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WASHINGTON—U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) marked a significant milestone in its efforts to provide relief to victims of crimes by approving the statutory maximum 10,000 petitions for U nonimmigrant status, also referred to as the U-visa.  This is the third straight year USCIS has reached the statutory maximum since it began issuing U-visas in 2008.

What is a widget?

A widget is a small, online application that can be embedded on social media sites, blogs, or other web pages.

As part of the Citizenship Public Education and Awareness Initiative, USCIS has developed dynamic and static widgets to highlight specific sections of the Citizenship Resource Center. The widgets are designed to help permanent residents:

The U.S. Consulate General in Dubai will begin a new appointment system for residents of Iran to schedule appointments to apply for a U.S. non-immigrant visa on Wednesday, August 22.  

Please check the attachment for details.

Wages for the July 2012 - June 2013 program year are now available and are effective July 1, 2012.

 The Foreign Labor Certification Data Center is the location of the Online Wage Library for prevailing wage determinations.
Online Wage Library

Nonimmigrant visa interview waiver checklist provided by Mission India to determine if an applicant is eligible for nonimmigrant visa renewal without appearing for an interview.

Please check the attachment to see the checklist.

The Honors Program in the Office of the Solicitor (SOL) at the U.S. Department of Labor provides challenging professional opportunities for outstanding law school graduates. Honors Program attorneys work with the ten divisions of the Solicitor’s Office, gaining exposure to a broad range of substantive legal work in one of the government’s preeminent legal offices. Upon completion of the two-year program, Honors Program attorneys continue their careers in public service in one of the Solicitor’s national or regional offices.

This report provides an update on trends in I-94 non-immigrant admissions and the estimated number of individual nonimmigrants admitted to the United States. In 2005, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) began an effort to record all land admissions of an I-94 nonimmigrant; previously, only the initial admission was typically recorded. This process was completed at nearly all pedestrian crossings and vehicular lanes along the Southwest and Northern borders by March 2010. Increases in admissions after 2005 as reported by OIS are partly due to the counting changes.

Filing your request for consideration of deferred action for childhood arrivals involves several steps. You need to submit multiple forms, evidence and fees. Small mistakes in preparing your request could lead to it being rejected. Please read these tips to avoid having your request rejected or delayed because of common filing errors. 

According to DOL updates as of 8/14/2012, they are working on PERM application filed in the following months: 

Analyst Reviews: June 15, 2012 

Audits: December 2011 

Reconsideration Requests to the CO: September 2011 

Gov’t Error Reconsiderations: Current

This report provides the total number of receipts and approvals, by quarter,
for all applications and petition form types submitted to USCIS for adjudication.

June 2012

All Form Types Performance Data (Fiscal Year 2012, 3rd Qtr)

Data as of June 30, 2012
Published August 21, 2012

March 2012

[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 168 (Wednesday, August 29, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 52379-52380]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-21326]

DEPARTMENT OF STATE

[Delegation of Authority No. 344]

Delegation by the Secretary of State to the Assistant Secretary
of State for Consular Affairs the Authority to Determine That it is
Necessary To Waive a Visa Interview as a Result of Unusual or Emergent
Circumstances

The U.S. Embassy in Moscow is pleased to announce that the historic U.S.-Russia visa agreement will enter into effect September 9, 2012. The agreement will facilitate travel and establish stronger ties between Russia and the United States, as it will benefit the largest segment of travelers in both our countries: business travelers and tourists. Starting September 9, Russian and American travelers for business or tourism will be eligible to receive visas valid for multiple entries during a period of 36 months.

The PERM Processing Times has been updated. Please click the link below to view the times.

http://www.immigration.com/PERM-processing-dates/perm-processing-times-09032013

Are you getting the right immigration help?

Many people offer help with immigration services. Unfortunately, not all are authorized to do so. While many of these unauthorized practitioners mean well, all too many of them are out to rip you off. This is against the law and may be considered an immigration services scam.

If you need help filing an application or petition with USCIS, be sure to seek assistance from the right place, and from people that are authorized to help. Going to the wrong place can:

• DOS FAQs on the DS-260 form, the online application for immigrant visa applicants.

Effective September 1, 2013, the DS-260 Immigrant Visa Electronic Application and the DS-261 (Choice of Address and Agent) will replace the paper based DS-230 Application for Immigrant Visa and Alien Registration (parts I and II) and the DS-3032 (Choice of Address and Agent). This message describes the timeline for deployment and provides guidance to posts.

For more information please read the telegram attached.

Beginning September 9, 2013, USCIS will employ a new verification tool called Customer Identity Verification (CIV) in its field offices. Customers will now submit biometric data, specifically fingerprints and photographs, when appearing at USCIS offices for interviews or to receive evidence of an immigration benefit.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has approved the statutory maximum 10,000 petitions for U nonimmigrant status (U visas) for fiscal year 2013. This marks the fourth straight year that USCIS has reached the statutory maximum since it began issuing U visas in 2008.

Each year, 10,000 U visas are available for victims of crime who have suffered substantial mental or physical abuse and are willing to help law enforcement authorities investigate or prosecute those crimes. A U-visa petition requires certification of assistance from law enforcement.