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 The Department has released FAQs for H-2Bs in the entertainment industry.

ICE updated its list of Student and Exchange Visitor Program approved schools on 29th June 2009.

USCIS offers immigration services and resources specifically for members of the U.S. Armed Forces and their families who are stationed in the United States and abroad.

As ofJuly 10, 2009, approximately 44,900 H-1B cap-subject petitions and approximately 20,000 petitions qualifying for the advanced degree cap exemption had been filed. USCIS will continue to accept both cap-subject petitions and advanced degree petitions until a sufficient number of H-1B petitions have been received to reach the statutory limits, taking into account the fact that some of these petitions may be denied, revoked, or withdrawn.

USCIS announced that the Department of Homeland Security will extend Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for nationals of Somalia from its current expiration date of Sept. 17, 2009 through March 17, 2011.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that, effective today, it will resume Premium Processing Service for nonimmigrant religious worker petitions filed by certain R-1 petitioners.  Only those petitioners who have successfully passed an on-site inspection are eligible to file under Premium Processing Service.

Administrative Appeals Office is an office within USCIS that decides appeals from denials of various petitions by USCIS such as H-1, L-1, I-140 etc.

AAO Processing Times

As ofJuly 24, 2009, approximately 44,900 H-1B cap-subject petitions and approximately 20,000 petitions qualifying for the advanced degree cap exemption had been filed. USCIS will continue to accept both cap-subject petitions and advanced degree petitions until a sufficient number of H-1B petitions have been received to reach the statutory limits, taking into account the fact that some of these petitions may be denied, revoked, or withdrawn.

ICE updated its list of Student and Exchange Visitor Program approved schools.

Travelers wanting to participate in U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s trusted traveler program in the San Luis area will soon have the opportunity to participate in the Secure Electronic Network for Travelers Rapid Inspection program.

CBP will open a local enrollment center in the fall of 2009, followed by dedicated commuter lanes at the San Luis port of entry in late 2009. Travelers interested in participating in the program are encouraged to apply early for the new program by visiting the SENTRI Web site.

On December 23, 2011, the President signed into law the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2012.  The legislation contains language prohibiting the Department from implementing the Wage Rule during the 2012 fiscal year.  Based on Congressional intent to continue to implement the current H-2B regulations, the Department has published a Final Rule extending the effective date of the Wage Rule to apply to work performed on and after October 1, 2012. The Final Rule is accessible here.

WASHINGTON - U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) reminds its customers that the open re-registration period for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for nationals of Honduras and Nicaragua ends on Jan. 5, 2012. 

Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano extended TPS for eligible nationals of Honduras and Nicaragua for an additional 18 months, beginning Jan. 6, 2012, and ending July 5, 2013.

USCIS published information on the number of Form N-400s pending between October 2009 and October 2011, including office locations, receipts, approvals, denials, and cases pending by fiscal year, as well as service-wide average cycle times.

USCIS executive summary from the 11/2/11 teleconference regarding the adjudication of J-1 Exchange Visitor waivers of the two-year foreign residence requirement.

USCIS reminds the sheepherding industry of the upcoming expiration of the one-time accommodation giving them more time to fully transition to the three-year limitation-of-stay requirements for the H-2A nonimmigrant classification.

USCIS announced its limitation-of-stay requirements under a final rule that became effective on Jan. 17, 2009.

The agency granted a one-time accommodation for sheepherders in H-2A status in December 2009 in deference to their industry’s prior exemption from the three-year limitation. This exemption did not impact other H-2A categories.

Posted by Louis F. Quijas, Assistant Secretary for the Office for State and Local Law Enforcement and January Contreras, Citizenship and Immigration Services Ombudsman

Petitioner is a university that sought to employ the beneficiary permanently in the United States as an Assistant Professor of Clinical Biostatistics. In this respect, the university sought to classify the beneficiary as an outstanding researcher pursuant to section 203(b)(1)(B) of the INA. USCIS initially denied the petition on the grounds that the beneficiary had not achieved the outstanding level of achievement required for being classified as an outstanding researcher.