USCIS

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that it has issued two decisions from the USCIS Administrative Appeals Office (AAO) as binding precedent for the agency.  These decisions will provide guidance to USCIS adjudicators and help deliver predictability to the public.  AAO precedent decisions result from a collaboration between the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), which publishes the cases.

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Introduction

On August 13, 2010, President Obama signed Public Law 111-230, which contains provisions to increase certain H-1B and L-1 petition fees.  The following Questions and Answers provide public guidance concerning the additional fees.

Questions and Answers

Q1. What is Public Law 111-230? 
A1. Signed by President Obama on August 13, 2010, Public Law 111-230 requires the submission of an additional fee of $2,000 for certain H-1B petitions and $2,250 for certain L-1A and L-1B petitions.

If you are from El Salvador, Honduras or Nicaragua and have successfully re-registered for TPS, you should be aware that new Employment Authorization Documents (EADs) may not be issued until early November 2010.

While awaiting your new EAD, you may provide your existing EAD as proof of employment authorization.  You may also provide your employer with a copy of your country’s most recent Federal Register notice announcing the TPS 18-month extension and the 6-month auto-extension of EADs.

WASHINGTON—Under an executive order signed by the Governor of Puerto Rico, certified copies of Puerto Rico birth certificates issued before July 1, 2010, will now be valid through Oct. 30, 2010.  The validity of those certificates had previously been set to expire on Sept. 30, 2010.

September 23, 2010

SAN JUAN-Puerto Rico Governor Luis G. Fortuño extended last night the validity of birth certificates issued before July 1, 2010 to American citizens born in Puerto Rico for 30 additional days, until October 30, according to Secretary of State, Kenneth D. McClintock.

After Public Comment, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Announces Final Rule Adjusting Fees for Immigration Benefits

Contacting Lockbox on rejected applications

 Lockbox can be reached via [email protected]. Applicants can mark outside the package “Attention supervisor” and include a copy of the email received from [email protected] giving instructions to refile while re-filing a rejected case.  

 I-485 receipt for EAD and Advance Parole applications 

USCIS seeks your input on the interim guidance memoranda listed below.  These memoranda are current guidance of proposed or revised guidance to USCIS Field Offices and Service Centers. These memoranda have been provided to the field offices and service centers as interim guidance. Adjudicators will begin using the current memoranda understanding that the guidance may be revised after the comment period closes. Final guidance will be issued to the Field Offices and Service Centers following review and consideration of the comments from the public.

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 6.8 million naturalized citizens into the fabric of our nation. Thus far in fiscal year 2010, approximately 495,232 individuals have been naturalized.