Monthly Minute | Design Patents
For employers seeking to sponsor foreign national professionals, awareness of the H-1B cap registration deadline is critical. Registration for the FY 2026 H-1B Cap lottery will start at 12 p.m. Eastern Time on March 7 and end...more
It's that time of year again: H-1B CAP season! The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) initial registration period for H-1B CAP will open at 12:00 p.m. ET, on March 7, 2025, and run through 12:00 p.m. ET, on...more
Welcome to the first installment of MVA’s Business Immigration Quarterly! Each quarter we will be bringing you a roundup of current trends, important issues, and interesting topics in the business immigration community. ...more
On April 1, 2024, the new U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) fee schedule took effect. The fee schedule has been modified since publication, which can make determining the appropriate fee challenging....more
The recent changes by the U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) in filing fees for certain forms, effective April 1, 2024, have continued to cause confusion for employers and individuals trying to determine the...more
The Final Rule published by United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) adjusting certain immigration and naturalization benefit request fees went into effect on April 1, 2024. This Final Rule included the...more
USCIS published a final rule (the Final Rule) on January 31, 2024, increasing certain filing fees that went into effect on April 1, 2024....more
On April 1, 2024, US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) implemented new costs for many common immigration filings, resulting in a fee increase of 100% to 200% for certain benefit requests....more
On April 1 , 2024, USCIS announced that it received enough electronic registrations during the initial registration period to reach the fiscal year (FY) 2025 H-1B cap. A random selection (lottery) was conducted from the...more
April 1, 2024, will mark the beginning of new changes to USCIS form editions, filing fees, and direct filing addresses for many common immigration applications and petitions. ...more
Effective April 1, 2024, there will be significant changes to filing fees associated with most immigration-related applications to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). The increases are partially because the...more
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has started the initial registration period for the FY 2025 H-1B cap. The H-1B program allows employers to petition for highly educated foreign professionals to work in...more
There has recently been a flurry of new Federal Register notices issued by U. S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and the U.S. Department of Labor (USDOL) relating to fees and reimbursements for a myriad of visa...more
The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that it will be raising the filing fee amounts for many employment-based nonimmigrant visa categories, effective April 1, 2024....more
Thanks to a final rule recently announced by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), filing fees are about to increase on April 1, 2024, and filers who fail to make haste will end up paying more, or risk...more
On 30 January 2024, the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) published a final rule (Final Rule) increasing the premium processing fee from US$2,500 to US$2,805, increasing filing fees for I-129 and I-140...more
In late December 2023 and late January 2024, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) published a series of final rules substantially increasing the filing fees for many of the most commonly used employment-based...more
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has issued a new fee rule that imposes significant increases, particularly for employment-based petitions. The rule, and the higher fees, will apply to any benefit request...more
The Department of Homeland Security recently published a Final Rule in the Federal Register establishing a filing fee increase that will go into effect on April 1, 2024. The new fee schedule significantly increases several...more
In a recent announcement, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) revealed pivotal final rule aimed at fortifying the integrity of the H-1B registration process and minimizing the potential for fraud. This...more
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has put forth a Proposed Rule in January 2023 (“Proposed Rule”), suggesting fee increases and other modifications. Under this proposal, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services...more
In back-to-back final rules published on Dec. 28, 2023, and Jan. 31, 2024, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced significant fee increases for premium processing requests and immigration benefit...more
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. USCIS has announced several significant changes to the H-1B program aimed at...more
The Department of Homeland Security published a final rule Jan. 31 adjusting the filing fees for applications for immigration benefits submitted to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). For most application types...more
On January 31, 2024, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) published a final rule in the Federal Register to adjust immigration benefit request fees, effective April 1, 2024. The agency has stated that the “[t]he...more