• USCIS recently published an update to the following forms and supplements:

USCIS recently published an update to the following form:

• Form I-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker

The new edition is dated 10/15/15. You may still also file using the 03/05/13 edition. The edition date can be found at the bottom of the page on the Form and Instructions.

For more, see Forms Updates page.

The forms for the H-2B program have been extended temporarily until November 30, 2015 while OFLC awaits approval of its request for a three year extension under review with the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). OFLC will continue to extend the forms in one month increments until approved by OMB. A second comment period, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act, ends November 30, 2015.

USCIS has published an updated Welcome to the United States: A Guide for New Immigrants. The guide contains practical information to help new immigrants settle into everyday life in the United States, including how to find a place to live, how to get a Social Security number and how the U.S. system of government works.

Available in 14 languages, this publication has recently been updated to include:

The “Pending Employment-Based Form I-485 Report,” displays the total number of pending adjustment of status applications, per preference classification. The report shows how many pending adjustment of status (green card) applications in each preference classification have priority dates in a given month and year.

WASHINGTON—The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) will allow up to 12,999 nonimmigrants in fiscal year (FY) 2016 for the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI)-Only Transitional Worker (CW-1) program. DHS published the notice in the Federal Register.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) proposes to amend its F-1 nonimmigrant student visa regulations on optional practical training (OPT) for certain students with degrees in science, technology, engineering, or mathematics (STEM) from U.S. institutions of higher education. Specifically, the proposal would allow such F-1 STEM students who have elected to pursue 12 months of OPT in the United States to extend the OPT period by 24 months (STEM OPT extension).

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS)  proposed changes to its regulations that would strengthen and enhance the process for foreign students with science, technology, engineering, or mathematics (STEM) degrees from a U.S. college or university to get practical training experience in the United States.  The enhancement of this regulation was announced as a part of President Obama’s November Executive Actions.