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U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) posted a policy memorandum (PDF, 113 KB) (PM) that provides guidance to USCIS adjudicators regarding their discretion to deny an application, petition, or request without first issuing a Request for Evidence (RFE) or Notice of Intent to Deny (NOID) when required initial evidence was not submitted or the evidence of record fails to establish eligibility. 

USCIS recently updated the following form(s):

If you are an attorney or accredited representative, you can now file Form N-565, Application for Replacement Naturalization/Citizenship Document for your clients using your myUSCIS online account. There are no substantive changes to the content of the form.

USCIS will no longer provide paper copies of Form N-565. You can file this form online or download a copy from the website.

USCIS is introducing the second phase of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Immigration Records SysTem (FIRST), which will allow all FOIA requestors to track their requests through a USCIS online account and receive their documents digitally. During the first phase, requestors reported that they could easily login to their account and download their documents.

Phase two now allows all FOIA requestors to create a USCIS online account, track their cases, and receive their responses electronically.

Fee-funded grants will support citizenship preparation services for lawful permanent residents

WASHINGTON—U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced today it is now accepting applications for two funding opportunities under the Citizenship and Assimilation Grant Program that will provide up to $10 million in grants for citizenship preparation programs in communities across the country.

On July 24, 2018, President Trump signed the Northern Mariana Islands U.S. Workforce Act of 2018 (the Workforce Act), extending the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI)-Only Transitional Worker program (the CW-1 program) through 2029 and increasing the CW-1 cap for fiscal year (FY) 2019.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) announced Tuesday the results of a two-phase nationwide operation in which I-9 audit notices were served to more than 5,200 businesses around the country since January. A notice of inspection (NOI) informs business owners that ICE is going to audit their hiring records to determine whether they are complying with existing law.

USCIS announced on July 30, 2018, that it has returned all fiscal year 2019 H-1B cap-subject petitions that were not selected in the computer-generated random selection process.

USCIS previously announced on May 15, that it had completed data entry of all selected cap-subject petitions.

Policy Memorandum 602-0050.1, Updated Guidance for the Referral of Cases and Issuances of Notices to Appear (NTAs) in Cases Involving Inadmissible and Deportable Aliens, was issued on June 28, 2018 and instructed USCIS components to create or update operational guidance on NTAs and Referrals to ICE (RTIs), to be issued within 30 days of the Policy Memorandum.  Issuance of the operational guidance is pending; therefore the implementation of PM 602-0050.1 is postponed until the operational guidance is issued.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will begin implementing the June 28 Updated Guidance for the Referral of Cases and Issuance of Notices to Appear (NTAs) in Cases Involving Inadmissible and Deportable Aliens Policy Memorandum (PM) (PDF, 140 KB) on Oct. 1, 2018. USCIS will take an incremental approach to implement this memo.

Updates for October 1, 2018: USCIS transferred some of the following cases from the California Service Center to the Nebraska Service Center:

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

For more information, see USCIS Workload Transfer Updates page.

USCIS updated the following USCIS form:

Form I-907, Request for Premium Processing Service; New Edition Dated 10/01/18

For more information, please visit Forms Updates page

On Sept. 27, the Public Engagement Division (PED) held a stakeholder teleconference to discuss the USCIS Updated Guidance for the Referral of Cases and Issuance of Notices to Appear (NTAs) in Cases Involving Inadmissible and Deportable Aliens policy memorandum (PM) that was issued on June 28. USCIS representatives provided an overview of the memorandum and addressed many questions submitted in advance. Below is the link to the summary of the PM and the questions and answers from the teleconference. 

USCIS has published a policy memorandum (PDF, 108 KB) providing guidance on the implementation of section 1045 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2019 (the FY 2019 NDAA), which allows certain H-2B workers on Guam and in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Island

On Oct. 1, USCIS began using digital tablets to administer the English reading and writing tests during naturalization interviews as part of the agency’s ongoing business modernization efforts. Although USCIS applicants already use digital tablets to sign or verify parts of their applications, this new approach expands tablet usage, allowing the device to be used for a greater portion of the application process. USCIS will be able to continue using the paper process on a case-by-case basis.

Application for T Nonimmigrant Status; Application for Immediate Family Member of T-1 Recipient; and Declaration of Law Enforcement Officer for Victim of Trafficking in Persons, Form I-914 and Supplements A and B10/03/2018 12:00 AM EDTAgency Information Collection Activities; Extension, Without Change, of a Currently Approved Collection: Application for T Nonimmigrant Status; Application for Immediate Family Member of T-1 Recipient; and Declaration of Law Enforcement Officer for V

USCIS transferred some of the following cases from the Vermont Service Center to the Texas Service Center:

• Form I-539, Application to Extend/Change Nonimmigrant Status, for F, M, J, or B nonimmigrants

For more information, see Workload Transfer Updates page.