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USCIS will begin accepting petitions for employment with start dates in fiscal year (FY) 2020 under the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI)-Only Transitional Worker program (the CW-1 program) on April 4, 2019. However, all CW-1 filings for FY 2020 must include an approved temporary labor certification (TLC) from the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL). USCIS will reject any CW-1 petition with an employment start date on or after Oct. 1, 2019, filed without the approved DOL TLC.

For employees who are coming from outside the United States, even though the premium processing will begin in June, it offers a great deal of comfort in knowing where a case stands. If the application is denied, which is quite common these days, there will be enough time to appeal or litigate it before the October 1 start date,” Rajiv S Khanna, managing attorney at Immigration.com told TOI.

Simple, smart changes to make the H-1B visa program work better

WASHINGTON — U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) today announced the start of the fiscal year (FY) 2020 H-1B cap season, start dates for premium processing of cap-subject H-1B petitions, and the launch of its new H-1B data hub, while reminding petitioners of its new H-1B cap selection process. These new efforts underscore the agency’s commitment to supporting President Trump’s Buy American and Hire American executive order designed to protect U.S. workers.

Starting 05/20/19, USCIS will only accept the 01/31/19 edition. Until then, previous editions: 01/17/17, 12/23/16, 08/13/15, 03/26/15, and 10/23/14, can be used.

For more information visit this link: https://www.uscis.gov/i-129

Rajiv S. Khanna, managing attorney at Immigration.com told TOI: “Anecdotally, from our own clients, we see difficulty in hiring qualified people in STEM professions.

USCIS will resume premium processing on Tuesday, March 12, for all H-1B petitions. If you received a request for evidence (RFE) for a pending petition, you should include the RFE response with the premium processing request.

USCIS recently updated the following USCIS form(s):

USCIS has revised Form I-539, Application to Extend/Change Nonimmigrant Status and will publish the revised form on the website on March 11, 2019. Starting on March 11, 2019, USCIS will only accept the revised Form I-539 with an edition date of 02/04/19. USCIS will reject any Form I-539 with an edition date of 12/23/16 or earlier that is received by USCIS after March 8.

Changes will increase transaction security and reduce processing errors

WASHINGTON—On Feb. 25, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) expanded the fee payment system used in field offices to 16 additional offices:

The USCIS Contact Center is currently experiencing higher than normal wait times for callers to speak to a representative. While the center is  working  to resolve this, the center encourages you to use the online tools.

The self-service applicant tools could save you a phone call or a trip to one of the offices. These helpful resources include: