The Administrative Appeals Office (AAO) of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has launched a search tool for most non-precedent decisions since 2005.

Non-precedent decisions apply existing law and policy to the facts of an individual case. The decisions are binding on the parties to the case, but do not apply new or alternative interpretations of law or policy.

Are you preparing for the naturalization test?

As you study for the U.S. history and government (civics) test, make sure that you know the most current answers to these questions.  Periodically, answers change to reflect the results of federal and state elections and appointments or to clarify content and ensure consistency in terminology. The revised answers to the questions below are effective immediately.

Workload Transfer from the Vermont Service Center to the Nebraska Service Center

USCIS recently began transferring certain casework from the Vermont Service Center (VSC) to the Nebraska Service Center (NSC) to balance workloads and decrease processing times.

The NSC will now process some:

Form I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker, for petitioners requesting H-1B nonimmigrant classification;

The STEM Designated Degree Program list is a complete list of fields of study DHS considers to be science, technology, engineering or mathematics (STEM) fields of study for purposes of the 24-month STEM optional practical training extension described at 8 CFR 214.2(f). Under 8 CFR 214.2(f)(10)(ii)(C)(2), a STEM field of study is a field of study “included in the Department of Education’s Classification of Instructional Programs taxonomy within the two-digit series containing engineering, biological sciences, mathematics, and physical sciences, or a related field.

On February 26, 2015, USCIS hosted a teleconference about new regulatory changes, effective May 26, 2015, that extended eligibility for employment authorization to certain H-4 dependent spouses of certain H-1B nonimmigrants wh