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Introduction

 Washington, DC

On August 14, 2009, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas approved the Settlement Agreement in Castelano, et al. v. Clinton, et al. This settlement may affect individuals whose births were registered by a midwife or birth attendant in Texas and who applied for a U.S. passport in the United States between April 8, 2003 and August 14, 2009, and did not receive a passport.

This program allows eligible employers to petition for Non-Resident Workers in CNMI.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) published an interim final rule in the Federal Register that creates a Transitional Worker visa classification in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI). The CNMI-Only Transitional Worker Program is one of several initiatives that implements the Consolidated Natural Resources Act of 2008 (CNRA), which expands U.S. immigration law in the CNMI.

Below is a list of upcoming naturalization information sessions for legal permanent residents and interested naturalization applicants. Topics covered at these FREE sessions will include:

• naturalization eligibility requirements
• the naturalization process
• the naturalization test
• rights and responsibilities of U.S. citizenship 

U.S. Customs and Border Protection is opening a new NEXUS Enrollment Center in Calais, Maine. Effective Tuesday October 27, the hours of operation will be 8 a.m. – 4 p.m. Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays.

CIS Ombudsman released a recommendation on "Temporary Acceptance of Filed Labor Condition Applications (LCAs) for Certain H-1B Filings."

Please check attachment for detailed information.

USCIS reminds individuals that they must obtain Advance Parole – permission to reenter the United States after traveling abroad – from USCIS before traveling abroad if they have been granted Temporary Protected Status (TPS); a pending application for adjustment of status to lawful permanent reside

The U.S. Department of state released the following information pertaining to non-hogar Guatemalan Inter-country adoptions:

USCIS has revised Form I-601, Application for Waiver of Grounds of Inadmissibility (Revision Date 04/06/09 N, OMB Expiration Date 04/30/11) to make it easier for applicants to complete. Applicants may now select from a list of grounds of inadmissibility on the form itself and mark all which apply to them in order to request a waiver. In addition to the list, the form includes a section where applicants can describe, in their own words, why they believe they are inadmissible.

USCIS Processing Times as of October 18, 2009.