USCIS Strengthens Guidance on Spousal Petitions Involving Minors
uidance Clarifies Agency Requirements for Petition
uidance Clarifies Agency Requirements for Petition
USCIS will resume premium processing on Tuesday, Feb. 19, for all H-1B petitions filed on or before Dec. 21, 2018. If you received a transfer notice for a pending H-1B petition, and you are requesting premium processing service, you must submit the premium processing request to the service center now handling the petition.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has received enough petitions to meet the congressionally mandated H-2B cap for the second half of fiscal year (FY) 2019. Feb. 19, 2019, was the final receipt date for new cap-subject H-2B worker petitions requesting an employment start date before Oct. 1, 2019. USCIS will reject new cap-subject H-2B petitions received after Feb.
The USCIS Contact Center is currently experiencing higher than normal wait times for callers to speak to a representative. While the center is working to resolve this, the center encourages you to use the online tools.
Changes will increase transaction security and reduce processing errors
WASHINGTON—On Feb. 25, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) expanded the fee payment system used in field offices to 16 additional offices:
USCIS has revised Form I-539, Application to Extend/Change Nonimmigrant Status and will publish the revised form on the website on March 8, 2019.
USCIS recently updated the following USCIS form(s):
USCIS will resume premium processing on Tuesday, March 12, for all H-1B petitions. If you received a request for evidence (RFE) for a pending petition, you should include the RFE response with the premium processing request.
Rajiv S. Khanna, managing attorney at Immigration.com told TOI: “Anecdotally, from our own clients, we see difficulty in hiring qualified people in STEM professions. Several of our clients have opened offices in Canada, simply because US immigration policies are implemented by the current administration inconsistently, creating maximal difficulty, often beyond the boundaries of the permissible laws.” “We can see no rationale for any change in policy making it more difficult for US trained students to remain in the USA and for US businesses to hire and retain qualified people,” he adds.
Simple, smart changes to make the H-1B visa program work better
For employees who are coming from outside the United States, even though the premium processing will begin in June, it offers a great deal of comfort in knowing where a case stands. If the application is denied, which is quite common these days, there will be enough time to appeal or litigate it before the October 1 start date,” Rajiv S Khanna, managing attorney at Immigration.com told TOI.
USCIS will begin accepting petitions for employment with start dates in fiscal year (FY) 2020 under the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI)-Only Transitional Worker program (the CW-1 program) on April 4, 2019. However, all CW-1 filings for FY 2020 must include an approved temporary labor certification (TLC) from the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL). USCIS will reject any CW-1 petition with an employment start date on or after Oct.
Starting 05/20/19, USCIS will only accept the 01/31/19 edition. Until then, previous editions: 01/17/17, 12/23/16, 08/13/15, 03/26/15, and 10/23/14, can be used.
For more information visit this link: https://www.uscis.gov/i-129
On May 20, USCIS will begin premium processing for FY 2020 cap-subject H-1B petitioners requesting a change of status on their Form I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker. Petitioners who do not file Form I-907, Request for Premium Processing Service, concurrently with an FY 2020 cap-subject H-1B petition reque
USCIS has launched an H-1B Employer Data Hub to provide information to the public on employers petitioning for H-1B workers.
On April 10, USCIS used a computer-generated random selection process to select enough H-1B petitions to meet the congressionally-mandated regular cap and the U.S. advanced degree exemption for fiscal year (FY) 2020. After completing the random selection process for the regular cap, USCIS also determined that it has received a number of petitions projected as sufficient to meet the 20,000 H-1B visa U.S.
Reminder For Employers: All List B documents must contain a photo of your new hire
WASHINGTON—U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced additional guidance (PDF, 222 KB) regarding the adjudication of spousal petitions involving minors, following up on the agency’s February update to its policy.
As part of USCIS's efforts to fulfill President Trump’s Buy American and Hire American Executive Order, USCIS has taken numerous actions to strengthen policies and regulations designed to protect U.S. workers and their wages, enhance fraud detection and prevention in employment-based visa programs, and increase the transparency of employment-based visa programs.
Are you seeking to adjust your status and become a U.S. permanent resident under a family-sponsored or employment-based preference immigrant visa? If you have not yet had a relative or employer file an immigrant visa petition on your behalf, please learn more about the Adjustment of Status Filing Process.
Foreign visitors to the U.S.
USCIS warns Haitians applying for temporary protected status to be aware of immigration scams. USCIS has a dedicated website providing guidance on its response to Haiti at www.uscis.gov/haitianearthquake.