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  Office of the Spokesman Washington, DC
June 28, 2010

On June 28, 2010, the U.S. Department of State published its Schedule of Fees for Consular Services in the Federal Register. The schedule includes fees for passports, immigrant visas and other consular services. The changes will take effect on July 13, 2010, 15 days after publication in the Federal Register. The revised fees will cover actual operating expenses for the 301 overseas consular posts, 23 domestic passport agencies and other centers that provide these consular services to U.S. and foreign citizens.

Prevailing Wage and FIFO (First-in, first-out order) 

All wage requests are being processed in less than 60 days. First-in, first-out order (FIFO) is being used.  Requests for H-1B/PERM are processed in FIFO order as there is only one queue. The goal in the end is to process all wage requests continues to be 60 days.

USCIS issued a PIA on E-Verify conducted in order to better assist the public in understanding this program. Previously, USCIS addressed the E-Verify program as part of the Verification Information System (VIS) PIA.

This Policy Memorandum (PM) authorizes the Vermont Service Center (VSC) to approve an Application to Extend/Change Nonimmigrant Status (Form 1-539) to extend U nonimmigrant status for a derivative family member whose initial period of stay is less than four years.

During FY 2009 and FY 2010, usage of family-based visas has been exceptionally low, especially among spouses and children of green card holders (the F-2A preference category). In FY 2009, approximately 10,000 family-based visas were unused and, by statute, were reallocated for use by employment-based immigrants in FY 2010.

Please check the attachment.

USCIS Annual Report on Characteristics of Specialty Occupation Workers (H-1B) for Fiscal Year 2009 to Congress. The report includes information on countries of origin and occupations of, education levels attained by, and compensation paid to H-1B beneficiaries.

Please check the attached document.

InfoPass is a free service that lets you schedule an appointment with a U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Immigration Officer by using the Internet at any time of day or night. If you have an immigration issue that is best handled by a trained USCIS Immigration Officer, InfoPass will let you schedule your appointment instead of requesting it in person at your local USCIS office.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is seeking public comment on a proposed federal rule that would adjust fees for immigration benefit applications and petitions.  The proposal, posted to the Federal Register for public viewing, would increase overall fees by a weighted average of about 10 percent but would not increase the fee for the naturalization application.  

Office of the Spokesman Washington, DC
June 18, 2010

The U.S. Embassy in Beijing, along with four U.S. consulates general across China, is opening on Saturdays over the next few weeks to accommodate thousands of Chinese travelers seeking visas to visit the United States.