Want to keep up with immigration news in the U.S.? Every month, Global Cleveland publishes our immigration update so that you can stay informed about the latest immigration news.

This month’s Immigration Update at a glance:

• A proposed STEM bill would extend the period of OPT for STEM students from 29 months to 48 months
• EB3 visas have hit their cap for Fiscal Year 2024, leading to a pause on the issuance of visas until October of this year
• A group of Republican-run states have challenged a new rule in court that allows recipients of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival (DACA) to access healthcare through the Affordable Care Act

• Congressman Shri Thanedar, a Michigan Democrat, introduced a new bill that would reform the H1B process as well as make changes for international students
• The bill would extend the period of OPT for STEM students from 29 months to 48.
• It would also change the H-1B system, reforming the lottery as well as increasing the number of STEM H-1B visas from 20,000 to 30,000
• The Bill, which has one co-sponsor, Dan Goldman (D-NY) is currently in the judiciary committee
• https://bizlegalservices.com/2024/08/01/new-bill-introduced-to-keep-stem-graduates-in-u-s/

• Assembly Bill 1840 passed its committee in the California senate, and would expand the California Dream for All Shared Appreciation loan program.
• The bill would allow for undocumented immigrants to apply for the program, which was started in 2023 to help first time homebuyers
• California Governor Gavin Newsom has not said whether he will sign the bill or not.
• https://ktla.com/news/california/california-bill-that-could-open-new-pathway-to-homeownership-for-undocumented-immigrants-advances-in-state-legislature/

• EB3 visas have hit their cap for Fiscal Year 2024, leading to a pause on the issuance of visas until October of this year
• The caps are set annually by the Immigration and Nationality Act, and will be reset in the new FY2025, which starts this fall
• Limits are set to be 28.6% of the worldwide employment limit. No more than 10,000 of these can be EW visas
• https://www.boundless.com/blog/eb-3-and-ew-visa-categories-reach-annual-cap/

• The American Immigration Council joined five major organizations in the immigration and scientific spaces in calling for the SEVP to add to the list of STEM programs that qualify for more post-graduate training
• The letter specifically cited the needs of the Artificial Intelligence sector as making an update necessary
• The letter said that the retention of STEM talent was “critical for technological development and U.S. competitiveness.”
• https://immigrationimpact.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/stem-opt-letter-ai-240603.pdf

• A British-born naturalized citizen said that a letter challenging his registration from the Ohio’s Secretary of State office was unlawful.
• Andrew Pearson, a teacher from Cincinnati, has lived in the US since he was 5 after his family relocated from the UK. He was naturalized as a US citizen last year.
• The voting audit seems to have obtained citizenship information from the individual’s citizenship status recorded on their last visit to the Department of Motor Vehicles.
• https://stateline.org/2024/08/20/naturalized-citizen-says-ohio-secretary-of-state-is-not-following-law-in-voter-audits/

• A Biden administration order that allowed a new path for immigrant spouses of US citizens to acquire citizenship was paused by a US Federal judge
• Sixteen attorneys general challenged the program in a lawsuit. The states argued that the order caused increased unauthorized immigration.
• Judge J. Campbell Barker said that the claims “were substantial and warrant closer consideration.”
• https://www.texastribune.org/2024/08/26/federal-judge-pauses-spouses-citizens/

• A US Court of Appeals upheld an earlier decision in favor of the Department of Homeland Security, declining to block a DHS rule that allows spouses of H-1B visa holders to gain work authorization provided they meet certain criteria
• The decision followed a lawsuit from a group called Save Jobs USA, which argued that the Department of Homeland Security “exceeded its authority under the Immigration and Nationality Act”
• The ruling was seen as having broader implications, as an earlier Supreme Court decision this summer overturned the “Chevron” doctrine in favor of a more narrow criteria of how federal agencies can regulate. It had been speculated that this change may have aided Save Jobs USA’s argument.
• https://www.forbes.com/sites/stuartanderson/2024/08/05/court-ruling-good-news-for-h-1b-spouses-employers-and-students/#

• President Biden’s administration paused a program that allowed for 30,000 migrants from specific countries to enter the US if they had a sponsor agree to support them financially.
• The program, which dates to 2022, is limited to nationals of Cuba, Haiti, Venezuela, and Nicaragua.
• DHS cited concerns about fraud among program sponsors as its reasons for the pause, which it says will be temporary
• https://www.cbsnews.com/news/us-migrant-sponsorship-program-paused-cuba-haiti-nicaragua-venezuela/

• A group of Republican-run states have challenged a new rule in court that allows recipients of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival (DACA) to access healthcare through the Affordable Care Act.
• The Affordable Care Act, passed in 2010, allows those who are “lawfully present” to access its care. In 2012, the government issued a rule that made DACA recipients ineligible, but this changed in May 2024.
• The group, led by Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach, said that DACA recipients are not ‘lawfully present’ and therefore are not eligible under the Affordable Care Act.
• https://immigrationimpact.com/2024/08/23/states-sue-to-block-daca-affordable-health-insurance/