Although a specific timeline has not yet been provided, USCIS is expected to announce further expansion of its premium processing service in 2024. USCIS continued expanding premium processing service in 2023 to include Form I-140 EB-1C multinational executive and manager classification and EB-2 National Interest Waiver classification, certain F-1 students seeking optional Practical Training (OPT) andscience, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) OPT extensions, and certain applicants requesting a change of status on Form I-539 to F, M, or J status.

In an evolving landscape, more and more states mandated enrollment in E-Verify in 2023, which is operated by USCIS and largely remains a voluntary program. Similarly, in 2023, an increasing number of states have passed laws on pay transparency which can impact the U.S. Department of Labor’s PERM labor certification process. Throughout 2024, the changes introduced in 2023 and ongoing interplay between state and federal requirements will create a challenging immigration enforcement environment and will place employers at risk for non-compliance.

The Department of Homeland Security and Department of Labor are expected to continue their focus on immigration compliance and, similarly, in 2024 the U.S. Department of Justice’s Immigrant and Employee Rights Section (IER) may continue its enforcements, settlements, and lawsuits related to immigration-related discrimination. The post-pandemic workforce has reshaped traditional employment paradigms, making it crucial for businesses to reassess internal immigration and compliance policies, conduct regular audits to make corrections and train designated personnel, maintain required records such as public access files, and define a protocol for an unannounced government audit or site visit. In 2024, employers should remain informed about evolving immigration laws and policy changes to ensure compliance with immigration regulations.

The DOL indicated it would not begin processing PERM applications filed through the new system until it finalized processing of cases pending in the legacy PERM portal. In 2024, the DOL will begin processing PERMs filed on the new form through the new system, which may result in an increased rate of PERM audits. As a result of the 2024 DOL transition, PERM processing times are not expected to decrease.

The DOL’s regulatory agenda in 2024 includes a proposed rule to establish a new wage methodology to set prevailing wage rates for the H-1B, H-1B1, E-3, and PERM programs. A final prevailing wage rule had been scheduled to take effect in 2022 but was then vacated in court, and publication of the new proposed rule, first scheduled for late 2023, is now expected in June 2024.

In early 2023, the U.S. Department of State (DOS) announced its plans to test a program that would permit visa holders to renew their visa stamps from within the United States. On December 21, 2023, the DOS published a Federal Register notice announcing that the stateside visa renewal pilot will begin on January 29, 2024, and end on April 1, 2024.

The Department of Homeland Security plans to publish a proposed rule in March 2024 to make changes to the process for adjustment of status to permanent residence. The proposed rule is anticipated to address the transfer of the underlying basis of an application to adjust status, reduce processing times and the potential for visa retrogression, and promote the efficient use of immediately available immigrant visas.

The U.S. Department of State’s regulatory agenda for 2023 included a final rule that would permit a waiver of the general requirement for immigrant visa applicants to appear before a consular officer to be interviewed and to execute their application in person at a U.S. Consulate abroad. Details of the rule were expected in late 2023.