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As we know on November 20, 2014, the Secretary of Homeland Security announced new immigration enforcement priorities and guidance on the exercise of prosecutorial discretion entitled Policies for the Apprehension, Detention and Removal of Undocumented Immigrants Memorandum. All DHS agencies, including U.S.

• Have you been using E-Verify more than 10 years?

  If yes, please download the new “Historic Records Report” before Dec 31, 2014.

  Effective January 1, 2015, E-Verify transaction records more than 10 years old will be deleted from the system. You will no longer have access in E-Verify to cases you created prior to December 31, 2004.

In early 2015, the Wage and Hour Division (WHD) of the Department of Labor will begin exercising its authority to certify applications for trafficking victims seeking T visas. In addition, WHD will expand its existing U visa program by certifying such requests when it detects three additional qualifying criminal activities in the course of its workplace investigations: extortion, forced labor, and fraud in foreign labor contracting.

On November 20, 2014, the President announced a series of executive actions to crack down on illegal immigration at the border, prioritize deporting felons not families, and require certain undocumented immigrants to pass a criminal background check and pay taxes in order to temporarily stay in the U.S. without fear of deportation.

WASHINGTON— Due to the outbreak of Ebola virus disease in West Africa, Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson has announced his decision to designate Liberia, Guinea, and Sierra Leone for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for 18 months.  As a result, eligible nationals of Liberia, Guinea, and Sierra Leone who are currently residing in the United States may apply for TPS with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).

WASHINGTON — The Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) deployed 14 additional field representatives to territories across the country this week. The field representatives serve as liaisons between the nearly 9,000 U.S. schools that enroll international students and SEVP. The program, housed within U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), certifies schools to enroll international students and protects national security by overseeing those students for compliance with U.S. laws.

Special provisions of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) authorize U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to expedite the application and naturalization process for current members of the U.S. armed forces and recently discharged servicemembers. Generally, qualifying military service includes service with one of the following: Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, Coast Guard and National Guard. In addition, spouses of members of the U.S. armed forces who are or will be deployed may be eligible for expedited naturalization.

The National Visa Center (NVC) will cease collecting original civil documents in support of immigrant visa (IV) applications as of November 12, 2014. Most applicants will be required to submit photocopies of supporting documents (such as birth, marriage, and police certificates) and will be instructed to take their original documents to their interviews for review. This does not include Affidavit of Support forms, which petitioners will still submit to NVC for initial evaluation. 

Effective immediately, the reciprocity schedule for Chinese nationals is revised for the B-1, B-2, B-1/B-2, F-1, F-2, J-1, J-2, M-1, and M-2 nonimmigrant visa (NIV) categories. All other visa validities for nationals of China will remain unchanged. 

For the Reciprocity Schedule please click here.