Headlines:

USCIS Points Steering on ‘Capacity to Pay’ Requirement When Adjustment Candidates Change Employers – U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Providers issued coverage steerage, efficient instantly, on the way it analyzes an employer’s skill to pay the proffered wage for immigrant petitions in sure first, second, and third desire employment-based immigrant visa classifications, together with situations when the sponsored employee modifications employers.

DOJ Sues Texas Over State Migration Invoice – The Division of Justice sued the state of Texas over a invoice that may create new state crimes tied to federal prohibitions on illegal entry and reentry by noncitizens into the US.

DOS Points ‘Vibrant Forecast’ for Worldwide Visa Operations – The Division of State stated its visa processing capability “has recovered sooner than projected” and introduced a “vibrant forecast” for worldwide visa operations in 2024.

ABIL International: Canada – The Canadian authorities is concentrating on expert staff and French-speaking candidates in a brand new category-based choice course of.

Particulars:

USCIS Points Steering on ‘Capacity to Pay’ Requirement When Adjustment Candidates Change Employers

On January 5, 2024, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Providers issued coverage steerage, efficient instantly, on the way it analyzes an employer’s skill to pay the proffered wage for immigrant petitions in sure first, second, and third desire employment-based immigrant visa classifications, together with situations when the sponsored employee modifications employers.

The steerage notes that typically, employers searching for to categorise potential or present staff below the primary, second, and third desire employment-based immigrant visa classifications that require a job supply “should display their persevering with skill to pay the proffered wage to the beneficiary as of the precedence date of the immigrant petition till the beneficiary obtains lawful everlasting residence.”

The up to date steerage, which applies to petitions filed on or after January 5, 2024, explains that when the beneficiary of a Kind I-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Employees, strikes (or “ports”) to a brand new employer whereas the Kind I-140 is pending, USCIS determines whether or not the petitioner meets the flexibility to pay necessities “solely by reviewing the info in existence from the precedence date till the submitting of the Kind I-140.”

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DOJ Sues Texas Over State Migration Invoice

The Division of Justice (DOJ) sued the state of Texas on January 3, 2024, relating to a brand new Texas regulation generally known as Senate Invoice 4 (SB4). The invoice would create, efficient March 5, 2024, new state crimes tied to federal prohibitions on illegal entry and reentry by noncitizens into the US and would authorize state judges to order the elimination of sure noncitizens. It might permit Texas regulation enforcement officers to arrest these suspected of being in the US with out authorization.

Noting that “Texas can not run its personal immigration system,” the DOJ’s grievance states that along with violating the U.S. Structure, which duties the federal authorities with regulating immigration and controlling the worldwide borders, SB4 additionally would “intrude on the federal authorities’s unique authority to control the entry and elimination of noncitizens, frustrate the US’ immigration operations and proceedings, and intervene with U.S. international relations.”

On the identical day the swimsuit was filed, Gov. Abbott posted, “Biden sued me right now as a result of I signed a regulation making it unlawful for an unlawful immigrant to enter or try to enter Texas immediately from a international nation. I like my possibilities. Texas is the one authorities in America attempting to cease unlawful immigration.”

A number of civil rights teams, together with the American Civil Liberties Union and the Texas Civil Rights Undertaking, filed a separate lawsuit in December 2023 difficult the constitutionality of SB4.

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DOS Points ‘Vibrant Forecast’ for Worldwide Visa Operations

On January 2, 2024, the Division of State (DOS) introduced a “vibrant forecast” for worldwide visa operations. DOS stated its visa processing capability “has recovered sooner than projected. We issued extra nonimmigrant visas (NIVs) worldwide in 2023 than in any 12 months since 2015.”

DOS stated it stays centered on “lowering wait instances for customer visa candidates who require an in-person interview, significantly in international locations the place demand stays at unprecedented ranges.” Its purpose is for greater than 90 % of its abroad posts to have customer visa interview wait instances below 90 days in 2024.

DOS famous that its 230 U.S. embassies and consulates issued greater than 10.4 million visas globally in fiscal 12 months 2023. The company attributed its progress partly to improved effectivity via interview waivers in a number of key visa classes, together with for a lot of college students and momentary staff. Moreover, DOS stated, candidates renewing nonimmigrant visas in the identical classification inside 48 months of the prior visa’s expiration date can apply with out an in-person interview of their international locations of nationality or residence. “This continues to be one among our greatest instruments to cut back interview appointment wait instances whereas persevering with to make rigorous nationwide safety choices in each case,” DOS stated.

In 2023, DOS stated, it (1) prioritized pupil and educational alternate customer visa interviews to facilitate examine at U.S. universities and faculties; (2) processed seasonal agricultural and nonagricultural employee visas, issuing a “record-breaking 442,000 visas to H-2A and H-2B momentary staff in 2023, with almost 90 % going to certified staff from Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras”; (3) issued a “record-breaking 365,000 nonimmigrant visas to airline and delivery crewmembers”; and (4) issued 590,000 nonimmigrant and immigrant visas, “probably the most ever,” to high-skilled staff and executives in a variety of sectors, together with rising know-how and well being care. “Amongst these, we issued almost double the variety of EB-3 [green cards] in FY 2023 than in FY 2019, the final full 12 months earlier than the pandemic.” DOS additionally issued all of the obtainable variety inexperienced card lottery visas throughout the DV-2023 program 12 months.

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ABIL International: Canada

The Canadian authorities is concentrating on expert staff and French-speaking candidates in a brand new category-based choice course of.

In a marked departure from its points-based immigration program choice system, the Honourable Sean Fraser, then-Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, introduced on Could 31, 2023, the launch of a brand new measure of category-based choice for Canada’s Categorical Entry administration system to answer Canada’s altering financial and labor market wants, with an extra concentrate on Francophone immigration. This measure permits Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) to concern invites to use to candidates who maintain particular expertise, coaching, or language skills. For 2023, category-based choice invites will goal candidates who’ve a powerful French language proficiency or work expertise within the fields of well being care; science, know-how, engineering, and arithmetic (STEM) professions; trades, reminiscent of carpenters, plumbers, and contractors; transport; agriculture; and agri-food. As of January 2024, this checklist of classes is topic to alter.

Categorical Entry is the system utilized by IRCC to handle expert staff searching for to turn out to be Canadian Everlasting Residents via the Federal Expert Employee Program, the Federal Expert Trades Program, the Canadian Expertise Class, and a portion of the Provincial Nominee Program. Candidates are ranked in keeping with a Complete Rating System (CRS), which is a points-based system that ranks candidates primarily based on components reminiscent of their training, language expertise, work expertise, and age. IRCC then periodically invitations candidates with the very best scores to use for everlasting residence.

Amongst different category-based attracts that started on June 28, 2023, IRCC issued invites to use within the following classes:

• On July 12, 2023, IRCC issued 3,800 invites to use to candidates with French language proficiency with a minimal CRS rating of 375.
• On September 28, 2023, IRCC held a focused draw within the agriculture and agri-food occupations, inviting 600 candidates with a minimal CRS rating of 354.
• On October 26, 2023, IRCC issued 3,600 invites to use to candidates in well being care occupations with a minimal CRS rating of 431.

In 2023, earlier than the primary focused draw, the bottom CRS rating was recorded at 481 factors for candidates in an all-program draw.

Following the announcement and the start of focused attracts, the CRS cut-off decreased considerably for Categorical Entry candidates throughout the 5 focused classes. Nonetheless, because the first focused draw on the finish of June 2023, the bottom invites for an all-program draw had been issued to candidates with a minimal CRS rating of 496. Thus, the CRS cut-off rating has elevated for profiles not included within the checklist of focused occupations. As well as, the introduction of category-based choice has considerably diminished the variety of invites despatched out to Categorical Entry profiles within the all-program attracts.

The Canadian Authorities seeks to welcome 110,770 and 117,500 expert staff in 2024 and 2025, respectively, via the Federal Expert Employee Program, the Federal Expert Trades Program, and the Canadian Expertise Class. The Provincial Nominee Program will account for an extra 110,000 Canadian everlasting residents in 2024, and 120,000 in 2025.

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