Healthcare Blog

MU Law will be hosting a FREE webinar for our clients and friends on Tuesday, August 22, 2023 from 2:00-3:00 pm Eastern (1:00-2:00 pm Central).

Join us for this FREE webinar to learn more about:

• H1Bs for Registered Nurses – Schedule A vs. H1B Timeline
• Registered Nurse Beneficiary Requirements
• Registered Nurse Position Requirements (BS in Nursing)
• H1Bs for Registered Nurses at Cap Exempt Institutions
• Staffing Companies vs. Direct Placement

PLEASE JOIN US!

MU Law will be hosting a FREE webinar for our clients and friends on Tuesday, August 22, 2023 from 2:00-3:00 pm Eastern (1:00-2:00 pm Central).

Join us for this FREE webinar to learn more about:

• H1Bs for Registered Nurses – Schedule A vs. H1B Timeline
• Registered Nurse Beneficiary Requirements
• Registered Nurse Position Requirements (BS in Nursing)
• H1Bs for Registered Nurses at Cap Exempt Institutions
• Staffing Companies vs. Direct Placement

PLEASE JOIN US!

TheDepartment of State has just issued the September2023 Visa Bulletin.  This is the finalVisa Bulletin of Fiscal Year 2023. This blog post analyzes this month's VisaBulletin.

VisaBulletin

Table A: Final Action Dates -- Applicationswith these dates may be approved for their Green Card (Permanent Residencycard) or Immigrant Visa appointment.

Table B: Dates of Filing

The USCIS is expectedto use the Table B Dates of Filing chart for I-485 employment-based filings.See: USCISVisa Bulletin Dates

MU LawAnalysis

As is oftenthe case toward the end of the fiscal year, there was not much movement as theUSCIS and DOS seek to use the remaining visas in the fiscal year.

EB-3 Other Workers,which is the category for occupations for most occupations, remainsretrogressed to 01May2020.  This date,along with all categories, will not advance until October 1, 2023, with thestart of the new fiscal year.  Our senseis that when the October 2023 visa bulletin is published, it will show an EB-3(non-India and non-China) with a mid-2022 priority date.  However, because the Department of State isnot forthcoming with their demand and usage data, please assume large errorbars around our projection.

EB-2 advancedfor all countries, except India and China, which may be good news for EB-2 inthe next fiscal year.

Sometimeduring September, the DOS may announce that all immigrant visas have been usedfor FY 2023.  Rest assured that this isexpected and will not have any bearing on the FY 2024 Visa Bulletin dates.

OnJuly 26, 2023, the Department of State published in the FederalRegister new rulemaking that would allow U.S. citizens abroad to beaccompanied by an attorney, interpreter, and/or other third party whenattending certain appointments at an Embassy or Consulate overseas, such as anappointment for a US passport, to Report of Birth Abroad, to request assistancein locating or assisting U.S. citizens, to request emergency medical assistance,crime victim assistance, amongst other selected services. 

Thenew rule makes it clear that individuals will bear any costs associated withthe attendance of an attorney, interpreter, and that the representation orassistance by a third party or attorney does not excuse the applicant’s in-personappearance. 

Theproposed rule affects 20 CFR parts 50, 51, and 71.  Public comments should be submitted by September24, 2023.

MU Law will be hosting a FREE webinar for our clients and friends on Tuesday, August 22, 2023 from 2:00-3:00 pm Eastern (1:00-2:00 pm Central).

Join us for this FREE webinar to learn more about:

• H1Bs for Registered Nurses – Schedule A vs. H1B Timeline
• Registered Nurse Beneficiary Requirements
• Registered Nurse Position Requirements (BS in Nursing)
• H1Bs for Registered Nurses at Cap Exempt Institutions
• Staffing Companies vs. Direct Placement

PLEASE JOIN US!

The USCIS has announced in a NewsAlert that it will select a second round of H-1B registrations in theFiscal Year 2024 H-1B Cap lottery (FY 2024 refers to CAP registrations filed inMarch 2023).

While there are only 85,000 H-1Bcap-subject visas available each year, a staggering 758,994 registrations wereentered into the H-1B lottery for FY2024. MU previously released a blog post onthis announcement here.

The second round of selectionsindicates that not enough H-1B filings were submitted between April 1, 2023 andJune 30, 2023 to meet the 85,000 H-1B CAP.

USCIS noted in its NewsAlert that it will announce once the second-round selection process iscompleted. Those with selected second-round registrations will have their ortheir attorney’s myUSCIS accounts updated to include a selection notice, whichincludes details of when and where to file.

MU Law will be hosting a FREE webinar for our clients and friends on Tuesday, August22, 2023 from 2:00-3:00 pm Eastern (1:00-2:00 pm Central).

Join us for this FREE webinar to learn more about:

• H1Bsfor Registered Nurses – Schedule A vs. H1B Timeline
• RegisteredNurse Beneficiary Requirements
• RegisteredNurse Position Requirements (BS in Nursing)
• H1Bsfor Registered Nurses at Cap Exempt Institutions
• StaffingCompanies vs. Direct Placement

PLEASE JOIN US!

U.S. Citizenshipand Immigration Services recently announced they will be expanding myProgress (formerlyknown as personalized processing times) to Form I-765, Application forEmployment Authorization, and Form I-131, Application for Travel Document.myProgress was previously available to applicants with an online USCIS accountwho had filed Form N-400, Application for Naturalization; Form I-90,Application to Replace Permanent Resident Card; or Form I-130, Petition forAlien Relative.

myProgress is atool created by the USCIS to provide personalized estimates of wait times for“major milestones” on an applicant’s case. According to the USCIS, theestimated wait times are based on historical patterns of cases with similarfacts. However, the USCIS did note that these wait times are not guaranteed, asthe USCIS cannot take into consideration all possible processing delays.

To view estimatedwait times via myProgress, applicants must first create a USCIS online accountor log into their existing account and select their pending application. Applicantsshould see a myProgress tab, which displays the estimated wait time until theircase has a decision. This tab will also display a check mark beside threemilestones as they are completed:

• Confirmation thatthe application was received;
• Biometricservices appointment (if required) has been completed; and
• The decision onthe pending case.

myProgress willnot provide information about the applicant’s eligibility to file an Outside ofNormal Processing Time service request. To determine their eligibility,Applicants will still be required to visit the public Check Case ProcessingTimes webpage.

Theretrogression cut-off in the EB3 category pushed back priority dates to2020.  While a retrogression is nevergreat news, this retrogression is not as dramatic as it might seem at firstlook.  Our sense is that when the October2023 visa bulletin is published, it will show an EB-3 (non-India and non-China)with a mid-2022 priority date.  However,because the Department of State is not forthcoming with their demand and usagedata, please assume large error bars around our projection.

Asignificant retrogression of priority dates is common nearly every summer.  Visa numbers began to run out towardSeptember 30, which is the end of the fiscal year.  The DOS is trying to use the last of the140,000 annual employment-based visas in September.  (Note- in some years the employment-basedvisa quota is greater than 140,000). While the DOS could theoretically release all 140,000 immigrant visas onOctober 1 every year, they do not do this so that there is a steady stream ofimmigrant visas throughout the year.

InOctober an additional 140,000 EB visas will be allocated, which is why weexpect the dates to progress again. Again, it is difficult to be too precise with an October 2023 EB-3projection because we do not know too much about the DOS’ demand and usagedata.