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USCIS releases revised edition of the M-274, Handbook for Employers, Instructions for Completing Form I-9 (Employment Eligibility Verification Form) from USCIS.

DOS releases Visa Bulletin for the month of June 2011.

The U.S. Consulate in Mumbai, India erroneously reported that India EB-2 is current for February 2011. Please note that is FALSE. India EB-2 is backed up to May 2006.

http://mumbai.usconsulate.gov/cut_off_dates.html

According to the February 2011 Visa Bulletin EB-2 India shows a priority date of May 8, 2006.

Click here for the visa bulletin.

Please check the attachment.

Introduction

Immigrants are particularly vulnerable because many may not speak English, are often separated from family and friends, and may not understand the laws of the United States.  For these reasons, immigrants are often afraid to report acts of domestic violence to the police or to seek other forms of assistance.  Such fear causes many immigrants to remain in abusive relationships.

Release Date 

01/03/2023

WASHINGTON—Today, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) to adjust certain immigration and naturalization benefit request fees. The new fees would allow USCIS to more fully recover its operating costs, reestablish and maintain timely case processing, and prevent the accumulation of future case backlogs. USCIS receives approximately 96 percent of its funding from filing fees, not from congressional appropriations.

Jan. 18, 2011   

Recent GAO report also cites improvements to the E-Verify Program

Release Date 

01/04/2023

USCIS has published Form I-956K, Registration for Direct and Third-Party Promoters. The EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act of 2022 added the requirement for direct and third-party promoters to register with USCIS.

Each person acting as a direct or third-party promoter (including migration agents) of the following must complete Form I-956K:

Release Date 

01/04/2023

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services is changing the filing location for Form I-730, Refugee/Asylee Relative Petition, to streamline workloads in an ever-increasing electronic environment. Previously, this petition was filed either at the Texas Service Center or the Nebraska Service Center depending on the state where the petitioner resides. With this change, all Form I-730 petitions should be filed at the Texas Service Center.

USCIS recently updated the following USCIS form(s):

Form G-1055, Fee Schedule

01/04/2023 01:59 PM EST

Edition Date: 01/04/23. You can find the edition date at the bottom of the page.

Form I-956K, Registration for Direct and Third-Party Promoters

09/07/2022 12:45 PM EDT

Edition Date: 09/07/22. You can find the edition date at the bottom of the page on the form and instructions.

USCIS is offering three competitive grant funding opportunities designed to help prepare permanent residents for citizenship and promote immigrant integration in the United States. 

USCIS recently updated the following form.

Form I-134, Declaration of Financial Support

01/04/2023 09:24 AM EST

Edition Date: 01/04/23. Starting March 6, 2023, USCIS will only accept the 01/04/23 edition. Until then, you can also use the 10/18/22 edition. You can find the edition date at the bottom of the page on the form and instructions.



Before 04/25/22, this form was called Form I-134, Affidavit of Support.

[Federal Register: January 20, 2011 (Volume 76, Number 13)]
[Notices]
[Page 3637-3638]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr20ja11-76]

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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Office of the Secretary

Annual Update of the HHS Poverty Guidelines

AGENCY: Department of Health and Human Services.

ACTION: Notice.

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The Department has published in the Federal Register a Final Rule on the Wage Methodology for Temporary Non-agricultural Employment in the H-2B Program. The Final Rule revises the methodology by which the Department calculates the prevailing wages to be paid to H-2B workers and U.S. workers recruited in connection with a temporary labor certification. The Final Rule is effective for wages paid for all work performed on or after January 1, 2012. 

The United States has a long history of welcoming immigrants from all parts of the world. During the last decade, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) welcomed more than 6.6 million naturalized citizens into the fabric of our nation. In fiscal year 2010, approximately 676,000 individuals were naturalized

Jan. 27, 2011

WASHINGTON—U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced today that it has received a sufficient number of H-1B petitions to reach the statutory cap for fiscal year (FY) 2011.  USCIS is notifying the public that yesterday, Jan. 26, 2011, is the final receipt date for new H-1B specialty occupation petitions requesting an employment start date in FY2011.

USCIS interim memo for comment providing field guidance on the eligibility for members of the National Guard to naturalize under section 329 of the INA. Comments are due 2/10/11. The memo is in effect until further notice.

For detail please check the attachment.

Please check the attachment to view CRS report.

Guidance on L Visas and Specialized Knowledge

Reference Document:

STATE 002016, 01/11

1. The following guidance is in response to a request [redacted] for specific guidelines for L visa adjudications, particularly in regard to evaluating claims of "specialized knowledge," and will be useful to all posts. There is a concern about the potential for inconsistent adjudicatory standards at different constituent posts and clear standards would allow for more consistent adjudication.

Release Date 

01/12/2023

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services is implementing the final phase of the premium processing expansion for Form I-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Workers, under the EB-1 and EB-2 classifications.

This memorandum provides guidance regarding implementation of the provisions of Public Law 111-230 that increase certain H-1B and L-1 petition fees. The additional fee applies to petitioners that employ 50 or more employees in the United States with more than 50% of their employees in the United States in H-1B or L-1A or L-1B nonimmigrant status. Petitioners meeting those criteria must submit the additional fee with an H-1B or L-1 petition filed.

[Federal Register: January 28, 2011 (Volume 76, Number 19)]
[Rules and Regulations]              
[Page 5058-5061]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr28ja11-2]                        

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Introduction

The Web-based Validation Instrument for Business Enterprises (VIBE) is a tool designed to enhance USCIS’s adjudications of certain employment-based immigration petitions. VIBE uses commercially available data to validate basic information about companies or organizations petitioning to employ alien workers. USCIS is beta-testing VIBE, and petitioners may begin seeing VIBE-related Requests for Evidence (RFEs).

[Federal Register: March 31, 2010 (Volume 75, Number 61)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Page 15991-15992]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr31mr10-1]

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Rules and Regulations

Federal Register

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