WASHINGTON - U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that effective Aug. 15, 2011, petitioners residing in countries without USCIS offices will be able to file a Petition for an Alien Relative (Form I-130), with the USCIS Chicago Lockbox facility. This will increase the efficiency of the relative petition filing process and give USCIS more flexibility in managing its workload. Previous regulations permitted these petitioners, who comprise about 5 percent of all I-130 petitioners, to file with USCIS or the U.S.

Release Date: August 2, 2011

For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
Contact: 202-282-8010

WASHINGTON—Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Director Alejandro Mayorkas today outlined a series of policy, operational, and outreach efforts to fuel the nation's economy and stimulate investment by attracting foreign entrepreneurial talent of exceptional ability or who otherwise can create jobs, form startup companies, and invest capital in areas of high unemployment.

As the traditional harvest season approaches, USCIS reminds petitioners that certain fees may not be collected from H-2A and H-2B workers, according to 8 C.F.R. § 214.2(h)(5)(xi)(A) and § 214.2(h)(6)(i)(B). We realize that delays in adjudicating these petitions may affect employers’ ability to place workers in time-sensitive jobs. To avoid delays, USCIS urges petitioners to submit sufficient information regarding their recruitment efforts and the nature of fees collected from H-2A and H-2B workers.

USCIS Ombudsman Case Assistance Online pilot program, a new initiative allowing paperless submission of assistance requests. The pilot program is currently available in Texas and DC, with plans to expand nationwide in fall 2011.

Changing an address with the various Federal immigration components can be confusing, and failure to properly make an address change can lead to denials and other adverse immigration consequences. The Ombudsman's Office encourages immigration benefits applicants and petitioners to promptly notify U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR), the U.S. Department of State (DOS), and/or the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) of any change in address. Mail forwarding is not always rapid or reliable.

Please check the attachment.

The Department has posted a new Frequently Asked Question (FAQ) to assist employers and others regarding the H-2B program.

Please check attachment.

The Department has posted a new Frequently Asked Question (FAQ) to assist employers and others regarding the H-2A program. The FAQ is available here on the FAQs page of the OFLC website under the H-2A heading.

Please check the attachment to view CRS report on "Temporary Protected Status: Current Immigration Policy and Issues".

In January 2010 the BLS Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) was updated. This year the BLS Occupational Employment Statistics (OES) began issuing prevailing wages using the new SOC occupations and a few transitional occupations. The OFLC iCERT system and FLC Data Center incorporated this data as of July 5, 2011. To read the full text, please click here.