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Release Date: March 19, 2010

For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
Contact: 202-282-8010

Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Janet Napolitano met with stakeholders today to discuss ongoing efforts to work together to create a comprehensive approach to immigration reform.

[Federal Register: March 23, 2010 (Volume 75, Number 55)]
[Notices]
[Page 13784]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr23mr10-99]

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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Employment and Training Administration

Announcement of Public Webinar on the Changes to the Labor Certification Process for the Temporary Agricultural Employment of H-2A Aliens in the United States

AGENCY: Employment and Training Administration, Department of Labor.

ACTION: Notice of webinar.

OFLC has issued updated prevailing wage FAQs to assist employers and others. These FAQs replace those issued in December 2009 by updating certain information. To see the FAQs click attachment.

[Federal Register: March 24, 2010 (Volume 75, Number 56)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Page 14111-14116]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr24mr10-17]

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DEPARTMENT OF STATE

22 CFR Part 22

[Public Notice: 6928]

RIN 1400-AC57 and 1400-AC58

Schedule of Fees for Consular Services, Department of State and Overseas Embassies and Consulates

AGENCY: Department of State.

ACTION: Supplemental notice of proposed rulemaking.

The Department has posted the first round of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) addressing the H-2A program under the new regulations, which took effect March 15, 2010. To see the FAQs check the attachment.

The attached report presents the results of USCIS consolidated balance sheet audit for fiscal year (FY) 2009.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced  that it will begin accepting H-1B petitions subject to the fiscal year (FY) 2011 cap on April 1, 2010.  Cases will be considered accepted on the date that USCIS takes possession of a properly filed petition with the correct fee; not the date that the petition is postmarked.

To support implementation of the new H-2A regulations and current H-2B regulations, the Office of Foreign Labor Certification is making available the ETA Form 9142 - Application for Temporary Employment Certification in a fillable Adobe Acrobat PDF format to provide users with the option to save and reuse the information on the form for future applications. To access the fillable form, please check attachment.

On March 15, 2010 Secretary Solis announced that the Department of Labor (DOL) will begin exercising its authority to certify applications for U Nonimmigrant Status Visas ("U Visas").

What are U Visas?

ICE updated its list of Student and Exchange Visitor Program approved schools.

On December 23, 2011, the President signed into law the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2012.  The legislation contains language prohibiting the Department from implementing the Wage Rule during the 2012 fiscal year.  Based on Congressional intent to continue to implement the current H-2B regulations, the Department has published a Final Rule extending the effective date of the Wage Rule to apply to work performed on and after October 1, 2012. The Final Rule is accessible here.

WASHINGTON - U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) reminds its customers that the open re-registration period for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for nationals of Honduras and Nicaragua ends on Jan. 5, 2012. 

Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano extended TPS for eligible nationals of Honduras and Nicaragua for an additional 18 months, beginning Jan. 6, 2012, and ending July 5, 2013.

USCIS published information on the number of Form N-400s pending between October 2009 and October 2011, including office locations, receipts, approvals, denials, and cases pending by fiscal year, as well as service-wide average cycle times.

USCIS executive summary from the 11/2/11 teleconference regarding the adjudication of J-1 Exchange Visitor waivers of the two-year foreign residence requirement.

USCIS reminds the sheepherding industry of the upcoming expiration of the one-time accommodation giving them more time to fully transition to the three-year limitation-of-stay requirements for the H-2A nonimmigrant classification.

USCIS announced its limitation-of-stay requirements under a final rule that became effective on Jan. 17, 2009.

The agency granted a one-time accommodation for sheepherders in H-2A status in December 2009 in deference to their industry’s prior exemption from the three-year limitation. This exemption did not impact other H-2A categories.

Posted by Louis F. Quijas, Assistant Secretary for the Office for State and Local Law Enforcement and January Contreras, Citizenship and Immigration Services Ombudsman

Petitioner is a university that sought to employ the beneficiary permanently in the United States as an Assistant Professor of Clinical Biostatistics. In this respect, the university sought to classify the beneficiary as an outstanding researcher pursuant to section 203(b)(1)(B) of the INA. USCIS initially denied the petition on the grounds that the beneficiary had not achieved the outstanding level of achievement required for being classified as an outstanding researcher.