Visa Bulletin - August 2011
Number 35
Volume IX
Washington, D.C.
Number 35
Volume IX
Washington, D.C.
Fact Sheet and QA
Introduction
The Department of Homeland Security and the Department of State announced on, July 13, 2011, that Secretary of State Hilary Clinton and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov signed a bilateral adoptions agreement that will strengthen procedural safeguards in adoptions between our countries.
WASHINGTON—U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced the availability of new data reports covering agency performance in a broad range of data and operational areas. The reports, prepared at the request of agency stakeholders, advance agency efforts to enhance transparency and improve customer service.
Fact Sheet
Office of the Spokesperson Washington, DC
July 13, 2011
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov today announced an agreement on the issuance of nonimmigrant business, tourist, private and humanitarian visas to the Russian Federation, and for business and tourist visas to the United States, as well as short-term official travel visas to both counties in keeping with the joint statement issued during the meeting of President Obama and President Medvedev in Deauville, France on May 26, 2011.
ICE announces changes to the Form I-515A process, and alerting SEVIS users of that as of 7/15/11. SEVP will terminate the SEVIS record of any F or M nonimmigrant who does not comply with the I-515A directive within the 30-day response period.
Diversity Visa lottery DV-2012 entrants can check the status of their DV-2012 Lottery entry starting on or about 7/15/11 at the DOS E-DV website.
USCIS notes from the stakeholder meeting on religious workers, providing an outline of changes resulting from the Religious Worker Final Rule that was published on 11/26/08.
Please check the attachment.
USCIS Publishes Report On Service-wide Receipts And Approvals Of All Form Types For FY2011.
Please check the attachment to see the report.
Correcting a mistake on the Form I-140
NSC would allow for a change of the I-140 classification to correct a clerical error as long as NSC is notified of the requested change to the box selected on the I-140. This has to be done before the case is adjudicated. However, NSC will not allow a change in the classification in response to an RFE but the issue will be considered.
EB3 skilled worker
This report contains information on the Victims of Trafficking (T visa) applications and the Victims of Crime (U visa) petitions. The number of receipts, approvals, denials, and pending cases are displayed by fiscal year and by office.
Several of our clients, team members and I have experienced a new wave of phone scams. We have received (multiple) phone call stating one of many alarming things, including the following:
I am calling from the immigration service. We are about to issue a warrant for your arrest. Call Officer XYZ back at 555-XXX.XXXX.?
I am calling from the IRS. We are about to issue a warrant for your arrest. Call Officer XYZ back at 555-XXX.XXXX.?
Please visit my LinkedIn article posted this morning for a brief explanation on this issue:
https://www.linkedin.com/today/post/...?trk=prof-post
Please visit my LinkedIn article posted this morning for a detailed video discussion on this issue with Santosh ji, a member of our immigrant community:
https://www.linkedin.com/today/post/...ails-rr-rmpost
This chart shows the average amount of time it takes to receive a decision in a particular type of case after the case file is received by the AAO. Processing times are directly related to the volume of cases received.
USCIS has implemented a new process to receive and adjudicate applications for civil surgeon designation centrally at the National Benefits Center. This process change requires physicians seeking civil surgeon designation to file a formal application at a USCIS Lockbox. Centralizing the civil surgeon application process will:
USCIS has received a sufficient number of petitions to reach the congressionally mandated H-2B cap for the first half of Fiscal Year (FY) 2014. March 14, 2014 is the final receipt date for new H-2B worker petitions requesting an employment start date before April 1, 2014.
How We Determine the Final Receipt Date
The final receipt date is when we have received enough cap-subject petitions to reach the statutory limit of 33,000 H-2B workers for the first half of FY 2014. There will not be any carry over spots from the first half to the second half of FY 2014.
There were a few places that did the naturalization ceremonies in MA but it is a royal pain how long they take to schedule these. Back in 2010, I had to wait 3.5 months for my naturalization after passing the interview. They gave me my oath ceremony letter right after passing the interview. Seems like things have only gotten worse since 2010. I had my naturalization ceremony at Mechanics Hall in Worcester and no, it was not because I lived in or near Worcester. I lived in the Boston city area at the time.