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Release Date: April 5, 2017

342 Dirksen Senate Office Building

Mr. Chairman, Ranking Member McCaskill, and distinguished Members of the Committee:

It is a great honor and privilege to appear before you today to discuss the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) crucial missions of protecting the homeland and securing our nation’s borders. During the past 45 years, I have been privileged to serve this nation as both an enlisted Marine and an officer. I am humbled to once again answer the call to serve, this time with the men and women of DHS.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor announced plans to protect U.S. workers from H-1B program discrimination by providing greater transparency and oversight.

USCIS recently updated the following form:

• Form I-698, Application to Adjust Status from Temporary to Permanent Resident (Under Section 245A of the INA): New edition dated 03/03/17. You can also use the 12/23/16 edition.

For more information, please visit Forms Updates page.

WASHINGTON – U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) today announced multiple measures to further deter and detect H-1B visa fraud and abuse. The H-1B visa program should help U.S. companies recruit highly-skilled foreign nationals when there is a shortage of qualified workers in the country. Yet, too many American workers who are as qualified, willing, and deserving to work in these fields have been ignored or unfairly disadvantaged. Protecting American workers by combating fraud in employment-based immigration programs is a priority for USCIS.

The new change to the PERM CMS will allow submission of electronic documentation beginning on and after 4/15/17 as announced by DOL.

Please use this User Guide which is designed for employers and attorneys/agents, describes the fundamentals of the Web-based system, including registering, logging in, preparing PERM application, and managing your user account. 

PERM Online System User Guide

This guidance provides you with some key requirements you must fulfill to apply for an H-1B Visa. For each requirement, USCIS has included forms of evidence that you may submit to meet the requirement and other tips to help you prepare your petition. 

For more visit this USCIS link: Understanding H-1B Requirements

USCIS posted new forms. These include:

Regional center compliance audits are an additional way to enhance EB-5 program integrity and verify information in regional center applications and annual certifications. Under this program, USCIS will collect case-specific data as part of a compliance audit.

USCIS recently updated the following form(s):

Update to Form I-363, Request to Enforce Affidavit of Financial Support and Intent to Petition for Legal Custody for Public Law 97-359 Amerasian03/20/2017 01:42 PM EDT

New edition dated 03/01/17. Starting 05/19/17, USCIS will only accept the 03/01/17 edition. Until then, you can use previous editions. 

For more information, please visit Forms Updates page.

USCIS has received a sufficient number of petitions to reach the congressionally mandated H‑2B cap for fiscal year (FY) 2017. March 13, 2017 was the final receipt date for new H-2B worker petitions requesting an employment start date before October 1, 2017.

What Happens After Reaching the Cap