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2024

April 1 Changes to Form I-129 Fee, Version, and Filing Address

March 26, 2024
April 1 ushers in changes to Form I-129 filing fees, form version, and filing addresses. USCIS will use the postmark date of a filing to determine which form version and fees are correct but will use the received date for purposes of the new I-129 lockbox filing addresses.
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EVP Guidance Directive Discusses Patient Contact in J-1 Academic Categories

March 18, 2024
On March 14, 2024 the Department of State exchange visitor program office distributed Guidance Directive 2024-01 to program sponsors, describing several factors that sponsors should take into account when determining whether human or animal contact is appropriate for an academic exchange visitor's program category.
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H-1B Forms I-129 Must be Filed at Lockbox Location Starting April 1, 2024

March 1, 2024
Beginning April 1, 2024, all paper-filed H-1B and H-1B1 Form I-129 petitions must be filed at the correct USCIS lockbox facility. On and after that date USICS will reject paper-filed petitions in those categories that are received at a USCIS Service Center. USCIS will provide the lockbox filing addresses for paper-filed forms in late March via a web alert and the USCIS Form I-129 Direct Filing Addresses page
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Impact of Appropriations Lapses on Immigration Agencies

February 27, 2024
As we approach the end of the most recent Continuing Resolution funding agencies like DHS until March 8, 2024, visit NAFSA's page with information on how a government shutdown caused by a lapse in appropriations impacts immigration-related services.
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USCIS Premium Processing Fee Hike Effective February 26, 2024

February 26, 2024
A reminder that a final rule effective February 26, 2024 has raised USCIS's premium processing fees. Forms I-907 postmarked on or after February 26, 2024 must be accompanied by the new filing fee, or USCIS will reject the Form I-907 and return the filing fee. The postmark date for filings sent by commercial courier services like UPS, FedEx, and DHL is the date reflected on the courier receipt.
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DOL Extends Comment Deadline for Schedule A RFI

February 16, 2024
On February 15, 2024, the Department of Labor (DOL) extended until May 13, 2024 the comment period on its Request for Information (RFI) on "Modernizing Schedule A to Include Consideration of Additional Occupations in STEM and Non-STEM Occupations." Comments were originally due by February 20, 2024.
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Presidential Memo Directs DHS to Establish DED for Eligible Palestinians and to Consider SSR

February 15, 2024
On February 14, 2024, President Biden signed a "Memorandum on the Deferred Enforced Departure for Certain Palestinians" to establish the Deferred Enforced Departure (DED) benefit for Palestinians in the United States who meet the conditions listed in the memorandum. The memo also directs the Secretary of Homeland Security "to consider suspending regulatory requirements with respect to F-1 nonimmigrant students who are Palestinians as the Secretary of Homeland Security determines to be appropriate." The latter would be in the form of Special Student Relief (SSR) for Palestinian F-1 students, but DHS would have to publish an SSR notice in the Federal Register to activate that benefit.
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Final USCIS Fee Rule Effective April 1, 2024

February 2, 2024
USCIS has published a final fee rule with an April 1, 2024 effective date. Any benefit request postmarked on or after April 1, 2024 must be accompanied by the new fees. On February 22, 2024, DHS will hold a webinar to discuss the changes made in this final rule. You may submit questions to USCIS in advance of the webinar by emailing USCIS public engagement no later than 4 pm eastern on February 8, 2024. Webinar registration information, question submission instructions, and a summary of key parts of the rule can be found on NAFSA's page.
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DHS Extends Syria Special Student Relief until September 30, 2025

January 29, 2024
On January 29, 2024, DHS published a notice in the Federal Register extending eligibility for Special Student Relief (SSR) benefits to certain F-1 students from Syria. The prior notice published in 2022 expires on April 1, 2024.
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Final USCIS Rule on H-1B Modernization and F-1 Cap-Gap Flexibility One Step Closer

January 19, 2024
on January 12, 2024, DHS sent for OMB review its final rule titled "Modernizing H-1B Requirements, Providing Flexibility in the F-1 Program, and Program Improvements Affecting Other Nonimmigrant Workers." The proposed rule published in October sought to add flexibility to F-1 to H-1B "cap-gap" and to redefine the term "specialty occupation" for H-1B purposes. Read a summary of the proposed rule and NAFSA's comment letter on NAFSA's page.
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