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Please find attached Details of USCIS National Stakeholder Meeting which was held on July 27, 2009.

Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) proposed rule on the removal of HIV infection from its list of communicable diseases of public health significance - As of now with respect to the above proposed rule the Chicago Field Office has not received any guidance from HQ. Hence the office will not hold such applications in suspension until further notice.

 
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Application Support Center (ASC) stand-alone sites will move to a Monday through Friday schedule beginning Nov. 2, 2009.  Stand-alone ASCs are those which are not co-located with other federal offices and which previously operated Tuesday through Saturday.  All ASCs, both stand-alone and co-located sites, will continue to be open from 8:00 am to 4:00 pm.

The DOL released a memo to regional administrators and district directors regarding travel and visa expenses of H-2B workers under FLSA minimum wage laws. In January 2009, the Department ofHomeland Security delegated to Wage and Hour enforcement authority to ensure that H-2B workers are employed in compliance with the H-2B labor certification requirements. Wage and Hour issued regulations implementing this authority, 29 C.F.R. Part 655, which became effective on January 18,2009. Those regulations are applicable to applications for certifications filed on or after that date.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that the Office of Management and Budget has extended its approval of Form I-9 (Employment Eligibility Verification) to Aug. 31, 2012.  Consequently, USCIS has amended the form to reflect a new revision date of Aug. 7, 2009. 

Employers may use the Form I-9 with the revision date of either Aug. 7, 2009 or Feb. 2, 2009.  The revision dates are located on the bottom right-hand portion of the form.

Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Janet Napolitano announced new directives to enhance and clarify oversight for searches of computers and other electronic media at U.S. ports of entry—a critical step designed to bolster the Department’s efforts to combat transnational crime and terrorism while protecting privacy and civil liberties.

[Federal Register: August 28, 2009 (Volume 74, Number 166)]
[Notices]
[Page 44376-44377]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr28au09-66]

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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services

Agency Information Collection Activities: Form I-600/I-600A, Revision of a Currently Approved Information Collection; Comment Request

[Federal Register: August 28, 2009 (Volume 74, Number 166)]
[Notices]
[Page 44375-44376]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr28au09-65]

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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services

Agency Information Collection Activities: Form I-485 and Supplements A and E, Revision of a Currently Approved Information Collection; Comment Request

Here is a document USDOL (Wage and Hour Division) is using to send to employees.  This outlines the factors USDOL is most interested in when investigating an employer.

American Indians born in Canada (with at least 50% American Indian blood) cannot be denied admission to the United States. However, a record of admission for permanent residence will be created if an American Indian born in Canada wishes to reside permanently in the United States.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is publishing a proposed rule that could save U.S. businesses more than $23 million over the next 10 years by establishing an advance registration process for U.S. employers seeking to file H-1B petitions for foreign workers in specialty occupations. The proposed electronic system would minimize administrative burdens and expenses related to the H-1B petition process—including reducing the need for employers to submit petitions for which visas would not be available under the statutory visa cap.

Beginning April 1, 2011 all Change of Address, (Form AR-11) and Alien’s Change of Address, (Form AR-11 SR) will change filing location to this address. 

DHS/USCIS
Harrisonburg File Storage Facility
Attn:  AR-11
1344 Pleasants Drive
Harrisonburg, VA 22801

Change of address forms mailed to the old location will be forwarded to the new filing location for 45 days beginning April 1, 2011 until May 16, 2011.

On February 8, USCIS posted a notification regarding the delay in processing approximately 36,000 immediate relative petitions that were transferred from the California Service Center to the Texas Service Center. In that notification, we advised that some cases were transferred back to our California Service Center to take advantage of currently available resources.  We also committed to providing you with updates on our progress.

The Department has published a notice in the Federal Register on March 1, 2011 that announces the 2011 Adverse Effect Wage Rates, Allowable Charges for Agricultural Workers' Meals, and Maximum Travel Subsistence Reimbursement for use in the H-2A program. This notice provides (1) the 2011 AEWRs for employers seeking H-2A workers; (2) the allowable maximum amount for 2011 that employers may charge their H-2A workers for providing them with three meals a day; and (3) the maximum travel subsistence reimbursement which a worker with receipts may claim in 2011.

WASHINGTON—U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that some existing Salvadoran Temporary Protected Status (TPS) beneficiaries will receive interim Employment Authorization Documents (EADs) during the continued processing of their re-registration applications. USCIS mailed approximately 4,500 EADs, to be delivered no later than March 9, 2011, to Salvadorans who have not yet received a final action on their re-registration applications.

WASHINGTON - U. S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) today announced it will permanently close its field office in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, on March 31, 2011. 

As of March 25, applications and petitions previously accepted by the USCIS Ho Chi Minh City Field Office may be filed with the U.S. Department of State Consular Section there. Where authorized, the Consular Section will assume responsibility for processing certain cases.