In this edition, find the latest news on E-Verify+ services, Premium Processing Fees, CIS Ombudsman tips, and much more!
E-Verify to Pilot ‘Next Generation’ Service in Spring 2024
E-Verify announced on February 22, 2024, that it will launch its “next generation” service, E-Verify+, as a pilot in spring 2024. E-Verify said the “plus” in E-Verify+ represents benefits the new service will provide to employers and employees, including “added efficiency” for employers and “more control over their personal information” for employees.
E-Verify+ will include streamlining of Form I-9 and the employment eligibility verification process. Feedback will be sought as part of the pilot process. Updates will be posted on E-Verify.gov.
Details:
- E-Verify notice (Feb. 22, 2024).
Reminder: Premium Processing Fees Will Increased
The Alliance of Business Immigration Lawyers is reminding its clients that fees for Form I-907, Request for Premium Processing, will increase on February 26, 2024. The table below summarizes the increases by type of petition.
| Form | Previous Premium Processing Fee | New Premium Processing Fee |
| Form I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker | $1,500 (H-2B or R-1 nonimmigrant status) $2,500 (all other available Form I-129 classifications) | $1,685 (H-2B or R-1 nonimmigrant status) $2,805 (all other available Form I-129 classifications) |
| Form I-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker | $2,500 (employment-based classifications E11, E12, E21 (non-NIW), E31, E32, EW3, E13 and E21 (NIW)) | $2,805 (employment-based classifications E11, E12, E21 (non-NIW), E31, E32, EW3, E13 and E21 (NIW)) |
| Form I-539, Application to Extend/Change Nonimmigrant Status | $1,750 (Form I-539 classifications F-1, F-2, M-1, M-2, J-1, J-2, E-1, E-2, E-3, L-2, H-4, O-3, P-4, and R-2) | $1,965 (Form I-539 classifications F-1, F-2, M-1, M-2, J-1, J-2, E-1, E-2, E-3, L-2, H-4, O-3, P-4, and R-2) |
| Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization | $1,500 (certain F-1 students with categories C03A, C03B, C03C) | $1,685 (certain F-1 students with categories C03A, C03B, C03C) |
Details:
- USCIS alert (Dec. 27, 2023).
CIS Ombudsman Releases Tips on How to Avoid Getting Locked Out of Your USCIS Account
On February 14, 2024, the Office of the Citizenship and Immigration Services (CIS) Ombudsman released a tip sheet on how people with individual U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) online accounts can maintain access and avoid getting locked out of their accounts.
The tips include how to create a strong password, the importance of logging in regularly to maintain access (the tip sheet suggests “once a month or once every few months”), what to do when locked out, how to reset a password, security considerations, and how USCIS’s Technical Help Desk works to assist with account access.
Details:
- New Tip Sheet on How to Avoid Getting Locked Out of Your USCIS Account, Department of Homeland Security (Feb. 14, 2024).
- Tip sheet (PDF) (DHS) (Feb. 14, 2024).
ETA Extends Comment Period for Responses to PERM Schedule A Request for Information
The Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration (ETA) has extended the comment period for responses to its PERM Schedule A Request for Information (RFI). ETA said it has received “a very limited number of comments, only a few of which have responded to the questions posed in the RFI.” The public comment period was set to conclude on February 20, 2024, but has been extended to May 13, 2024.
As background, on December 21, 2023, ETA published the RFI, soliciting public input on potential revisions to Schedule A of the permanent labor certification process to include occupations in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), including artificial intelligence-related occupations and non-STEM occupations, for which there may be an insufficient number of ready, willing, able, and qualified U.S. workers.
Details:
- Employment and Training Administration Extends Comment Period for Stakeholders to Respond to PERM Schedule A Request for Information (Feb. 15, 2024).
President Orders Deferred Enforced Departure for Palestinians in the United States
On February 14, 2024, President Biden directed the Secretary of Homeland Security to grant Deferred Enforced Departure (DED) to Palestinians in the United States for 18 months, with some exceptions. He further directed the Secretary to authorize employment for Palestinian noncitizens whose removal has been deferred for the duration of such deferral, and “to consider suspending regulatory requirements with respect to F-1 nonimmigrant students who are Palestinians.” The Biden administration said it is taking these actions to give Palestinians in the United States a “temporary safe haven” due to deteriorating humanitarian conditions in Gaza.
The memorandum lists exceptions to DED for Palestinians, including those who have not continuously resided in the United States since February 14, 2024, who have voluntarily returned to the Palestinian territories after that date, who are inadmissible under certain provisions of U.S. immigration law or subject to extradition, who have been convicted of any felony or two or more misdemeanors committed in the United States, or who the Secretary deems a danger to public safety.
According to reports, about 6,000 Palestinians are eligible for DED under the memorandum.
Details:
- Memorandum on the Deferred Enforced Departure for Certain Palestinians, White House (Feb. 14, 2024).
- Statement From National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan on Deferred Enforced Departure for Palestinians, White House (Feb. 14, 2024).
- Biden Shields Palestinians in the U.S. From Deportation, New York Times (Feb. 14, 2024).
