Immigration Updates February 2024

USCIS to increase ALL fees across the board starting April 1, 2024.

USCIS' Premium Processing fee recently increased from $2,500 to $2,805 for most applications.

The other fee increases will go into effect on April 1, 2024, and include the following:

For employment-based filings:

I-129 (O-1) filing fee increases from $460 to $530 if the petitioner has less than 25 employees.
I-129 (O-1) filing fee increases from $460 to $1,055 if the petitioner has more than 25 employees.
I-539 (O-3) filing fee increases from $370 to $420
I-140 (EB-1) filing fee increases from $700 to $715
I-485 Application for Adjustment of Status filing fee increases from $1,225 to $1,440

For family-based immigration:

I-130 Petition for Immigrant Relative filing fee increases from $535 to $675
I-129F Fiancé Visa petition filing fee increases from $535 to $675
I-751 Application to Remove the Conditions on Residency filing fee increases from $680 to $750

For Citizenship Applications:

N-400 Application for Naturalization filing fee increases from $725 to $760

For other application types:

I-131 Re-entry permit filing fees will DECREASE from $660 to $630
I-765 Work permit filing fee increases from $495 to $520
USCIS Immigrant Fee (for those who obtain green cards through US embassies) increases from $220 to $235

All forms and filing fees can be viewed HERE .

EB-1 Priority Dates

For the purpose of adjusting status in the U.S., in February 2024, EB-1 priority dates advanced again for citizens of India to Jan 1, 2021. For citizens of China the EB-1 priority dates also advanced to January 1, 2023.

In March 2024, the State Department is accepting adjustment of status applications based on the Final Action Dates listed in the visa bulletin, which is October 1, 2020 for citizens of India, and July 15, 2022 for citizens of China.

H-1B Registration is Nearly Here

The initial registration period for the FY 2025 H-1B cap will open at noon Eastern on March 6, 2024, and run through noon Eastern on March 22, 2024. During this period, prospective petitioners and their representatives, if applicable, must use a USCIS online account to register each beneficiary electronically for the selection process and pay the associated registration fee for each beneficiary. If your employer is planning to enter you into this year's lottery make sure they're aware of the registration window. You can read more about the H-1B cap season HERE.

Ukrainian Re-Parole

Ukrainian citizens who were paroled into the U.S. on or after February 11, 2022 are now eligible to apply for re-parole to extend their legal stay in the U.S. Information about who is qualified for re-parole and the procedure for applying can be found HERE.

Recent Approvals

We’re off to a strong start to the year with O-1 and EB-1 approvals for 3 Producers, 4 Photographers, 2 Cinematographers, a CEO, Assistant Director, Fashion Designer, Motion Designer, Director, Opera Singer, Writer, Production Lead, Animator, Stylist & Hairstylist, Actor, Animator & Digital Artist, Lash Artist, Project Manager, VFX Artist, Storyboard Artist, and Software Developer from China, UK, South Africa, Russia, Mexico, Colombia, Canada, Australia, Italy, India, Ukraine, Nepal, Brazil and Czech Republic.

Love is Still In the Air

Thank You to everyone who joined our Love is in the Air Livestream leading up to Valentine’s Day earlier this month. We were happy to answer your questions about fiance visas and marriage based green cards. If you would like to discuss one of these matters with one of our attorneys, you can schedule a consultation HERE.

Stay tuned for the date and topic of our next livestream in May

Love is in the air MARRIAGE BASED GREENCARDS

Contact us to discuss your O, P, or EB-1 case

Is your O or P visa expiring in the next 9 months? If you’d like to discuss the renewal process with one of our attorneys, schedule a call HERE.

Want to apply for your EB-1 green card under a Biden Administration? If you’d like to discuss an EB-1 green card with one of our attorneys, schedule a call HERE.