As of April 21, 2016, petitioners who filed Form I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker, requesting an extension of stay or change of employer, can submit an inquiry after their petition has been pending for 210 days or more. Petitioners may now submit this inquiry online by selecting “case outside normal processing time.”
USCIS has received a sufficient number of petitions to reach the numerical limit (the “cap”) of 12,999 workers who may be issued CW-1 visas or otherwise provided with CW-1 status for Fiscal Year (FY) 2016.
USCIS has received a sufficient number of petitions to reach the congressionally mandated H-2B cap for Fiscal Year (FY) 2016.
USCIS updated Form I-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker. The new edition is dated 04/28/16. The old edition11/20/15 edition also still accepted.
USCIS published an updated edition of Form N-300, Application to File Declaration of Intention. The new edition is dated 03/30/16.
Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson has extended Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for eligible nationals of Honduras (and those without nationality who last habitually resided in Honduras) for an additional 18 months, effective July 6, 2016, through Jan. 5, 2018.
Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson has extended Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for eligible nationals of Nicaragua (and those without nationality who last habitually resided in Nicaragua) for an additional 18 months, effective July 6, 2016, through Jan. 5, 2018.
On April 21, 2016, USCIS began allowing petitioners who filed Form I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker, requesting an extension of status or change of employer to submit an inquiry after their petition has been pending for 210 days or more. This inquiry may be based on the petition being outside of normal processing times.
Beginning June 8, 2016, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will allow certain Filipino World War II veteran family members who are beneficiaries of approved family-based immigrant visa petitions an opportunity to receive a discretionary grant of parole on a case-by-case basis, so that they may come to the United States as they wait for their immigrant visa to become available.
USCIS and the U.S. Department of State (DOS) announced the launch of USCIS/DOS e-Approval for Form I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker, for the H-2A (temporary agricultural worker) classification. Beginning Wednesday, May 11, 2016, this new electronic process will allow USCIS to send approval information for H-2A petitions to DOS by the end of the next business day.