On July 31, 2023, USCIS announced that they would need to select additional H-1 lottery registrants to meet the FY 2024 H-1B numerical limit of 85,000. USCIS reported that 77,600 additional H-1 lottery registrants have been selected. This year, USCIS began to take steps to investigate attempts by some employers to gain an unfair advantage in the lottery selection process by submitting multiple registrations from multiple employers working in concert to sponsor the same beneficiary.

The H-1B work visa is the most commonly used work visa for newly hired professionals. H-1 eligibility requirements include a bachelor's degree or higher in a specific field, a qualifying U.S. job offer and a minimum salary at or above government-monitored market rates.

Read from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, Second Random Selection from Previously Submitted Registrations Complete for FY 2024 H-1B Cap

Read from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, H-1B Electronic Registration Process

Read from Bloomberg Law, Second H-1B Visa Lottery to Be Held for Fiscal Year 2024 Cap (1)

Read from Borene Law Firm, FAQ's about H-1 Work Visas

On July 25, 2023, the New York Times reported on the proposed immigration policies of several of the leading Republican candidates for President. Candidates include Donald J. Trump, Ron DeSantis, Chris Christie, Nikki Haley, Tim Scott, Mike Pence, Vivek Ramaswamy, Asa Hutchinson, Doug Burgum, Will Hurd and Francis Suarez. Candidates Trump, DeSantis, Christie, Haley, Scott, Pence and Ramaswamy all support increasingly restrictive immigration policies similar to those of the Trump Administration from 2017 to 2021. Hutchinson, Burgum, Hurd and Suarez have proposed more moderate immigration policies.

Read from The New York Times, Where the Republican Candidates Stand on Immigration

The Census Bureau reported that legal immigration returned to over 1 million people per year, which had been the long-term average per year for decades prior to 2017. The drop to 373,000 in the July 2020-July 2021 period was attributed to restrictive immigration policies of the Trump administration and COVID-19.

Read from Los Angeles Times, What immigration trends mean for U.S. population and economic growth

Read from Associated Press, Immigration drove white, Asian population growth in US last year

On August 7, 2023, Minnesota Public Radio (MPR) reported that "home health and personal care aides" is the single largest occupation category in Minnesota. More than 100,000 Minnesota workers currently work as personal caregivers. The Minnesota State Department of Employment and Economic development (DEED) reports that foreign-born workers are approximately 18% of the direct caregiver workforce in Minnesota. Currently, there are more than 40,000 vacancies in these positions in Minnesota.

Read from MPR News, Immigrants, refugees in Minnesota increasingly filling critical direct care jobs

Best Lawyers^® 2024 Immigration Law "Lawyer of the Year" in Minneapolis.

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Tip of the Month

On August 1, 2023, employers may begin using the new I-9 Form dated 08/01/2023. Employers may continue to use the prior I-9 Form dated 10/19/2019 until October 31, 2023.

Beginning November 1, 2023, employers must use only the new I-9 Form dated 08/01/2023.

Read from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, I-9 Central

Read from E-Verify, New Form I-9 Now Includes Alternative Procedure for E-Verify Employers to Remotely Examine Employee Documents