August 2024 Newsletter
Welcome to our August 2024 Immigration Newsletter, which covers select immigration developments this past month.
We start with our analysis of the State Department's monthly immigrant visa bulletin, which tells us where the government is with respect to processing each immigrant visa category. The August 2024 Visa Bulletin shows a slowdown in the forward movement in both employment-based and family-based immigrant visa categories, although none of the categories will retrogress.?More information is below.
Insofar as the H-1B lottery, USCIS selected additional H-1B lottery registrations from the registrations that were not selected in March 2024 in the first week of August. USCIS ran a second lottery in order to meet the annual limit of 65,000 H-1B visas allocated for this fiscal year, which will begin October 1, 2024. Employers will be given until November 7, 2024, to file the H-1B petitions.
On the humanitarian front, President Biden and the Department of Homeland Security have implemented temporary relief for certain Lebanese nationals. Furthermore, USCIS extended and expanded temporary protection for Haiti until February 3, 2026, for Yemen until March 3, 2026 and for Somalia until March 17, 2026.
Additionally, due to the ongoing conflict and political instability in El Salvador, Honduras, Nepal, Nicaragua, and Sudan, the USCIS has announced the extension of certain Employment Authorization Documents issued to Temporary Protected Status beneficiaries from these countries until March 9, 2025. More information is below.
Lastly, President Biden has recently proposed a program that would allow certain undocumented spouses and children of U.S. citizens to obtain work authorization and legal permanent resident status while remaining in the United States.?Our blogpost below provides more detail about this proposed program. Please note the program is not yet in effect.
We hope you find our updates helpful. Please contact us if you would like to discuss any of these developments further.
PS: I'm delighted to share that I was a finalist for Best Immigration Lawyer in the Bay Area based on consumer votes :)
August 2024 Visa Bulletin Released
The Department of State (DOS) has issued its August 2024 Visa Bulletin. Compared to previous months with significant movement, this month shows a slowdown in the forward movement of priority dates for both the employment-based and family-based immigrant visa categories. No categories will retrogress in August.?
Read more here.
USCIS Conducted a Second H-1B Lottery
USCIS announced last week that it needed to select additional H-1B lottery registrations from the registrations that were not selected in March 2024, in order to meet the annual limit (“cap”) of 65,000 H-1B visas allocated for this fiscal year, which begins October 1, 2024.? It completed the selections the first week of August
Read more here.
Temporary Protection for Haiti Extended and Expanded, and Employment Authorization under TPS Extended for El Salvador, Honduras, Nepal, Nicaragua, and Sudan
Due to the ongoing urgent humanitarian situation in Haiti, Secretary of Homeland Security, Alejandro N. Mayorkas, has announced the extension and expansion of Haiti for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) until February 3, 2026.
Read more here.
Biden Announces New Program for Undocumented Spouses of U.S. Citizens
President Biden has recently proposed a program that would allow certain undocumented spouses of U.S. citizens (and their children) to obtain work authorization and legal permanent resident (“LPR”) status while remaining in the United States.
Read more here.
Temporary Protection for Yemenis Extended and Expanded
Due to the extraordinary humanitarian conditions in Yemen, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has announced the extension and redesignation of Yemen for Temporary Protected Status (“TPS”) until March 3, 2026.
Read more here.
Temporary Relief for Certain Lebanese and Somalis in the U.S.
As the political situation in Lebanon deteriorates and the humanitarian crisis in Somalia worsens, President Biden and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) have implemented temporary relief for certain Lebanese nationals in the U.S. They also have extended and expanded? Temporary Protected Status (“TPS”) for Somalians.?
Read more here.
Thank you for reading! Please do not hesitate to contact us if you would like to discuss any of these developments further.