It’s almost 2024, and as always, there will be a lot of changes in immigration procedures with the new year. Here are three big things to watch out for in 2024.
1. Increasing filing fees
USCIS filing fees will likely go up sometime in 2024. For some kinds of cases, these increases will be pretty drastic. The work and travel permits through the green card application may no longer be free, and the filing fees may double for the removal of conditions process. Filing fees for almost everything will go up. We don’t know all the details yet, but we encourage you to start your immigration process now as fees will be higher soon.
2. H-1B visa reform
Last year, fake companies took advantage of loopholes in the H-1B program. Because of this, the chances of winning the H-1B lottery went down significantly. USCIS has recently proposed reform, and in 2024 that reform will make it easier for legitimate businesses to employ workers on the H-1B visa.
If you want to learn more about the 2024 H-1B reform, click here and read our more detailed post.
3. Presidential election
Nothing has affected immigration over the past couple of decades more than the policies of the president. It’s unfortunate that Congress hasn’t passed much-needed immigration reform, and instead leaves it to the president to exercise the power to either make things harder for immigrants or easier for immigrants. For example, 2019 and 2020 were not great years for immigration—the process was typically harsher, more difficult, and more expensive. People from certain countries were banned from entering the U.S. entirely. The concern is that 2025 may be even worse than 2019 for immigrants. If you’re eligible to start an immigration process like sponsoring a spouse or parent, getting U.S. citizenship, or anything else, start now before fees increase and processes become more complicated and time-consuming.
We’re hoping for faster processing times and more options for immigrants in 2024. The only thing we know for certain is that there will continue to be significant changes in immigration. As always, we’ll continue to update on new developments as they happen.
If you have any questions regarding an immigration matter and upcoming changes in USCIS procedures, contact us so we can help.
