• by Santhosh Rao

INTRODUCTION 

May and June 2024 were very active months for US Immigration. GLF provided updates via Google, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram on numerous US Immigration matters including: 

1. Texas Service Center Reopens after Severe Weather Closure 
2. Presidential Proclamation for Securing US-Mexico Land Border  
3. President Biden Announces Executive Action to Promote Family Unity 
4. State Department’s July 2024 Visa Bulletin Summary  
5. DOL Consolidates Resources: Flag – Your One-Stop Hub 
6. State Department’s June 2024 Visa Bulletin Summary 
7. USCIS has Released FY 2025 H-1b Registration Data 

We at GLF post regular updates on our Google, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram handles. Additionally, we also periodically send out GLF Newsletters when the subject matter is extensive and relevant for a detailed analysis. Presented below is a consolidated summary of updates posted on GLF’s various social media handles for May and June 2024.  

TEXAS SERVICE CENTER REOPENS AFTER SEVERE WEATHER CLOSURE 

 On May 28, 2024, the Texas Service Center temporarily suspended intake of petitions, applications, and other benefit requests due to severe weather. Operations resumed on June 3, 2024, and normal intake process was restarted. 

In most cases, courier services reattempted delivery of documents. No action was required from petitioners or applicants. If your petition or application was returned, refile it as soon as possible. Petitioners or applicants affected by the disruption may request filing flexibilities, which USCIS will consider case-by-case. 

According to 8 CFR 106.4(e)(22), the premium processing clock does not run on any business day when a federal office is closed due to weather-related events. This affects cases received but not yet transferred to an adjudicating office and cases undelivered due to the closure. 

If your petition or application is returned, refile it promptly. If affected by the disruption, request filing flexibilities from USCIS. For premium processing cases, be aware that the processing clock was paused during the closure period.  

PRESIDENTIAL PROCLAMATION FOR SECURING US-MEXICO LAND BORDER  

President Biden issued a Presidential Proclamation on June 4, 2024, to address the historic levels of illegal migration on the “southwest land border” between US and Mexico.  The Proclamation took effect 12:01 am Eastern Daylight Time on June 5.  The Proclamation is intended to restore order to the Asylum process that has broken down due to unprecedented levels of illegal crossings.  The “Lawful Pathways” Rule had established a lawful manner through the CBP One Mobile App for noncitizens to schedule a time at a Port of Entry.  However, December 2023 saw the highest levels of illegal crossing and people are not using the CBP One App.   

To address this crisis, in the absence of congressional action, this Proclamation took effect at 12:01 am Eastern on the calendar day immediately after the Secretary made a factual determination that there has been a 7-consecutive-calendar-day average of 2,500 encounters or more.  The proclamation shall be discontinued at 12:01 am Eastern 14 days after the Secretary has made a factual determination that there has been a 7-consecutive-calendar-day average of less than 1,500 encounters.  

However, the above restrictions will not apply to unaccompanied children from non-contiguous countries, victims of human trafficking, migrants who use legal pathways to enter US including via CBP One process, or those facing serious medical emergencies or threats to their lives. 

PRESIDENT BIDEN ANNOUNCES EXECUTIVE ACTION TO PROMOTE FAMILY UNITY 

On June 18, 2024, President Biden announced an Executive Action allowing certain undocumented immigrant spouse and children of US citizens to apply for permanent residency without leaving US. This action will protect approximately 500,000 noncitizen spouses, and 50,000 noncitizen minors and stepchildren.  Current law does not allow undocumented spouses of US Citizens to adjust status in US; they must consular process in their home country, which creates the uncertainty whether they will even be allowed to return to US.  This key change of allowing people to apply for permanent residence in US, keeps families intact, a goal of this Executive Action.  

To be eligible, the non-citizen spouse must meet the following criteria, as of June 17, 2024: 

1. Be present in the US without admission or parole; 
2. Have resided in the US for at least 10 years; 
3. Be legally married to a US citizen; and 
4. Not pose a threat to public safety or national security. 

Those who meet above criteria can apply for approval from the DHS, which will be scrutinized on a case-by-case basis. Those approved will be afforded three years to apply for permanent residency and be eligible for work permit for up to three years. The application process is expected to open by the end of summer. 

Additionally, the Administration is taking action to quicken the work-visa process for DACA recipients and other Dreamers who have earned a degree at a US college and have a high-skilled job offer. 

STATE DEPARTMENT’S JULY 2024 VISA BULLETIN SUMMARY  

State Department issued the July 2024 Visa Bulletin and here are the highlights: 

1. Adjustment of Status for Family Sponsored filing must use the Dates of Filing Chart and Employment Based filing must use Final Action Dates chart. 
2. Final action dates for Family sponsored F1 Category have advanced from July 08, 2015, to October 22, 2015  
3. Final actions date F2A category for India (November 15, 2021) have not changed.  
4. Filing dates chart for family sponsored F1 Category (September 01, 2017) have not changed and F-2A category have advanced from September 01, 2023, to November 01, 2023. 
5. Final Action dates for EB-1 category India have advanced from March 01, 2021, to February 01, 2022, and the Dates for Filing have advanced from April 01, 2021, to February 08, 2022.
6. Final action dates EB-2 category India have advanced from April 15, 2012, to June 15, 2012, and the Dates for filing have advanced from May 15, 2012, to June 22, 2012. 
7. Final action dates EB-3 category India have advanced from August 22, 2012, to September 22, 2012, and Dates for filing have advanced from September 15, 2012, to October 01, 2012.
8. Final action dates for Certain Religious Workers India have advanced from November 01, 2020, to January 01, 2021, and Dates for filing have advanced from December 01, 2020, to February 01, 2021.
9. The DV-2024 annual limit will be reduced to approximately 54,850. 

DOL CONSOLIDATES RESOURCES: FLAG – YOUR ONE-STOP HUB 

Effective July 1, 2024, the Department of Labor (DOL) will discontinue FLCDataCenter.com, previously used for obtaining prevailing wage determinations for LCA filing and permanent labor certifications. However, prevailing wage data from the Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics Survey will still be available. You can access this information through the OFLC Wage Search tool on the FLAG website, where DOL is consolidating resources such as PERMs, PWD Wage Determinations, LCAs, and Prevailing Wage Data, making it your comprehensive source for labor-related information. 

OFLC Wage Data Search tool can be accessed here: https://flag.dol.gov/wage-data/wage-search  

STATE DEPARTMENT’S JUNE 2024 VISA BULLETIN SUMMARY 

State Department issued the June 2024 Visa Bulletin and here are the highlights: 

1. Adjustment of Status for Family Sponsored filing was required to use the Dates of Filing Chart and Employment Based filing must use Final Action Dates chart.  
2. Final action dates for Family sponsored F1 Category (July 08, 2015) had not changed.  
3. Final actions date F2A category for India had advanced from June 1, 2021, to November 15, 2021.  
4. Filing dates chart for family sponsored F1 Category (September 01, 2017) and F-2A category (September 01, 2023) for India had not changed.  
5. Final Action dates EB-1 category (March 01, 2021), and the Dates for Filing (April 01, 2021) for India had not changed. 
6. Final action dates EB-2 category (April 15, 2012), and the Dates for filing (May 15, 2012) for India had not changed.  
7. Final action dates EB-3 category had advanced from August 15, 2012, to August 22, 2012 and Dates for filing (September 15, 2012) for India had not changed.  
8. Final action dates (November 01, 2020) and Dates for filing (December 01, 2020) for Certain Religious workers India had not changed.  
9. The DV-2024 annual limit was reduced to approximately 54,850. 

USCIS HAS RELEASED FY 2025 H-1B REGISTRATION DATA 

USCIS released data from the just concluded FY 2025 H-1B Registration period. USCIS has selected 120,603 registrations for 114,017 Beneficiaries. So, there were duplicate registrations, but the number of duplicates were far less; indicating that the duplicates are likely valid and not coordinated.  USCIS received 1.06 registrations per Beneficiary this year, whereas last year it was 1.7 (or nearly 2 registrations for every Beneficiary). The total number of eligible registrations was 470,342 this year, far less than the 758,994 last year. So, this data tells us that Beneficiary-Centric Registration is working and duplicate registrations are down significantly.   

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At GLF, we will continue to follow further developments in the above discussed and other matters, while we provide updates through our Newsletter as and when they become available. GLF receives numerous emails and phone calls every day seeking comments on various proposed bills and media reports that are often inaccurate. It is our job to separate fact from fiction and advise clients on important and relevant updates. The best way to receive accurate information is through GLF Newsletters.  We encourage you (and your employees) to sign up for GLF Newsletter. If you have not already signed up to receive our Newsletters, please do so by visiting www.gokarelaw.com and signing up under the Newsletter Tab. All we need is your name and email address, which takes very little time to sign up. You can also review all of our earlier GLF Newsletters on our website