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USCIS recently updated the following USCIS form(s):

This bulletin summarizes the availability of immigrant numbers during November for: “Final Action Dates” and “Dates for Filing Applications,” indicating when immigrant visa applicants should be notified to assemble and submit required documentation to the National Visa Center.

Visa Bulletin - November 2019

WASHINGTON— U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and the Department of Justice today announced a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) (PDF, 2.00 MB) that expands their collaboration to better detect and eliminate fraud, abuse, and discrimination by employers bringing foreign visa workers to the United States. This new effort improves the way the agencies share information, collaborate on cases, and train each other’s investigators.

WASHINGTON—U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) today posted a policy memorandum (PDF, 179 KB)changing how the agency will calculate unlawful presence for students and exchange visitors in F, J, and M nonimmigrant status, including F-2, J-2, or M-2 dependents, who fail to maintain their status in the United States.  

On May 14, 2018, USCIS will begin recalling approximately 8,543 Permanent Resident Cards (also known as Green Cards) due to a production error. The Green Cards were for approved Form I-751, Petition to Remove Conditions of Residence for spouses of U.S. citizens. The cards were printed with an incorrect “Resident Since” date and mailed between February and April 2018.

USCIS has completed data entry for all fiscal year 2019 H-1B cap-subject petitions selected in the computer-generated random selection process. USCIS will now begin returning all H-1B cap-subject petitions that were not selected. Due to the high volume of filings, USCIS cannot provide a definite time frame for returning unselected petitions. USCIS asks petitioners not to inquire about the status of their cap-subject petitions until they receive a receipt notice or an unselected petition is returned.

EB-5 Tenant Occupancy

USCIS is revising guidance on immigrant investor (EB-5) cases involving tenant occupancy. Previously, the USCIS Policy Manual allowed for tenant-occupancy methodologies used by some petitioners to show their capital created, or will create, 10 indirect jobs. USCIS has determined that these methodologies do not provide reasonable predictions of indirect job creation and are no longer considered reasonable methodologies to support economically or statistically valid forecasting tools.

USCIS reminds F-1 students on Optional Practical Training (OPT) that transferring to another school or beginning study at another educational level (for example, beginning a master’s program after completing a bachelor’s degree) automatically terminates their OPT as well as their corresponding employment authorization document (EAD). 

USCIS is issuing policy guidance in the USCIS Policy Manual regarding the Child Status Protection Act. The Policy Alert is available here:

USCIS updated the following USCIS form(s):

Update to Form I-129CW, Petition for a CNMI-Only Nonimmigrant Transitional Worker; New Edition Dated 05/09/1805/23/2018 12:00 AM EDT For more information, please visit  Forms Updates page.

Due to a processing error on May 4, 2018, USCIS mailed a number of biometric services appointment notices with incorrect Application Support Center (ASC) locations to petitioners who filed Form I-751, Petition to Remove Conditions on Residence. 

The affected notices have a date of 05/04/2018 and a case type of “I-751 – PETITION TO REMOVE CONDITIONS ON RESIDENCE.” The notices tell petitioners to appear for their biometric services appointments starting the week of May 21, 2018, at ASCs located out of the normal geographic area.

WASHINGTON—U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced today that current beneficiaries of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) under Nepal’s designation who want to maintain their status through the effective termination date of June 24, 2019, must re-register between May 22, 2018, and July 23, 2018.

WASHINGTON – The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is proposing a rule to end a program that allows certain foreign entrepreneurs to be considered for parole to temporarily come to the United States to develop and build start-up businesses here, known as the International Entrepreneur Rule (IE Final Rule). 

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) today announced the launch of our Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Immigration Records SysTem (FIRST), which will eventually allow users to submit, manage, and receive FOIA requests entirely online. Before this change, USCIS only accepted FOIA requests by mail, fax, and email, and requesters typically received their documents on a compact disc by mail.

WASHINGTON — U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) began issuing redesigned Certificates of Citizenship and Naturalization today, following a successful pilot in four USCIS field offices and one service center. The redesign of these eight certificates is one of the many ways USCIS is working to combat fraud and safeguard the legal immigration system. 

USCIS piloted the new certificate design at the Norfolk, Tampa, Minneapolis-St. Paul, and Sacramento Field Offices, as well as at the Nebraska Service Center. 

WASHINGTON—Starting June 1, benefit-granting agencies using U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ (USCIS) SAVE (Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements) Program can no longer submit paper versions of Form G-845, Verification Request. Previously, agencies submitted paper forms to request immigration status verification and for additional verification requests. Now all agencies must submit their requests and institute additional verification electronically, drastically reducing case processing time.

WASHINGTON—U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announces today that current beneficiaries of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) under Honduras’ designation who want to maintain their status through the effective termination date of Jan. 5, 2020, must re-register between  June 5, 2018, andAug. 6, 2018.

As previously announced, USCIS began accepting H-2B petitions on May 31, 2018, under the temporary final rule increasing the numerical limit, or cap, on H-2B nonimmigrant visas by up to 15,000 additional visas through the end of fiscal year (FY) 2018.

USCIS recently updated the following USCIS form(s):

Update to Form I-694, Notice of Appeal of Decision Under Sections 245A or 210 of the Immigration and Nationality Act; New Edition Dated 05/16/1805/23/2018 12:00 AM EDTFor more information, please visit  Forms Updates page.

On May 31, 2018, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) began receiving H-2B petitions under the temporary final rule increasing the numerical limit, or cap, on H-2B nonimmigrant visas by up to 15,000 additional visas through the end of fiscal year (FY) 2018.

As of June 11, 2018, petitioners who file Form I-751, Petition to Remove Conditions on Residence, or Form I-829, Petition by Entrepreneur to Remove Conditions on Permanent Resident Status, will receive a Form I-797 receipt notice that can be presented with their Form I-551, Permanent Resident Card, as evidence of continued status for 18 months past the expiration date on their Permanent Resident Card.

USCIS is making the change from 12 to 18 months because current processing times for Form I-751 and Form I-829 have increased over the past year.

USCIS’ California Service Center (CSC) is experiencing a delay in initial data entry for Form I-751, Petition to Remove Conditions on Residence. Since initial data entry has to be completed before a receipt notice can be issued, some petitioners and their dependents may experience a delay in receiving a receipt notice for a Form I-751 submitted to the CSC.

USCIS has recently updated the following form:

Update to Form I-910, Application for Civil Surgeon Designation; New Edition Dated 05/29/18For more information, please visit  Forms Updates page.

Are you seeking to adjust your status and become a U.S. permanent resident under a family-sponsored or employment-based preference immigrant visa? If you have not yet had a relative or employer file an immigrant visa petition on your behalf, please learn more about the Adjustment of Status Filing Process.

ALERT:  Although F-1 nonimmigrant students with degrees in science, technology, engineering, or mathematics (STEM) may apply for a 24-month extension of their post-completion OPT employment authorization, our policies regarding the cap-gap extension remain the same.