State Department: All visa-issuing embassies and consulates are now back online.

From the US State Department:

Technological Systems Issue

JUNE 29, 2015

Visa Systems Issues

• All visa-issuing embassies and consulates are now back online. We are scheduling visa interviews and issuing nonimmigrant and immigrant visas.
• We issued more than 410,000 nonimmigrant visas from June 21 through June 29. Consular staff worked through the weekend to diminish our backlog, the bulk of which has now been cleared.
• We have issued all remaining H-2 visas for temporary workers that were pending during the June 9 – June 19 timeframe. Mexico posts are now processing all H-2 visas as normal.
• We are still experiencing problems with some online immigrant visa application forms. We hope to have a fix in place for this by early next week.
• We deeply regret the inconvenience to travelers who are waiting for visas, as well as their families and U.S. businesses that have been affected.

Q: How can you clear your backlog so quickly?

• As posts have been brought back online, we have been processing pending biometric checks. As those results are obtained and automatically transferred back to posts, our overseas staff has been completing the final adjudication steps to issue the visas.
• Between June 9 and June 19, 335,000 visas that ordinarily would have been printed were stuck in clearance. Of that number, nearly 300,000 have now been printed. We expect to eliminate the remaining backlog this week.
• Between June 9 and June 19, we advised affected applicants that they could reschedule their appointments for a later time. Most applicants interviewed between June 9 and 19 had submitted their applications before June 9. Their interviews went ahead as scheduled. All posts have now reopened appointments, and many have added capacity to accommodate rescheduled applicants.
• New appointments continue to be scheduled every day. Please see travel.state.gov for information on appointment wait times at specific posts.

Q: How are cases being prioritized?

• We continue to facilitate urgent cases for those individuals who need to travel imminently, and will continue to do so until the systems return to full capacity.
• We apologize to travelers and recognize that this has caused hardship to some individuals waiting for visas as well as families and employers.

Q: What about the foreign agricultural workers (H2A visa holders?)

• We have issued all remaining H-2 visas for temporary workers that were pending during the June 9 – June 19 timeframe. Mexico posts are now processing all H-2 visas as normal.

Q: What about domestic passports?

• Domestic passport operations are functioning, with some processing delays. However, most of the passport workload is being processed within customer service commitments posted on travel.state.gov.

Q: What about overseas passports?

• Overseas passport applications are being processed. There have been delays in some cases, but posts overseas are able to issue emergency passports in urgent cases.

TPS Registration Period Extended for Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has extended the deadline for initial registration from May 20, 2015, to Aug. 18, 2015, for eligible nationals of Liberia, Guinea, and Sierra Leone (and people without nationality who last habitually resided in one of those three countries). 

For more information, please visit USCIS

Immigration Lawyers Podcast Episode 1 - EB 5 Immigrant Investor Renewal ...

DHS Announces Nepal TPS Designation (Temporary Protected Status)

From USCIS:

Release Date: June 24, 2015

WASHINGTON—Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson announced his decision to designate Nepal for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for 18 months based on the conditions resulting from the devastating magnitude 7.8 earthquake that struck Nepal on April 25, 2015, and the subsequent aftershocks. As a result, eligible nationals of Nepal residing in the United States may apply for TPS with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). The Federal Register notice published today provides details and procedures for applying for TPS.

The TPS designation for Nepal is effective today, June 24, 2015, and will be in effect through December 24, 2016. The designation means that, during the designated period, eligible nationals of Nepal (and people without nationality who last habitually resided in Nepal) will not be removed from the United States and may receive an Employment Authorization Document (EAD). The 180-day TPS registration period begins June 24, 2015 and runs through December 21, 2015.

To be eligible for TPS, applicants must demonstrate that they satisfy all eligibility criteria, including that they have been both “continuously physically present” and “continuously residing” in the United States since June 24, 2015. Applicants also undergo thorough security checks. Individuals with certain criminal records or who pose a threat to national security are not eligible for TPS. The eligibility requirements are fully described in the Federal Register notices and on the TPS Web page at www.uscis.gov/tps.

Applicants may request that USCIS waive any or all TPS-related fees based on inability to pay by filing Form I-912, Request for Fee Waiver, or by submitting a written request. Fee-waiver requests must be accompanied by supporting documentation. USCIS will reject any TPS application that does not include the required filing fee or a properly documented fee-waiver request. All USCIS forms are free. Applicants can download these forms from the USCIS website at www.uscis.gov/forms or request them by calling USCIS toll-free at 1-800-870-3676.

Applicants seeking information about the status of their individual cases can check My Case Status Online or call the USCIS National Customer Service Center at 1-800-375-5283 (TTY 1-800-767-1833) at no cost.

For more information about USCIS and its programs, please visit www.uscis.gov or follow us on Twitter (@uscis), YouTube (/uscis), Facebook(/uscis), and the USCIS blog The Beacon.

Supreme Court Sides with Consulate in Visa Denial Non-Reviewability

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday upheld the government's broad discretion to give only a cursory explanation for refusing to grant a visa to the spouse of an American citizen. The justices divided 5-to-4, concluding that a consular officer's citation of unspecified "terrorist activities" was enough to justify barring a spouse without further explanation.

Fauzia Din came to the United States as a refugee from Afghanistan in 2000, seeking "security" as a woman, and "freedom." She subsequently became a U.S. citizen and in 2006 returned to Afghanistan to marry an Afghan native whom she and her family had long known.

To read more, visit NPR

Photo by David

EB-5: July 2015 Processing Times Change Slightly

The EB-5 Immigrant Investor Processing Times have had changed slightly for July 2015. The initial Immigrant Investor Form I-526 Petition and Package processing times was decreased by half a month, but the Form I-829 and Form I-924 processing times have increases.

For more information about the EB-5 program, please contact the JQK Law Firm at (310) 582-5904.

Form I-526 (Immigrant Petition by Alien Entrepreneur)

• 13.4 months (Decrease .6 months)

Form I-829 (Petition by Entrepreneur to Remove Conditions) 

• 13.1 months (Increase of .4 months)

Form I-924 (Application for Regional Center)

• 12.2 (Increase of .1 month)

USCIS Discontinues Electronic Form I-539, Form I-526, and Regional Center Document Library

From USCIS:

On June 15, 2015, USCIS stopped accepting electronically filed Forms I-539, Application to Extend/Change Nonimmigrant Status, and Forms I-526, Immigrant Petition by Alien Entrepreneur. USCIS also discontinued the Regional Center Document Library.

This change will not adversely affect customers who have pending or draft cases that were created before June 15. We will adjudicate those cases to completion and allow the standard 30 days for customers to complete and submit their draft cases.

Recently, USCIS updated the Form I-539 and Form G-28, Notice of Entry of Appearance as Attorney or Accredited Representative. To ensure that the paper and electronic versions of these forms are consistent with each other, we must temporarily remove the current electronic versions until we develop these updated forms in our new USCIS online filing system, which launched in March 2015.

Filing a Form I-539 or Form I-526

Customers who need to file a Form I-539 or Form I-526 must now file the paper version of the form. If you already started an electronic Form I-539 or Form I-526, you will have 30 days from the day you began your application/petition to complete and submit it online.  If you are unable to complete your electronic form within this 30-day time period, you will need to file a new paper application or petition.

For instructions on how to file a paper Form I-539, please visit our Form I-539 page.

For instructions on how to file a paper Form I-526, please visit our Form I-526 page.

If You Filed Electronically Before June 15, 2015

If you filed a Form I-539 or Form I-526 electronically, you will still be able to access your account to check your case status, change your address, and respond to requests for evidence while USCIS processes your case. If you filed a Form I-526 electronically, you will still be able to review and attest existing deal packages created by the Document Library Manager. However, Document Library Managers will not be able to create new document libraries or deal packages.

For More Information

If you have any questions about filing a Form I-539 or Form I-526 or accessing a Regional Center Document Library, please contact us through our online help form or call customer service at 1-800-375-5283 (1-800-767-1833 (TDD)). If you have questions about filing Form I-526 or accessing a Regional Center Document Library, you can also email us atUSCIS.ImmigrantInvestorProgram@uscis.dhs.gov.

For more information on USCIS and its programs, please visit www.uscis.gov or follow us on Twitter (@uscis), YouTube (/uscis), and the USCIS blog The Beacon.

USCIS Releases Processing Times for International Operations Offices

This month USCIS began releasing processing times for Applications and Petitions submitted to its International Operations Offices. This will help immigrants and their families and employers better plan their immigration timeline.

To see the timeline of the various international offices, please go to:

https://egov.uscis.gov/cris/ptIntlIntro.do

To learn more about USCIS International Operations Offices, please go to: 

http://www.uscis.gov/about-us/directorates-and-program-offices/refugee-asylum-and-international-operations-directorate/international-operations

Disney Hiring Foreign H-1B Workers, While Accused of Firing Locals

ORLANDO, Fla. — The employees who kept the data systems humming in the vast Walt Disney fantasy fief did not suspect trouble when they were suddenly summoned to meetings with their boss.

While families rode the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train and searched for Nemo on clamobiles in the theme parks, these workers monitored computers in industrial buildings nearby, making sure millions of Walt Disney Worldticket sales, store purchases and hotel reservations went through without a hitch. Some were performing so well that they thought they had been called in for bonuses.

Instead, about 250 Disney employees were told in late October that they would be laid off. Many of their jobs were transferred to immigrants on temporary visas for highly skilled technical workers, who were brought in by an outsourcing firm based in India. Over the next three months, some Disney employees were required to train their replacements to do the jobs they had lost.

For more, please visit the NYTimes.com

Green Cards Don't Always Have Signatures

Did You Know? A Green Card Does Not Always Have a Signature

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. 

When we issue a Green Card without a signature, the card will say “Signature Waived” on the front and back of the card where a signature would normally be located. Green Cards are official documents issued by USCIS that identify the holder as a lawful permanent resident of the United States. The cards are also proof of identity and work authorization. 

EB-1A Extraordinary Talent Re-Approved After Embassy/Consulate Denial

Approval Form I-140 for EB-1 Extraordinary Talent

USCIS Reaches H-2B Cap for the Second Half of Fiscal Year 2015

From USCIS:

On June 5, 2015, USCIS announced that it had reopened the congressionally mandated H-2B cap for the second half of fiscal year (FY) 2015. USCIS has now received a sufficient number of petitions to reach the H-2B cap for the second half of FY 2015. June 11, 2015 was the final receipt date for new H-2B worker petitions requesting an employment start date before October 1, 2015.

The final receipt date is the date when USCIS received enough cap-subject petitions to reach the statutory limit of 66,000 H-2B workers for FY 2015. 

What Happens After Reaching the Cap

USCIS will reject new H-2B petitions that:

• Request an employment start date before October 1, 2015; and
• Were received after June 11, 2015.

Petitions That Are Exempt from the Cap

USCIS will continue to accept H-2B petitions that are exempt from the congressionally mandated cap. These include the following types of petitions:

• H-2B workers in the United States or abroad who have been previously counted towards the cap in the same fiscal year;
• Current H-2B workers seeking an extension of stay;
• Current H-2B workers seeking a change of employer or terms of employment;
• Fish roe processors, fish roe technicians and/or supervisors of fish roe processing; and
• H-2B workers performing labor or services in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands and/or Guam until December 31, 2019.

Additionally, the spouse and children of H-2B workers classified as H-4 nonimmigrants are not counted against this cap.

Once the H-2B cap is reached, USCIS will only accept petitions for H-2B workers who are exempt from the H-2B cap.

FY 2016 H-2B Cap Petitions

USCIS will consider H-2B petitions received on or after October 1, 2015, and/or requesting an employment start date on or after October 1, 2015, towards the FY 2016 H-2B cap. These petitions will be subject to all eligibility requirements for FY 2016 H-2B cap filings. 

For more information about the H-2B work program, visit our website at uscis.gov/h-2b or call the National Customer Service Center at 1-800-375-5283 (TDD for the hearing impaired: 1-800-767-1833).

State Dept. Facing Technological Issues in Visa System

From the Department of State:

Passport/Visa Systems Errors

• The Bureau of Consular Affairs is currently experiencing technical problems with our visa systems.  These issues have resulted in delays in printing visas and may mean rescheduling some visa interviews.
• This issue is not specific to any particular country or visa category. 
• Overseas passports are now being processed.  Domestic passport services are functioning, and we were always able to issue emergency passports to U.S. citizens overseas with urgent travel needs.
• The Consular Consolidated Database (CCD) problems we are experiencing are not the same challenges we overcame last summer.  We are working urgently around the clock to correct the problems and restore our system to full operational status as soon as possible.
• We apologize to applicants who are experiencing delays or were unable to obtain a passport overseas, Consular Report of Birth Abroad, or U.S. visa.  
• We are seeking to assist nonimmigrant visa applicants with urgent humanitarian travel.  Individuals with an urgent humanitarian need for travel should contact their nearest U.S. embassy or consulate. 
• We are aware of pending overseas adoption cases, including in China.  We are prioritizing these cases and seek to issue these visas with few delays.
• We regret the inconvenience to travelers, and remain committed to facilitating legitimate travel while protecting our borders. 
• We will post updates to Travel.State.Gov as more information becomes available.

Q: Is this the same issue as last year? Was it not fixed?

• This is not the same issue as last year.

Q: What is going on?  Why can’t the Department issue visas, passports, and other travel documents? 

• We are working as quickly as possible to resolve our technical issues. 
• We apologize to travelers and recognize that this may cause hardship to individuals waiting for visas overseas.

Q: What caused this outage?  Was it a malicious action or hack?

• There is no evidence the problem is cyber security related. We are working urgently to correct the problem and expect the system to be fully operational again soon. 

Q: How is this affecting consular operations?

      Passports – Overseas Issuance of Passports

• Passport applications accepted overseas on or after May 26, 2015, were affected, but overseas passports are now being issued.  If you applied for a U.S. passport between May 26 and June 14 and have travel plans within the next 10 business days, please consider requesting an emergency passport at the U.S. embassy or consulate at which you originally applied.  Information about how to apply for an emergency passport is available on the website of the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate.

      Visas

• A hardware failure on June 9 halted the flow of biometric clearance requests from posts to the Consular Consolidated Database (CCD).   Individuals who submitted online applications or were interviewed for visas on or after June 9 may experience a delay in the processing. 
• The systems in place to perform required national security checks before we issue visas are experiencing technical difficulties.  As a result, we are unable to print visas. 
• We cannot bypass the legal requirements necessary to screen visa applicants before we issue visas for travel.
• As a result, there is a backlog of visas waiting to be processed.  We are working as quickly as possible to resolve the issue and to clear the backlog.  
• The technical issues we are experiencing have disrupted or prevented some of the Department’s primary data-share partners from accessing visa records.  

Q: Can you print a visa without using the data system?

• Security measures prevent consular officers from printing a visa until the case completes the required national security checks. 
• Service to our customers will be interrupted until the system is brought back online.  

Q: Can the Department just print travel letters for those who need to travel quickly?

• At this time we are able to issue passports to U.S. citizens overseas for emergency travel.
• Domestic passport operations are functioning.  U.S. citizens applying for a passport domestically will receive passports within the four-to-six week standard for routine passports and two-to-three weeks for expedited passports.
• We are seeking to assist nonimmigrant visa applicants with urgent humanitarian travel.  Please contact the embassy or consulate where you applied for additional information.

Q: How long before you restore full system functionality?

• Overseas passports are now being issued.  We are working urgently to restore visa processing.  We expect the systems to be fully operational again soon.

Q: How many overseas passport applicants have been affected?

• Overseas passport applications account for less than five percent of our annual passport workload. During the overseas passport systems issues that have since been resolved, we ‎were able to issue emergency overseas passports to U.S. citizens who needed them for urgent travel.

JQK Law Firm Now On Instagram

Follow the JQK Law Firm Now on Instagram!

https://instagram.com/LosAngelesImmigrationLawyer/

July 2015 Visa Bulletin U.S. State Department

The Family-Based Visa Categories had regular moves forward in time between 3-5 weeks. However, there was no movement for Mexico in the F1, F2B and F4 categories. Moreover, the Philippines did not see movement in the F2B category. 

In the Employment-Based Categories there was a 4 month move forward for China in the EB-2 and EB-5 category, and small movements forward in others. However, China's EB-3 preference category did not move and the Philippines EB-3 became unavailable!

Update EB-5 Statistics Released Q2 2015

EB-5 Form I-526,

Immigrant Petitions by Alien Entrepreneurs Statistics

EB-5 Form I-829 

Petitions by Entrepreneurs to Remove Conditions Statistics

Source: USCIS

Naturalization & Citizenship for Iranians (In Farsi/Persian) - Pars Equality Center May 30, 2015

Naturalization for Iranians (In Farsi/Persian) 

سیتیزنشیپ و تابیعت امریکا برای ایرانیان

Birthright Citizenship Denied to American Samoan #Citizenship

A lawyer involved in the landmark case says the US judges used antiquated and racially-based laws to rule the citizenship clause in the US Constitution did not apply to people born in American Samoa

Under federal law, citizenship is guaranteed to residents of US territories including Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands and Puerto Rico.

But Americans Samoans are classified as US nationals and must live in America for six months in order to apply for citizenship.

Read More at ABC

Temporary Protected Status Extended for Somalia

From USCIS: 

WASHINGTON—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.

Current TPS Somalia beneficiaries seeking to extend their TPS must re-register during the 60-day re-registration period that runs from June 1, 2015, through July 31, 2015. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) encourages beneficiaries to re-register as soon as possible once the 60-day re-registration period begins. USCIS will not accept applications before June 1, 2015.

The 18-month extension also allows TPS re-registrants to apply for a new Employment Authorization Document (EAD). Eligible TPS Somalia beneficiaries who re-register during the 60-day period and request a new EAD will receive one with an expiration date of March, 17, 2017.

To re-register, current TPS beneficiaries must submit:

• Form I-821, Application for Temporary Protected Status (Re-registrants do not need to pay the Form I-821 application fee).
• The biometrics services fee (or a fee waiver request) if they are 14 years old or older.
• Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization, regardless of whether they want an EAD.
• The Form I-765 application fee or a fee waiver request, but only if they want an EAD. If the re-registrant does not want an EAD, no application fee is required.

Applicants may request that USCIS waive the Form I-765 application fee and/or biometrics fee based on an inability to pay. To do so, applicants must file a Form I-912, Request for Fee Waiver, or submit a written request. Fee waiver requests must be accompanied by supporting documentation. USCIS will reject the TPS application of any applicant who fails to submit the required filing fees or a properly documented fee waiver request.

All USCIS forms are free. Applicants can download these forms from the USCIS website at uscis.gov/forms or request them by calling USCIS toll-free at 1-800-870-3676.

Additional information on TPS for Somalia —including guidance on eligibility, the application process and where to file—is available online at uscis.gov/tps.  Certain individuals who are not current TPS beneficiaries may be able to apply late for TPS under the Somalia designation.  Information on Late Initial Filing is also available at uscis.gov/tps. Further details about this extension of TPS for Somalia, including the application requirements and procedures, appear in a Federal Register notice published today.

Applicants seeking information about the status of their individual cases can check My Case Status Online, or call the USCIS National Customer Service Center at 1-800-375-5283 (TTY 1-800-767-1833).

For more information on USCIS and its programs, please visit uscis.gov or follow us on Twitter (@uscis), YouTube (/uscis) and the USCIS blog The Beacon.