I am happy to share the good news with all of you that my wife and I became citizen's yesterday. The process was very easy. We had interview appointments at 10:05 am and were called in before 10:15. The interview lasted 5 mins and the officer did not look at any documents I took. I spent last two weeks trying to collect all kinds of documents mentioned on another thread. Anyway here is my timeline:
RD: 3/08/2006
FP: 4/18/2006
Interview/Oath: 5/24/2006
WASHINGTON—The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) today announced that the fiscal year (FY) 2013 limit for Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI)-Only Transitional Workers (CW-1) is 15,000. The Consolidated Natural Resources Act of 2008 (CNRA) requires an annual reduction of the number of CW-1s, the nonimmigrant category for these transitional workers.
USCIS statistical information on Form I-526 immigrant petitions by alien entrepreneur and Form I-829 petitions by entrepreneur to remove conditions. The number of cases received, approved and denied by fiscal year from FY1991 to FY2012.
Please check attachment to view Statistics.
The Department has posted the first round of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) addressing the implementation of electronic filing in the H-2B and H-2A labor certification programs through the Department's iCERT Visa Portal System. The FAQs are largely based on questions received from participants in the four webinar training sessions conducted by the Office of Foreign Labor Certification, and are published to assist program users in navigating electronic filing in the H-2B and H-2A programs.
The following case is an example of USCIS blanket revocations based upon criminal convictions. Fortunately, USCIS did keep an open mind and permitted us to show the law and the facts in their proper light without having to go to the Court over this.
The following two cases demonstrate how USCIS, an "expert" agency, can misread immigration forms, causing unnecessary anxiety and expense for people.
USCIS memo on amending the Adjudicator’s Field Manual (AFM) to provide guidance on whether an “adoption” is valid for immigration purposes.
Please check the attachment to read guidance memo.
Here is a recent visa stamping experience narrated by one of our team members.
-------------------------
I went for an H-1B visa stamping at the U.S. Consulate in Toronto, Canada, in November 2012. This was my first H-1B visa stamping. I wanted to share my experience with you and hope that it will be helpful in providing some insight into the entire process.
Scheduling the Interview
USCIS performance data containing 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 office for FY2002 to FY2012.
Please check the attachment to view T and U visa statistics.
USCIS resource providing the service-wide military naturalization average cycle times by month from FY2010 to FY2012.
Please check the attachment to see the statistics.
|
AAO Processing Times as of December 1, 2012 |
|||
|
Time |
Case Type |
||
|
I - 129 CW |
CNMI-Only Nonimmigrant Transitional Worker |
Current |
|
|
I - 129 F |
Petition for Fiancee |
Current |
|
|
I - 129 H1B |
Nonimmigrant Specialty Occupation Worker | ||
Number 52
Volume IX
Washington, D.C.
A. STATUTORY NUMBERS
New fee allows USCIS to recover the costs of processing immigrant visas after individuals receive their visa packages from the Department of State abroad
This policy memorandum (PM) provides guidance relating to certain U-3 derivative nonimmigrant petitions that are being held for final adjudication or have had their prior approvals limited in time due to the derivative aging-out.
Please check the attachment to read memo.
Media Note
Office of the Spokesperson Washington, DC
December 14, 2012
U.S. Ambassador to Canada David Jacobson and the Canadian Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism Jason Kenney signed a U.S.-Canada Visa and Immigration Information-Sharing Agreement on December 13, 2012.
I am currently on H-1. I have a series of questions for you. This topic should be of interest to many people in the community. Could you please address these:
1. Can I start my own business while on H-1?
2. Can I be employed in my own business on my company's H-1?
3. Does it help to have partners from USA?
4. Can I get green card through a company I own?
5. What if my business is in Europe, but I work on it from USA? Is that legal?
6. Can I start business when I get my EAD on 485?
USCIS estimates that as as of 9 April 2012, approximately 25,600 H-B cases had been receipted. Out of these petitions, 17,400 are for bachelor's degree and 8,200 for for people with advanced degrees. These numbers are considerable hire than the last year's at this time.
USCIS has indicated that 22,323 cap-subject H-1B petitions had been received as of April 4, 2012. Approximately one quarter (1/4) of these cases are for advanced degrees. According to USCIS, the number of filings received is almost double the number of filings received by USCIS during the same time last year. It would appear that H-1B numbers are likely to get exhausted a lot earlier than last year.