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First-time CW-1 Lottery Ensures Fairness to CNMI Employers

On April 2, 2018, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will begin accepting petitions under the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI)-Only Transitional Worker (CW-1) program subject to the fiscal year (FY) 2019 cap. Employers in the CNMI use the CW-1 program to employ foreign workers who are ineligible for other nonimmigrant worker categories. The cap for CW-1 visas for FY 2019 is 4,999.

Starting April 2, 2018, USCIS will begin accepting H-1B petitions subject to the Fiscal Year (FY) 2019 cap. USCIS will temporarily suspend premium processing for all FY 2019 cap-subject petitions, including petitions seeking an exemption for individuals with a U.S. master’s degree or higher. This suspension is expected to last until Sept. 10, 2018. During this time, USCIS will continue to accept premium processing requests for H-1B petitions that are not subject to the FY 2019 cap.

The H-1B program allows companies in the United States to temporarily employ foreign workers in occupations that require the theoretical and practical application of a body of highly specialized knowledge and a bachelor’s degree or higher in the specific specialty, or its equivalent.  H-1B specialty occupations may include fields such as science, engineering and information technology.  For more information , visit  

On March 23, 2018, the Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) will launch the SEVP Portal for F-1 students participating in post-completion optional practical training (OPT) and M-1 students participating in practical training.

The portal will allow these F-1 and M-1 students to report personal and employer information directly to SEVP. Through the portal, these students will be able to:

WASHINGTON—U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) launched a pilot to test a redesigned processing times webpage that displays the data for all forms in an easier-to-read format and also tests a new way of collecting data and calculating the processing times for some forms.

The pilot will test four forms using a new automated methodology for calculating processing times. The four forms are:

USCIS recently updated the following USCIS form(s):

Update to Form I-912, Request for Fee Waiver 03/22/2018 12:00 AM EDT Update to Form I-912, Request for Fee Waiver For more information, please visit  Forms Updates page.

USCIS recently updated the following form(s):

New Version of N-300, Application to File Declaration of Intent. New Edition Dated 03/13/18. 03/28/2018 12:00 AM EDT New Version of N-300, Application to File Declaration of Intent. New Edition Dated 03/13/18. For more information, please visit  Forms Updates page.

From April 30, 2018, to Oct. 31, 2018, the USCIS California Service Center (CSC) and the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Blaine, Washington, port of entry (POE) will implement a joint agency pilot program for Canadian citizens seeking L-1 nonimmigrant status under the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). This pilot is designed to facilitate the adjudication and admission process of Canadians traveling to the U.S. as L-1 nonimmigrants.