Archive
Archived Content
The information on this page is out of date. However, some of the content may still be useful, so we have archived the page.
On June 9, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) began publishing processing times for certain benefits processed at our international offices and International Operations Division headquarters.
On April 16, 2015, The American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) Verification and Documentation Liaison Committee met with the USCIS Verification Division and ICE Homeland Security Investigations in Washington, DC.
On June 5, 2015, USCIS will reopen the congressionally mandated fiscal year (FY) 2015 cap and will accept Form I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker, requesting new H-2B workers with an employment start date between April 1 and September 30, 2015.Why USCIS is Reopening the 2nd half FY 2015 Cap for H-2B Petitions
We want you to know that Green Cards (also known as Permanent Resident Cards) do not always include the holder’s signature. In limited cases, we may waive the signature requirement for certain people, such as children under the age of consent or individuals who are physically unable to provide a signature.Since February 2015, we have been waiving the signature requirement for people entering the United States for the first time as lawful permanent residents after obtaining an immigrant visa abroad from a U.S. Embassy or consulate.
Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson has extended Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for eligible nationals of Somalia (and eligible individuals without nationality who last habitually resided in Somalia) for an additional 18 months, effective Sept. 18, 2015, through March 17, 2017.
Beginning Monday, June 1, 2015 USCIS will accept only the new version (edition date: 01/29/2015) of Form I-907, Request for Premium Processing Service. The edition date is printed at the bottom of every page. We will reject previous editions of this form if you submit them on or after June 1.We issued the new version on May 1 and have continued to accept old versions during the transition period, which ends Sunday, May 31.
Certain H-4 dependent spouses may now apply for employment authorization under the H-4 rule. On February 24, 2015, USCIS announced that effective today, May 26, 2015, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) would begin accepting applications for employment authorization from certain H-4 dependent spouses of H-1B nonimmigrants who are seeking employment-based lawful permanent resident status.
***Please note that you may not apply for employment authorization under the new H-4 rule until May 26, 2015***USCIS recently published the revised Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization with a 02/13/15, edition date. You can download the revised form and details about who may file and where to file Form I-765 from the USCIS forms page.
Please note: This is an update to the alert that we issued on Tuesday, May 19 with the same headline. That alert can be found in the USCIS Archive.
On April 9, 2015, USCIS’ Administrative Appeal Office (AAO) issued a precedent decision, Matter of Simeio Solutions, LLC (PDF), which held that employers must file amended H-1B petitions when a new Labor Condition Application for Nonimmigrant Workers (LCA) is required due to a change in the H-1B worker’s worksite location. Specifically, the decision stated: