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On October 20, 2011, the Office of the Citizenship and Immigration Services Ombudsman (Ombudsman's Office) hosted its First Annual Conference bringing together more than 300 participants with diverse backgrounds and interests, to discuss their common goal of improving the delivery of immigration and citizenship services.

Introduction

Chairman Smith, Ranking Member Conyers, and members of the Committee: Thank you for the opportunity to testify today about the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) efforts to secure our Nation from the many threats we face.

This committee continues to play a critical role in helping the Department in our security mission, and I am grateful for the chance to update you on the progress we are making. The Department has six mission areas:

Self Check is a voluntary, fast, free and simple service that allows you to check your employment eligibility in the United States. If any mismatches are found between the information you provide and your Department of Homeland Security or Social Security Administration records, Self Check will inform you of how to correct those mismatches.

Self Check is a service of E-Verify. Once you have confirmed your employment eligibility using Self Check, you are unlikely to encounter difficulties upon being hired by an E-Verify participating employer.

USCIS recently updated the following form:

Form G-1055, Fee Schedule

10/16/2025 02:35 PM EDT
Edition Date: 10/16/25. You can find the edition date at the bottom of the page of Form G-1055, Fee Schedule.
For more information, please visit the Forms Updates page.

Release Date

10/15/2025

The Department of Homeland Security is publishing a Federal Register notice to implement a new immigration parole fee required by the H.R. 1 Reconciliation Bill. The fee is $1,000 for FY 2025 and is subject to annual adjustments for inflation. You must pay this fee when you are paroled into the United States, unless you qualify for an exception.

Release Date

10/20/2025

On September 19, 2025, the President issued a Proclamation, Restriction on Entry of Certain Nonimmigrant Workers, an important initial step to reform the H-1B nonimmigrant visa program. Under the Proclamation, new H-1B petitions filed at or after 12:01 a.m. eastern daylight time on September 21, 2025 must be accompanied by an additional $100,000 payment as a condition of eligibility.

Release Date

10/29/2025

New rule prioritizes vetting, screening to protect public safety, national security

Published by: The Times of India -  October 21, 2025
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/us/uscis-exempts-f-1-to-h-1b-…

Quotes and Excerpts from Rajiv in the article:

Release Date

10/28/2025

USCIS recently updated the following form(s):

Form G-1055, Fee Schedule 10/28/2025 03:13 PM EDT
 Edition Date: 10/28/25. You can find the edition date at the bottom of the page of Form G-1055, Fee Schedule.

Form G-1651, Exemption for Paper Fee Payment 06/03/2025 02:26 PM EDT 

Edition Date: 06/03/25. You can find the edition date at the bottom of the page on the form and instructions.

Published by: Newsweek -  October 30, 2025

Quotes and Excerpts from Rajiv in the article:

Rajiv S. Khanna, managing attorney at Immigration.com, said: “Status determinations are often complex and sometimes arbitrary. Months later, USCIS can find a status violation that was not anticipated, resulting in a $100,000 bill!”