H-2B RFI Mailbox
The H-2B RFI mailbox at the Chicago National Processing Center (RFI.H2B.Chicago@dol.gov) will cease to be monitored
The H-2B RFI mailbox at the Chicago National Processing Center (RFI.H2B.Chicago@dol.gov) will cease to be monitored
This bulletin summarizes the availability of immigrant numbers during August. Consular officers are required to report to the Department of State documentarily qualified applicants for numerically limited visas; U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services in the Department of Homeland Security reports applicants for adjustment of status. Allocations were made, to the extent possible, in chronological order of reported priority dates, for demand received by July 10th.
Beginning July 13, 2015, USCIS will resume accepting Form I-907, Request for Premium Processing Service for all Form I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker, H-1B extension of stay petitions. Premium processing requests for Form I-129 H-1B extension of stay petitions received by USCIS before July 13, 2015 will be rejected.
USCIS announced on July 14, 2015, that it completed processing the return of fiscal year 2016 H-1B cap-subject petitions that were not selected in our computer-generated random selection process.
On April 7, 2015, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, in Shalom Pentecostal Church v. Acting Secretary DHS, 783 F.3d 156 (3d Cir. 2015), found the regulatory requirements that qualifying work experience gained in the United States must have been acquired in lawful status (herein “lawful status requirements”) in 8 CFR 204.5(m)(4) and (11) to be beyond the Department’s legal authority (ultra vires).
The Department of Labor has posted an update regarding the processing of H-2B labor certifications granted under the 2008 Final Rule. To read the update, please visit the H-2B Program Page.
If you are a DACA recipient who received a three-year Employment Authorization Document (EAD) after February 16, 2015, it was likely mistakenly issued and must be returned.
[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 140 (Wednesday, July 22, 2015)] [Proposed Rules] [Pages 43338-43354] From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov] [FR Doc No: 2015-17794] ======================================================================== Proposed Rules Federal Register ________________________________________________________________________ This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains notices to the public of
DOl updates PERM Processing Times as of 07/10/2015. Please find the link below.
Friday, July 31, 2015, is the deadline for current Somalia Temporary Protected Status (TPS) beneficiaries to re-register for the 18-month extension of TPS that runs from Sept. 18, 2015, through March 17, 2017. The law requires USCIS to withdraw TPS for failure to re-register without good cause. Therefore, if you fail to re-register by this deadline, you may lose your TPS and your work authorization.
DACA recipients should be advised the three-year work permit recall only applies to SOME individuals who received a card after the February 16, 2015, court order.
By conveying the online request process to mobile devices, requesters can submit requests and check the status of existing requests anyplace, anytime. The mobile capabilities of the eFOIA app will greatly enhance the user experience, and provide convenience for the requester community.
Due to changes in processing within the Vermont Service Center (VSC), Requests for Evidence (RFEs) issued by the VSC will no longer be printed on yellow stock paper, but as of July 6, 2015, will instead be printed on white paper. As always, this document needs to be returned to the VSC with any evidence submitted in response to the request.
National Effort Highlights Agency’s Free Citizenship Preparation Tools
The Office of Foreign Labor Certification has updated the following H-2B forms: 1) Form 9142B - General Instructions; 2) Appendix B; 3) Form 9142B, Job Contractor Requirements under the 2015 H-2B Interim Final Rule. To access the forms, please click here.
The Administrative Appeals Office (AAO) of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has launched a search tool for most non-precedent decisions since 2005.
Non-precedent decisions apply existing law and policy to the facts of an individual case. The decisions are binding on the parties to the case, but do not apply new or alternative interpretations of law or policy.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has reached the congressionally mandated H-1B cap for fiscal year (FY) 2017. USCIS has also received more than the limit of 20,000 H-1B petitions filed under the U.S. advanced degree exemption.
USCIS will use a computer-generated process, also known as the lottery, to randomly select the petitions needed to meet the caps of 65,000 visas for the general category and 20,000 for the advanced degree exemption.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced on April 7, 2016, that it has received enough H-1B petitions to reach the statutory cap of 65,000 visas for fiscal year (FY) 2017. USCIS has also received more than the limit of 20,000 H-1B petitions filed under the advanced degree exemption, also known as the master’s cap.
On April 13, 2016, USCIS revised Form N-400, Application for Naturalization. The revised version is available at uscis.gov/n-400. You may continue to use the 9/13/13 edition of the form until August 9, 2016. USCIS will reject and return previous versions of Form N-400 submitted on or after August 10, 2016.
Applications for USCIS’ Citizenship and Integration Grant Program for fiscal year 2016 are due by 11:59 p.m. Eastern time on
The Department of State’s Visa Bulletin for May 2016 reflects a final action date of January 1, 2010, for EB-4 visas for special immigrants from El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras.
For two weeks after premium processing resumes for H-1B cap-subject petitions, USCIS will not use pre-paid mailers to send out final notices for premium processing H-1B cap-subject petitions. Instead, USCIS will use regular mail. USCIS will be doing this due to resource limitations as work to process all premium processing petitions in a timely manner. After the two week period, USCIS will resume sending out final notices in the pre-paid mailers provided by petitioners.