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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)  

This bulletin summarizes the availability of immigrant numbers duringNovember for: “Application Final Action Dates” (consistent with prior Visa Bulletins) and “Dates for Filing Applications,” indicating when immigrant visa applicants should be notified to assemble and submit required documentation to the National Visa Center. 

Visa Bulletin content has changed.  Learn more by reading Updated Instruction for Using the DOS Visa Bulletin.

The congressionally mandated Diversity Immigrant Visa Program is administered annually by the Department of State. Section 203(c) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) provides for a class of immigrants known as “diversity immigrants” from countries with historically low rates of immigration to the United States. For Fiscal Year 2017, 50,000 Diversity Visas (DVs) will be available. There is no cost to register for the DV program. Applicants who are selected in the program (“selectees”) must meet simple, but strict, eligibility requirements in order to qualify for a diversity visa.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is creating a parole program to allow certain family members of Filipino and Filipino-American World War II veterans to receive parole to come to the United States.  This parole program was announced in November 2014 by President Obama and Secretary Johnson as part of the executive actions on immigration and is detailed in the White House report, Modernizing and Streamlining Our Legal Immi

H-1B and L-1 petitions filed on or after Oct. 1, 2015, should not include the additional fee that was previously required by Section 402 of Public Law 111-230, as amended by Public Law 111-347, for certain H-1B and L-1 petitions. The additional fee required by Public Law 111-230, as amended, expired on Sept. 30, 2015.

On Oct. 5, 2015, USCIS began applying secure laminates to certain secure forms that authorize travel to the United States. The affected forms are:

• Form I-797F, Transportation Letter, and
• Form I-512L, Parole Authorization Letter.  

The secure, transparent laminates provide an extra layer of fraud protection and authenticity. They contain state-of-the-art technology to deter counterfeiting, prevent tampering and allow for quick and accurate authentication by frontline inspectors in the field.

To improve efficiency, USCIS recently rebalanced the workload distribution of certain Form I-140 petitions and employment-based Form I-485 applications between the Texas Service Center and the Nebraska Service Center.  Unless you are submitting a Form I-907 together with a Form I-140 petition for a worksite in one of the states listed below, please continue to file your forms as indicated on the form instructions and at:

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.

As part of the Office of Foreign Labor Certification's (OFLC) on-going efforts to increase public engagement, the OFLC will host a webinar on Tuesday, September 13, 2016, designed to educate stakeholders, program users, and other interested members of the public on recent program workload trends, common deficiencies and best practices associated with employer requests for H-2B prevailing wage determinations and applications for temporary labor certification under the H-2A and H-2B visa programs.

U.S. Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration OFFICE OF FOREIGN LABOR CERTIFICATION 2015 H-2B Interim Final Rule FAQs   Round 16:  Foreign Labor Recruiter List    1. What is the Foreign Labor Recruiter List?  The Office of Foreign Labor Certification (OFLC) compiles a list of people and entities that employers have indicated that they engage or plan to engage to carry out the recruitment of prospective H-2B workers (“foreign labor recruiters”).  See 20 CFR 655.9.

The following chart shows the changes that have been made to the Country Reciprocity Tables since the last publication.

Also, additional items may have been added to the DOS homepage reflecting the various clearances that are required for some nationality groups, certain Presidential Proclamations affecting visa issuance, and the "Temporary Reciprocity Schedule" that is used for newly-independent countries, or when deemed necessary.