USCIS

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) launched the first in a series of quarterly public engagements in Spanish. Each session will focus on a specific immigration or citizenship topic and include a live question-and-answer session with USCIS officials. 

“Public service is a core mission of our agency,” said USCIS Director Alejandro Mayorkas. “These Spanish-language sessions expand our ongoing efforts to communicate with the many communities we serve.”

WASHINGTON - U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) reminds customers that its new fee schedule goes into effect Nov. 23, 2010.  Applications or petitions postmarked or otherwise filed on or after this date must include the new fee, or they will be rejected.

Purpose
Immigrants are particularly vulnerable to domestic violence because they 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.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Director Alejandro Mayorkas today announced the launch of a redesigned Certificate of Naturalization (Form N-550) with new security features that will reduce fraud—part of USCIS’ ongoing efforts to enhance the integrity of the immigration system. USCIS began using redesigned certificates at all offices today, and the agency anticipates that over 600,000 new citizens will receive the enhanced certificate over the next year. 

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.

Please check attachment.

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.