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USCIS and U.S.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) are extending the joint agency pilot program for Canadian citizens seeking L-1 nonimmigrant status under the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) through April 30, 2019. Earlier this year, the USCIS California Service Center (CSC) and the CBP Blaine, Washington, port of entry (POE) announced this pilot program which was scheduled to run from April 30, 2018, through Oct.

USCIS has published a policy memorandum (PDF, 121 KB) (PM) clarifying the requirement that a qualifying organization employ a principal L-1 beneficiary abroad for one continuous year out of the three years before the time of petition filing (“one-year foreign employment requirement”).

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.

Effective Monday December 21, 2015, per the Fiscal Year 2016 Consolidated Appropriations Act, the U.S. Consulate in Chennai will begin collecting an additional (U.S. dollar) $4,500 per application for all new Blanket L-1 applications.

The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2016 (Public Law 114-113), signed into law by President Obama on December 18, 2015, increases fees for certain H-1B and L-1 petitioners. These petitioners must submit an additional fee of $4,000 for certain H-1B petitions and $4,500 for certain L-1A and L-1B petitions postmarked on or after December 18, 2015.

USCIS transferred some of the following cases from the Vermont Service Center and California Service Center to the Texas Service Center:

• Form I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker, for petitioners seeking L nonimmigrant classification

WASHINGTON —U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued updated policy guidance today clarifying that a proxy vote must be irrevocable to establish the requisite control of a company in an L-1 visa petition. 

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has posted additional data about the agency’s employment-based visa programs on its website. This new information reflects USCIS’ commitment to transparency in carrying out President Trump’s Buy American and Hire American Executive Order.

Datasets now available on the webpage include:

H-1B and L-1 petitions filed on or after Oct. 1, 2015, should not include the additional fee that was previously required by Section 402 of Public Law 111-230, as amended by Public Law 111-347, for certain H-1B and L-1 petitions. The additional fee required by Public Law 111-230, as amended, expired on Sept. 30, 2015.

USCIS has posted a new Web page on the H-1B and L-1 fee increase required by the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2016 (Pub. L. 114-113). Pub. L. 114-113 requires certain petitioners to submit an additional fee of $4,000 for certain H-1B petitions and an additional $4,500 for certain L-1A and L-1B petitions.