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You may file Form I-539, Application to Extend/Change Nonimmigrant Status, online if you are applying as a single applicant (without co-applicants, or legal or accredited representation) to extend your stay and you hold status as a:

WASHINGTON— U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) today released the Fiscal Year 2018 Statistical Annual Report (PDF, 4.48 MB), which provides statistical information on the most popular and widely-used benefits and programs administered by the agency.

USCIS recently updated the following USCIS form:

Update to Form I-407, Record of Abandonment of Lawful Permanent Resident Status; New Edition Dated 05/16/1905/29/2019 12:00 AM EDTFor more information, please visit Forms Updates page.

USICS strongly encourages you to update your address with USCIS to ensure you receive all correspondence and benefits from USCIS in a timely manner and avoid possible delays related to your case.  

Changing your address with the U.S. Postal Service will not change your address with USCIS. Please update your information with both USCIS and USPS.

“The outcome will be more delays and expansion of the consular power to deny visas that have been traditionally exempt from too many problems, such as H-4 and L-2 visas for derivative beneficiaries (spouses and dependent children of H-1B and L-1 visas holders). Already, consulates enjoy plenary powers in visa decisions. We cannot challenge visa denials, unless egregious and obvious illegality can be demonstrated. These questions combined with unfettered power are just a part of the invisible wall against lawful visitors,” Rajiv S.

On June 10, USCIS will begin premium processing for all remaining FY 2020 H-1B cap-subject petitions. Starting on that date, petitioners may file Form I-907, Request for Premium Processing Service, with the USCIS service center that is processing their petition.

USCIS has received enough petitions to reach the additional maximum 30,000 visas made available for returning workers under the H-2B numerical limit (also called a cap) for fiscal year (FY) 2019.

As previously announced, USCIS began accepting H-2B petitions on May 8 under the temporary final rule increasing the cap by up to 30,000 additional H-2B nonimmigrant visas for returning workers through the end of FY 2019.

“For employees who are coming from outside the US, premium processing will offer a great deal of comfort in knowing where a case stands. If the application is denied, which is quite common these days, there will be enough time to appeal or litigate it before the October 1, start date,” Rajiv S. Khanna, Managing Attorney at Immigration.com told TOI.

For more on this news please read the attached file.

On May 31, 2019, The Department of State updated its immigrant and nonimmigrant visa application forms to request additional information, including social media identifiers, from most U.S. visa applicants worldwide.

Certain New Zealand nationals can now request a change of status to the E-1 nonimmigrant trader classification and the E-2 nonimmigrant investor classification under Public Law 115-226.

On May 23, 2019, the President issued a Presidential Memorandum on Enforcing the Legal Responsibilities of Sponsors of Aliens. The memorandum directs relevant federal agencies to update or issue procedures, guidance, and regulations to comply with current law and ensure that ineligible immigrants do not receive federal means-tested benefits.

“A bill that proposes to take away over a quarter of a million temporary positions, primarily in STEM, makes little sense in an economy that has less than 4% unemployment,” says Rajiv S Khanna, managing attorney at immigration law company Immigration.com.

For more on this news please read the attached file. 

Beginning July 1, USCIS will no longer accept Form I-407, Record of Abandonment of Lawful Permanent Resident Status at international field offices by mail or in person.

Individuals who wish to voluntarily record abandonment of their lawful permanent resident (LPR) status must submit Form I-407 via mail to:

USCIS Eastern Forms Center
Attn: I-407 unit
124 Leroy Road
PO Box 567
Williston, VT 05495

Rajiv S Khanna, Managing Attorney at Immigraiton.com told TOI: “Changes like imposing per country limits on H-1B visas will most likely require a legislative mandate, which can only be secured through amendment of laws passed by both Houses of the Congress (US Parliament). It is highly unlikely that a provision like this will make it through the Democrat-controlled House of Representatives. Neither visa extensions nor new H-1B visas can be affected in such a profound manner through an executive order or action without legislative mandate.

WASHINGTON— USCIS is announcing the expansion of its digital Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Immigration Records System (FIRST). FIRST is the only system in the U.S. government that allows users to submit and track FOIA requests and receive documents digitally. This process will save time, improve efficiency, and reduce potential errors that can occur with manually handling paper.

USCIS announced today it will automatically extend parole, and employment authorization if applicable, for certain residents of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI). This extension of parole will provide relief while USCIS establishes procedures for obtaining the new CNMI Resident status, which was created by the Northern Mariana Islands Long-Term Legal Residents Relief Act (PDF) (Public Law 116-24), signed by President Trump on June 25, 2019.

Form I-864, Affidavit of Support under Section 213A of the INA, is a contract an individual signs agreeing to use their financial resources to support the intending immigrant named on the affidavit. The individual who signs the affidavit of support becomes the sponsor once the intending immigrant becomes a lawful permanent resident. The sponsor is usually the petitioner who filed an immigrant petition on behalf of the intending immigrant.