September 2024 Newsletter

Welcome to our September 2024 Immigration Newsletter, which covers select immigration developments this past month.

The major development this past month was the agency's decision to immediately start accepting applications under the Keeping Families Together program for certain undocumented spouses and stepchildren. The program took effect on August 19, 2024, and offers work authorization and a path to lawful permanent residence for these individuals while remaining in the United States. Unfortunately, a group of states, led by Texas, sued to put a hold on the program, which was successful. USCIS has announced it will continue to accept (but not approve) applications until the litigation is resolved.

With regard to immigrant visa processing, the September 2024 Visa Bulletin shows no progress in any immigrant visa category, which is typical for the last month of the fiscal year. The US government's "fiscal year" starts on October 1, so the September Visa Bulletin usually has very little movement because most visa allocations have been used up. This year, there also is a significant retrogression of 12 months in the final action dates for the EB-3 employment-based category for all nationals except China and India. More information is below.

We hope you find our updates helpful. Please contact us if you would like to discuss any of these developments further.

September 2024 Visa Bulletin Released

The Department of State (DOS) has issued its September 2024 Visa Bulletin. Compared to previous months where priority dates inched forward, September shows no forward movement of priority dates in any visa category. There will also be a significant retrogression of 12 months in the final action dates for the EB-3 employment-based immigrant visa category for all nationals except China and India. For all family-based categories, there is no movement and priority dates remain the same.?

Read more here.

New Program for Undocumented Spouses and Children of US Citizens Takes Effect

The Department of Homeland Security announced on August 19 that it would immediately start accepting applications under the Keeping Families Together program, which allows certain undocumented spouses and children of U.S. citizens to obtain work authorization and legal permanent resident (“LPR”) status while remaining in the United States.

However, on August 26, 2024, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas administratively stayed the Department of Homeland Security from granting parole in place under Keeping Families Together for 14 days.

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.