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Added to the backlog woes is the spike in denials of naturalization applications "The grounds for denial are unpredictable, they could even relate to errors made when obtaining H-1B visas or green cards. This adds to the uncertainty," said Rajiv S Khanna, managing attorney at Immigration.com.  " An entrepreneur had sponsored a green card for an employee without mentioning that he was a distant relative. He thought it was immaterial as the relationship was so distant. Today, this entrepreneur is unable to become a US citizen," Khanna said. 

On May 20, 2019, the Texas Service Center will begin processing Form I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker, for certain H-1B cap-exempt petitions requesting:

USCIS has completed data entry for all fiscal year 2020 H-1B cap-subject petitions selected in the computer-generated random selection process, including those selected under the U.S. advanced degree exemption. As in previous years, USCIS will now begin returning all H-1B cap-subject petitions that the center did not select and will issue an announcement once USCIS is done notifying petitioners.

“The law permits H-1B visa holders to be non-productive as long as they are paid. It is important to note that employers cannot bench employees without payment of their full salaries,” explains Rajiv S. Khanna, managing attorney at Immigration.com 

For more information on this news please read the attached file.

USCIS recently updated the following form(s):

USCIS has updated the Adjudicator’s Field Manual (AFM) (PDF, 224 KB) to emphasize that, under current regulations, the periods of initial authorized stay are different for individual athletes (P-1A) and their essential support personnel (P-1S).

USCIS and U.S.

“An out-of-status scenario, for the H-1B visa holder and his or her dependents (such as spouse and children) would mean a three-to-ten-year bar from re-entering the country. The mechanism to redress an H-1B denial (including that of a transfer) is also highly inefficient,” said Rajiv S Khanna, managing attorney at Immigration.com.

USCIS has revised Form I-539, Application to Extend/Change Nonimmigrant Status and will publish the revised form on the website on March 8, 2019.

USCIS updated the following USCIS form: