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Release Date 

07/20/2021

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services today announced new policy guidance that eliminates the need for individuals who have applied for a change of status (COS) to F-1 student to apply to change or extend their nonimmigrant status while their initial F-1 COS application is pending.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that it has expanded a previously announced pilot program at the Nebraska Service Center (NSC) for accepting credit card payments using Form G-1450, Authorization for Credit Card Transactions, for certain applicants applying for premium processing.

On July 22, USCIS adjusted the addresses for certain applicants filing Form I-131, Application for Travel Document. USCIS has not changed any filing locations but have refined attention lines and ZIP codes to improve internal processes at the lockboxes. This address update affects:

In March 2021, USCIS conducted an initial random selection on properly submitted electronic registrations for the fiscal year (FY) 2022 H-1B cap, including for beneficiaries eligible for the advanced degree exemption. Per regulation, USCIS uses historical data related to approvals, denials, revocations, and other relevant factors to calculate the number of registrations needed to meet the H-1B cap for a given fiscal year.

Reference Document: STATE 057336, 06/09

TO ALL DIPLOMATIC AND CONSULAR POSTS

1.  The revised 2009 J-1 visa Exchange Visitor Skills List was published in the Federal Register (Volume 74, Number 82) on April 30, 2009.

2.  The new Skills List is effective on June 28, 2009.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)  reopened the fiscal year 2009 H-2B petition filing period and will immediately accept new H-2B petitions. Although on Jan. 7, 2009, USCIS announced it accepted and approved a sufficient number of H-2B petitions to meet the congressionally mandated annual cap of 66,000, the Department of State received far fewer than expected requests for H-2B visas and as a result, has issued only 40,640 H-2B visas for fiscal year 2009 to date. This means that there are approximately 25,000 visas that may go unused, as they have not been granted.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Assistant Secretary John Morton announced that ICE is undertaking a major overhaul of the agency's immigration detention system.

"This change marks an important step in our ongoing efforts to enforce immigration laws smartly and effectively," said Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano. "We are improving detention center management to prioritize health, safety and uniformity among our facilities while ensuring security, efficiency and fiscal responsibility."