Business Immigration Insights

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The July Visa Bulletin brings both ho-hum and completely unexpected news, for both better and worse.

Below is a summary that includes Final Action Dates and changes from the previous month, but first – some background if you’re new to these blog posts.  If you’re an old hand at the Visa Bulletin, feel free to skip the next paragraph.

The Visa Bulletin is released monthly by the Department of State in collaboration with US Citizenship and Immigration Services.  The Bulletin is used to determine when a sponsored foreign national can submit the final step of the green card process, or if already pending, when the final step can be adjudicated.

The Visa Bulletin is released monthly by the Department of State and is used to determine when a sponsored foreign national can submit the final step of the green card process, or if already pending, when the final step can be adjudicated.

Below is a summary of the May Visa Bulletin, including Final Action Dates. (Spoiler alert: there are no changes from April.)

The Visa Bulletin is released monthly by the Department of State and is used to determine when a sponsored foreign national can submit the final step of the green card process, or if already pending, when the final step can be adjudicated.

Below is a summary of the April Visa Bulletin, including Final Action Dates and changes from the previous month.

The Visa Bulletin is released monthly by the Department of State and is used to determine when a sponsored foreign national can submit the final step of the green card process, or if already pending, when the final step can be adjudicated.

Below is a summary of the March Visa Bulletin, including Final Action Dates and changes from the previous month.

On January 31, 2024, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) published a final rule to adjust certain immigration and naturalization benefit request fees, effective April 1, 2024. Employers will see significant increases on the fees they pay to submit petitions for workers and to sponsor employees for permanent residence. The agency stated that the fee increases will “…allow USCIS to recover a greater share of its operating costs and support more timely processing of new applications.” This is the first major adjustment in USCIS filing fees since 2016. Notably, the Service is implementing different fees for each type of visa classification sought on Form I‑129 nonimmigrant worker petition, replacing the uniform $460 Form I‑129 filing fee across all classifications. 

On January 29, 2024, the Department of State’s stateside visa pilot renewal program began accepting DS-160s for qualifying individuals seeking to renew their existing H-1B visas while they are in the United States.  As discussed in our previous blog post about this new program, the program allows individuals in the United States who are renewing an H-1B visa issued by US consular sections in Canada between 1/1/2020 and 4/1/2023 or one issued by US consular sections in India from 2/1/2021 and 9/30/2021 to do so online through the Department’s CEAC website rather than having to travel outside the US to obtain the visa. 

The Visa Bulletin is released monthly by the Department of State and is used to determine when a sponsored foreign national can submit the final step of the green card process, or if already pending, when the final step can be adjudicated.

Below is a summary of the February Visa Bulletin, including Final Action Dates and changes from the previous month.

On December 21, the Department of State announced changes to the power consular officers have to waive personal visa interviews for nonimmigrant visa (NIV) applicants. Under the new guidelines, will remain in place indefinitely, consular officers are now authorized to waive personal visa interviews for

• First-time applications: H-2 temporary agricultural and non-agricultural workers;
• Other applications – applicants with a previously approved visa: NIV applicants applying in any other NIV category who were previously issued a nonimmigrant visa in any classification if the applicant is applying within 48 months of their most recent nonimmigrant visa’s expiration date may have their interview waived at the discretion of the consular officer, unless the only prior visa was a B visitor/business visa.