USCIS

Q:  Could USCIS send a receipt notice when the fee waiver application is received?  

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued guidance on October 7, 2009  to clarify for performing arts associations and their members the regulatory requirements for agents who file as petitioners for the O and P visa classification.

O and P visas apply to non-immigrants with extraordinary ability in the sciences, arts, education, business or athletics, or in the motion picture and television field.  O and P petitions may only be filed by a U.S. employer, a U.S. agent, or a foreign employer through a U.S. agent. 

WASHINGTON—U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) advises its customers that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Appropriations Act of 2010, signed by the President on Oct. 28, 2009, extends the following USCIS programs until Sept. 30, 2012:

•  E-Verify
• Immigrant Investor (EB-5) Pilot Program
• special immigrant visa category for non-minister religious workers
• date by which J-1 nonimmigrant exchange visitors must obtain that status in order to qualify for the “Conrad 30” program.

WASHINGTON - U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) officially opened a new Verification Operations Center in Buffalo, N.Y., today.  The Center employs about 135 people and is dedicated solely to USCIS’ verification mission.  The ceremony included a tribute to Medal of Honor recipient, Major John Farquhar, a Scottish immigrant who served with the Union Army during the Civil War and returned to Buffalo representing the city for six years in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Q:  Is there anything that can be done for I-730s and I-485s that are placed on hold for material support issues—i.e., should we send in a declaration stating that the client did not participate in any violence, does not believe the organization was violent, and did not provide material support to support violent activity?  Or should we just wait for further guidance? 
A:  USCIS is open to inquiries regarding these cases that are on hold.

WASHINGTON—U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that it has established a streamlined, standardized process for receiving requests for accommodations from customers with disabilities. Customers in need of accommodations from field offices and Application Support Centers should now call the National Customer Service Center (NCSC) at 1-800-375-5283 (TDD: 1-800-767-1833).

These Questions and Answers only provide information about the assessment by the civil surgeon to determine whether an applicant has been infected with TB and address the most recent updates to the Tuberculin (TB) Component of the Technical Instructions for the Medical Examination of Aliens in the United States.

As of November 6, 2009, approximately 54,700 H-1B cap-subject petitions had been filed. USCIS has approved sufficient H1-B petitions for aliens with advanced degrees to meet the exemption of 20,000 from the fiscal year 2010 cap. Any H1-B petitions filed on behalf of an alien with an advanced degree will now count toward the general H1-B cap of 65,000.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is announcing a 120-day period in which it will temporarily accept H-1B petitions filed without Labor Condition Applications (LCAs) that have been certified by the Department of Labor (DOL).