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Effective Monday December 21, 2015, per the Fiscal Year 2016 Consolidated Appropriations Act, the U.S. Consulate in Chennai will begin collecting an additional (U.S. dollar) $4,500 per application for all new Blanket L-1 applications.

USCIS published an update to Form I-751, Petition to Remove Conditions on Residence. The new edition is dated 11/23/15.

Starting 02/29/16, USCIS will accept only the 11/23/15 edition. USCIS will not accept editions dated 04/13/13 or earlier after that date. The edition date can be found at the bottom of every page on the form and instructions.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has approved the statutory maximum of 10,000 petitions for U-1 nonimmigrant status (U visas) for fiscal year 2016. This marks the seventh straight year that USCIS has reached the statutory maximum since it began issuing U visas in 2009.

USCIS recently began transferring certain casework from the Vermont Service Center (VSC) to the California Service Center (CSC) and Nebraska Service Center (NSC) to balance workloads. The CSC will now process Form I-539, Application to Extend/Change Nonimmigrant Status.

Starting January 1, 2016, customers who wish to file Form I-290B, Notice of Motion or Appeal, in response to a decision on their Form N-600 or N-600K must mail their Form I-290B to the Chicago Lockbox. USCIS will no longer accept these forms at local field offices.

Customers should mail their Form I-290B for Form N-600 or N-600K to:

Until further notice, employers should continue using Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification. This current version of the form continues to be effective even after the Office of Management and Budget control number expiration date of March 31, 2016, has passed. USCIS will provide updated information about the new version of Form I-9 as it becomes available.

The Analyst Review and Audit dates posted on iCERT reflect the month and year in which cases were filed that are now being adjudicated at the Atlanta National Processing Center. The Reconsideration Request to the CO dates posted on iCERT reflect the month and year in which cases that are now being reviewed at the Atlanta National Processing Center were appealed.  

PERM Processing Times (as of 08/15/2016)  

Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson has redesignated Syria for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) and extended the existing TPS designation for the country from Oct. 1, 2016, through March 31, 2018. This allows eligible nationals of Syria (or persons without nationality who last habitually resided in Syria) to register or re-register for TPS in accordance with the Federal Register notice published today.

If you currently have a 17-month STEM OPT extension, you may apply to add 7 months to your STEM OPT period. If you want to apply for this 7-month extension, you must properly file your Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization (with the required fee and signature) on or before August 8, 2016. USCIS will deny applications filed afterAugust 8, 2016.

You may apply to add 7 months to your 17-month STEM OPT period if:

On July 1, 2016, as part of a workload transfer from the California and Vermont service centers, the Nebraska Service Center (NSC) began accepting certain Form I-129 H-1B and H-1B1 (Chile/Singapore Free Trade) petitions. The NSC also began accepting Form I-539 and Form I-765 applications for certain H-4 nonimmigrants that are concurrently filed with a Form I-129.

Are you seeking to adjust your status and become a U.S. permanent resident under a family-sponsored or employment-based preference immigrant visa? If you have not yet had a relative or employer file an immigrant visa petition on your behalf, please learn more about the Adjustment of Status Filing Process.