Month: July 2023

In a highly anticipated event, last week USCIS announced that the agency would be conducting a second H-1B lottery for the 2024 fiscal year. The second H-1B cap lottery was conducted over the weekend, and now appears to be completed. All registrants chosen in this second lottery have been notified, and all other registrants not selected remain eligible for selection in any further FY2024 lottery. All H-1B registrants chosen in the second lottery must submit their H-1B petition within the filing period and at the service center indicated on the selection notice. For any questions or help with an H-1B petition, reach out to a CYA attorney.

In happy news for H-1B hopeful beneficiaries and petitioners, USCIS announced today that it will be conducting a second round of the H-1B lottery. Woo! Individuals who timely submitted their H-1B registration for FY 2024 will be automatically considered for the second lottery. We don’t know exactly when the second lottery will be conducted, but expect it to happen soon. This is very welcome news for the many H-1B registrants who were not selected in this years’ initial H-1B cap lottery. Stay tuned for further updates on this evolving process.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is launching several new online tools designed to facilitate efficiency and provide better access to the agency for people with pending immigration matters.  The USCIS customer service digital tools include the following:

• Text Ahead Feature – Applicants will have the ability to opt-in to the text back feature from USCIS on an escalated service request after calling the 1-800 Contact Center number or through the online Ask Emma function (available on the USCIS website).
• Online Appointment Request Form – USCIS is launching a new online appointment request feature that is designed to provide more flexibility and certainty for applicants needing specific types of appointments, including ADIT Stamps, Emergency Advance Parole (EAP), or Immigration Judge Grants.
• Online Change of Address Function – To access this feature, applicants or attorneys must use their myUSCIS account. The new online Change of Address function will update all systems within USCIS, for each receipt number provided in real time.
• Online Biometrics Rescheduling – Per USCIS, the online function to request a new biometrics appointment date can be used only two times. The system will ask customers to select a reason for the reschedule request, the current appointment date and time, the customer’s date of birth, and ASC location. This tool cannot be used for rescheduling missed biometrics appointments, however.

If you have questions about how to access or use the new USCIS digital tools, contact a CYA attorney today!

On June 23, 2023, the Supreme Court issued a decision in United States v. Texas, 599 U. S. __ (2023) (reversing United States v. Texas, 606 F. Supp. 3d 437 (2023)). The case was brought before the U.S. Supreme Court by the States of Texas and Louisiana challenging the Biden Administration’s policy of establishing federal civil immigration enforcement priorities. The Supreme Court held that the States lacked Article III standing to challenge the Biden administration’s immigration enforcement priorities and effectively reversed the Texas district court holding. The Biden policy prioritizes the arrest and removal of dangerous non-citizens and suspected terrorists.