On January 24, 2023, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) published a new forecast showing that U.S. population will reach 373 million by 2053. By 2053, all of the increase in U.S. annual population growth will be due to new immigrants to the U.S. Recent trends show that millennials and Gen Z will be less likely to have children than their parents' generation.

Read from Fortune, Millennials and Gen Z won't have enough kids to sustain America's population--and it's up to immigrants to make up the baby shortfall

Read from Bloomberg, Immigration to Drive All US Population Growth Within Two Decades

In general, H-1B eligibility requirements include a Bachelor's degree or higher (or equivalent education and/or experience), and a qualifying U.S. job offer from a sponsoring employer. Interested employers should start now preparing new 2023 H-1B Lottery Registration Applications for foreign workers, including computer/IT professionals, engineers, doctors, scientists, researchers, professors, teachers, accountants, architects, managers and many other professionals. It takes time to build a well-documented H-1B case for filing. We recommend starting preparation of the Lottery Registration Application well in advance to meet the registration deadline and to avoid disappointment.

After the 2023 H-1B quota is reached, there will be no new cap-subject H-1B work sponsorships available until October 1, 2024. If you have questions about the H-1B visa category or wish to obtain assistance with applying for any new H-1B work visas, please call us no later than Monday, February 28, 2023 at 612.321.0082.

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

The 970,000 new citizens sworn in during the fiscal year ending on 9/30/23 was the highest number since 2008 when 1.05 million people became new citizens. Approximately 670,000 more legal immigrants have pending applications for U.S. citizenship (also referred to as "naturalization").

Read from The New York Times, This Land Becomes Their Land. New U.S. Citizens Hit a 15-Year High

On January 9, 2023, USCIS published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking raising fees for many applications and petitions. Some of the largest increases would affect employers sponsoring temporary workers such as: H-1's, H-2B's and L-1's.

H-2B

L-1

Read from the Federal Register, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Fee Schedule and Changes to Certain Other Immigration Benefit Request Requirements; Correction

Read from The Hill, DHS proposes higher fees on immigrants applying for work-based visas

Read from Los Angeles Times, Employers of foreign workers would pay more under Biden proposal

Scott Borene named 2022

in Immigration Law, Minneapolis by

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Tip of the Month

Effective January 30, 2023, USCIS will accept premium processing requests for employment-based permanent immigrant visa petitions in the EB-1 (3) Multinational Executive or Manager category and the EB-2 National Interest Waiver category. Normal processing can take 4-6 months or longer before USCIS makes an initial decision. Premium processing requires filing Form I-907 and payment of $2,500 fee to USCIS to receive an initial decision within 15 days.

Read from USCIS, USCIS Announces Final Phase of Premium Processing Expansion for EB-1 and EB-2 Form I-140 Petitions and Future Expansion for F-1 Students Seeking OPT and Certain Student and Exchange Visitors

Read from USCIS, USCIS to Implement Second Phase of Premium Processing for Certain Previously Filed EB-1 and EB-2 Form I-140 Petitions