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USCIS has received a sufficient number of petitions to reach the congressionally mandated H-2B cap for the first

DHS extended the designations of Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for an additional six months. Although there have been significant improvements in the conditions in all three countries since their designations for TPS in November 2014, the lingering effects of the Ebola Virus Disease outbreak and continued recovery challenges support this six-month extension. The extended designation is effective May 22, 2016, through Nov. 21, 2016.

The STEM Designated Degree Program list is a complete list of fields of study DHS considers to be science, technology, engineering or mathematics (STEM) fields of study for purposes of the 24-month STEM optional practical training extension described at 8 CFR 214.2(f). Under 8 CFR 214.2(f)(10)(ii)(C)(2), a STEM field of study is a field of study “included in the Department of Education’s Classification of Instructional Programs taxonomy within the two-digit series containing engineering, biological sciences, mathematics, and physical sciences, or a related field.

Workload Transfer from the Vermont Service Center to the Nebraska Service Center

USCIS recently began transferring certain casework from the Vermont Service Center (VSC) to the Nebraska Service Center (NSC) to balance workloads and decrease processing times.

The NSC will now process some:

Form I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker, for petitioners requesting H-1B nonimmigrant classification;

Are you preparing for the naturalization test?

As you study for the U.S. history and government (civics) test, make sure that you know the most current answers to these questions.  Periodically, answers change to reflect the results of federal and state elections and appointments or to clarify content and ensure consistency in terminology. The revised answers to the questions below are effective immediately.

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.

Until further notice, employers should continue using Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification. This current version of the form continues to be effective even after the Office of Management and Budget control number expiration date of March 31, 2016, has passed. USCIS will provide updated information about the new version of Form I-9 as it becomes available.

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.

• For Immediate Release
  DHS Press Office
  Contact: 202-282-8010

  WASHINGTON—Effective today DHS  will begin to require the use of more electronic passports, or e-Passports, by all travelers coming to the United States from the 38 countries that participate in our Visa Waiver Program.

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 April 22, 2016.

On March 2, USCIS began accepting applications for two competitive grant opportunities for organizations that prepare permanent residents for naturalization and promote civic integration through increased knowledge of English, U.S. history and civics.

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.