa Bulletin: Key Highlights and Implications

A recent update and clarification from the Department of State (DOS) on waiver eligibility expands opportunities for visa applicants facing difficulties in obtaining visa stamps for entry to the U.S. This clarification, specifically on the “significant public interest” category in the Foreign Affairs Manual (FAM), provides valuable guidance for individuals

Continue Reading Navigating Visa Challenges: DOS Updates on Inadmissibility Waivers

In a significant development for H-1B visa hopefuls, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has completed a second lottery for the Fiscal Year 2025 H-1B cap. The H-1B program enables U.S. employers to temporarily hire foreign workers for roles that typically require at least a bachelor’s degree in the

Continue Reading Second USCIS FY 2025 Cap Lottery: A New Opportunity for H-1B Applicants

Recent processing time trends at the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) are raising concerns for both Employers and F-1 visa holders relying on automatic extensions of work authorization while awaiting the processing of their F-1 STEM Employment Authorization Document (EAD) extension applications.

While USCIS published processing time data reflects

Continue Reading Navigating Delays: The F-1 STEM EAD Waiting Game Considerations for Employees and Employers

As noted in our post in February 2024, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued a final rule updating the H-1B cap registration process and creating a beneficiary-centric selection process. The rule took effect this year with the FY25 H-1B cap registration period, which ran from March 6, 2024

Continue Reading H-1B Cap Rule – Did it Work?

On the morning of February 14, 2024, several clients reached out after encountering issues with the photo matching tool in E-Verify. They reported discrepancies where the photos transmitted by E-Verify did not align with the photos on the employees’ documents. It became increasingly clear that E-Verify was not rendering

Continue Reading Valentines Day Glitch: E-Verify Photo-Match Mayhem

Seyfarth Synopsis: U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued a final rule on the upcoming H-1B cap registration, creating a beneficiary-centric selection process, starting this FY 2025 H-1B cap registration period, which will run from March 6, 2024 to March 22, 2024.

1. FY 2025 H-1B Cap Registration Period

Continue Reading USCIS Announces FY 2025 H-1B Cap Registration Details and Updates

By: Jake Campbell and Weijia (Victoria) Ma

Seyfarth Synopsis: The below summarizes recent legal updates that impact U.S. immigration:

1. FY2024 H-1B Cap Registration

On March 27, 2023, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that initial registration was complete and that all prospective petitioners with selected registrations selected in

Continue Reading April 2023 U.S. Immigration Alert