USCIS offers a guidance when paying filing, biometrics, or other fees to USCIS.
Bank drafts, cashier's checks, certified checks, personal checks (See Check Instructions below), and money orders must be drawn on U.S. financial institutions and payable in U.S. funds.
We won an EB-1 Outstanding Researcher case for an applicant with a Ph.D. in Experimental Chemical Physics filing under Premium Processing. The case was decided within two days of submission. The applicant had over eleven years of research experience and an abundance of publications as a result of his extensive list of original findings. As a result of the multitude of publications in prestigious, international scientific journals, the applicant’s work was also extensively cited.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will publish a proposed rule in the Sept. 14, 2009 Federal Register that would recognize a Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) specific nonimmigrant investor visa classification. This “E-2 CNMI Investor” status is one of several CNMI specific provisions contained in the Consolidated Natural Resources Act of 2008 (CNRA), which extends most provisions of federal U.S. immigration law to the CNMI.
E-Verify is an Internet based system operated by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in partnership with the Social Security Administration (SSA) that allows participating employers to electronically verify the employment eligibility of their newly hired employees.
E-Verify is free and voluntary and is the best means available for determining employment eligibility of new hires and the validity of their Social Security Numbers.
For E-verify User's Manual Please see attachment.
This page provides you with the most recent processing times for petitions and applications submitted to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS).
| Agency | Address | Phone / Fax Numbers | Instructions |
| AAO | DHS, CIS, AAO 20 Massachusetts Ave, NW, Room 3000 Washington, DC 20529 | Phone: 202.272.1212 Fax: 202.272.1262 | |
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) published a proposed rule in the Sept. 14, 2009 Federal Register that proposes to recognize a Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) specific nonimmigrant investor visa classification. This “E-2 CNMI Investor” status is one of several CNMI specific provisions contained in the Consolidated Natural Resources Act of 2008 (CNRA), which extends most provisions of federal U.S.
USCIS announced that interim Employment Authorization Documents (EADs) will be issued to Salvadoran Temporary Protected Status (TPS) beneficiaries who have not yet received a final action on their re-registration applications and whose re-registration applications have been pending for more than 90 days.
We have recently won a case for an applicant who worked as a clinical dental professor and a researcher. The case was won following a Request for Evidence. We showed that the applicant qualified based on his international awards and honors and his highly regarded professional memberships. We provided substantial documentation to show the stringent criteria to obtain such honors.
USCIS offers a Questions and Answers to clarify issues on filing adjustment applications, work authorization documents, and refugee travel documents for refugees and asylees.
I-140 processing and adjudications - On an average TSC is completing around 9,600 I-140 adjudications per month. As of now the incoming I-140 volume is slightly less. As of reaching its goal TSC is close to becoming current on all I-140s which includes the ones filed during 2007 summer. About 5000 stand-alone I-140s are still awaiting adjudication the backlog.
The Department has posted FAQs concerning the iCert system and LCAs, including information regarding FEINs(Federal Employer Identification Number). To read the FAQs please see attachment.
[Federal Register: September 22, 2009 (Volume 74, Number 182)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Page 48177-48190]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr22se09-16]
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DEPARTMENT OF STATE
22 CFR Part 62
[Public Notice: 6767]
RIN 1400-AC36
Exchange Visitor Program--General Provisions
AGENCY: United States Department of State.
ACTION: Proposed rule with request for comment.
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Filing I-824 together with the I-485 - The right thing to do when filing the I-824 is to file both the I-824 together with the I-485 or wait till the I-485 is approved. USCIS identifies the reasons as to why an I-824 is interfiled. However an I-824 should not be rejected or denied only because it is interfiled and the I-485 is not yet approved.
Note: If an I-824 is interfiled, it may not be approved at the same time as the I-485 and the I-485 processing times will apply.
Administrative Appeals Office is an office within USCIS that decides appeals from denials of various petitions by USCIS such as H-1, L-1, I-140 etc .
As of September 18, 2009, approximately 46,000 H-1B cap-subject petitions had been received by USCIS and counted towards the H-1B cap. Approximately 20,000 petitions qualifying for the advanced degree cap exemption had been filed. USCIS will continue to accept both cap-subject petitions and advanced degree petitions until a sufficient number of H-1B petitions have been received to reach the statutory limits.
Q: Why is the wait so long for my employment-based green card?
We have recently won a case following a Request for Evidence for a professor - Ph.D. in Mass Media and Communication. USCIS requested additional “documentary evidence” to support our claim that the applicant qualified under the EB1 Outstanding Researcher and Professor category based on applicant’s publications, acting as a judge of her peers as well as her original contributions.