Sault Ste. Marie, Mich. — U.S. Customs and Border Protection encounters foreign nationals requesting entry into the country who have criminal histories on a routine basis. These individuals are required to provide an I-192 Criminal Waiver Application in order to be considered for entry.
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More than 600,000 new citizens will receive the enhanced certificate over the next year |
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Director Alejandro Mayorkas today announced the launch of a redesigned Certificate of Naturalization (Form N-550) with new security features that will reduce fraud—part of USCIS’ ongoing efforts to enhance the integrity of the immigration system. USCIS began using redesigned certificates at all offices today, and the agency anticipates that over 600,000 new citizens will receive the enhanced certificate over the next year.
Purpose
Immigrants are particularly vulnerable to domestic violence because they may not speak English, are often separated from family and friends, and may not understand the laws of the United States. For these reasons, immigrants are often afraid to report acts of domestic violence to the police or to seek other forms of assistance. Such fear causes many immigrants to remain in abusive relationships.
USCIS and allied agencies responsible for immigration are using information on social networking sites (such as Facebook) to track the activities and postings made by immigration benefits applicants/beneficiaries for evidence of fraudulent activity. While, on principle I agree with deterring fraud, but the "big brother" stance of USCIS is deplorable. Beware folks - big brother is watching. Something you post even in jest may not be that funny in the hands of a govt. officer whose career is dedicated to finding fraud.
On August 13, 2010, President Obama signed Public Law 111-230, which contains provisions to increase certain H-1B and L-1 petition fees. The law, which already in effect, requires the submission of an additional fee of $2,000 for certain H-1B petitions and $2,250 for certain L-1A and L-1B petitions.vUSCIS has clarified certain matters that employers should bear in mind.
Questions and Answers
Q. To which petitioners does the new fee apply?