Tuesday, July 31, 2018
Monday, July 30, 2018
USCIS Returns Unselected Fiscal Year 2019 H-1B Cap-Subject Petitions
From USCIS:
| 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. If you submitted an H-1B cap-subject petition that was delivered to USCIS between April 2 and April 6, 2018, and you have not received a receipt notice or a returned petition by August 13, you may contact USCIS for assistance. |
Sunday, July 29, 2018
Saturday, July 28, 2018
Friday, July 27, 2018
Wednesday, July 25, 2018
New Law Extends CNMI CW-1 Program, Mandates New Fraud Fee, and Will Require E-Verify Participation
From USCIS:
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. The CW-1 program allows employers within the CNMI to apply for permission to employ foreign (nonimmigrant) workers who are otherwise ineligible to work in the CNMI under other nonimmigrant worker categories.
Effective immediately, CW-1 employers must pay a mandatory $50 fraud prevention and detection fee with each petition, in addition to other current fees. USCIS will reject any petition received after July 24, 2018 that includes incorrect or insufficient fees. This new fraud prevention and detection fee does not apply to CW petitions already filed and pending with USCIS as of July 24, 2018.
Importantly, the Workforce Act will require CNMI employers seeking CW-1 workers to enroll in E-Verify and comply with the requirements of the E-Verify program. E-Verify is a web-based system that compares information from Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification, to government records to confirm that an employee is authorized to work in the United States. Although E-Verify enrollment is not currently required it will soon be a requirement for all employers filing for CW-1 visas. USCIS strongly encourages CNMI employers to enroll in the E-Verify program as soon as possible.
The Workforce Act raises the CW-1 cap for FY 2019 from 4,999 to 13,000, and provides new CW-1 caps for subsequent fiscal years. After announcing on April 11 that it had received CW-1 petitions for more than the number of visas previously available for FY 2019, USCIS will now resume accepting CW-1 petitions. Employers whose petitions were previously rejected because the cap was reached must file a new petition if they want CW workers to be considered under the increased cap. USCIS did not retain and cannot reopen previously rejected petitions.
In addition to extending the CW-1 program, the Workforce Act extends the following Consolidated Natural Resources Act of 2008 provisions until December 31, 2029:
- The exemption from national caps for H-1B and H-2B workers in the CNMI and on Guam;
- The bar on asylum applications in the CNMI; and
- The CNMI-Only Nonimmigrant Investor (E-2C) program.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is exercising its discretion, as provided in the Act, to delay implementation of other changes to the CW program affecting CW-1 filers until DHS issues an interim final rule. As of July 24, 2018, USCIS will only accept the May 9, 2018, version of Form I-129CW, Petition for a CNMI-Only Nonimmigrant Transitional Worker. USCIS will reject and return fees for any petitions submitted using a December 11, 2017, or earlier version date of Form I-129CW.
Monday, July 23, 2018
Sunday, July 22, 2018
Friday, July 20, 2018
Wednesday, July 18, 2018
Tuesday, July 17, 2018
USCIS Form Updates
| Good afternoon, We recently updated the following USCIS form(s):
07/16/2018 12:00 AM EDT
Update to G-28, Notice of Entry of Appearance as Attorney or Accredited Representative; New Edition Dated 05/23/18
07/16/2018 12:00 AM EDT
Update to Form G-28I, Notice of Entry of Appearance as Attorney in Matters Outside the Geographical Confines of the United States; New Edition Dated 05/23/18
07/16/2018 12:00 AM EDT
Update to Form I-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker; New Edition Dated 05/09/18
07/16/2018 12:00 AM EDT
Update to Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization; New Edition Dated 05/31/18
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Monday, July 16, 2018
Sunday, July 15, 2018
Raleigh Immigration Attorney Gets $2,510 Fine for Texting in Court
https://www.indyweek.com/news/archives/2018/07/13/raleigh-immigration-attorney-gets-2510-fine-for-texting-in-court
Friday, July 13, 2018
USCIS Updates Policy Guidance for Certain Requests for Evidence and Notices of Intent to Deny
From USCIS:
| WASHINGTON - U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) today 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. This updated guidance is effective September 11, 2018 and applies to all applications, petitions, and requests, except for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) adjudications, received after that date. Due to preliminary injunctions issued by courts in California and New York, this new PM does not change the RFE and NOID policies and practices that apply to the adjudication of DACA requests. “For too long, our immigration system has been bogged down with frivolous or meritless claims that slow down processing for everyone, including legitimate petitioners. Through this long overdue policy change, USCIS is restoring full discretion to our immigration officers to deny incomplete and ineligible applications and petitions submitted for immigration benefits,” said USCIS Director L. Francis Cissna. “Doing so will discourage frivolous filings and skeletal applications used to game the system, ensure our resources are not wasted, and ultimately improve our agency’s ability to efficiently and fairly adjudicate requests for immigration benefits in full accordance with our laws.” The 2013 PM addressed policies for the issuance of RFEs and NOIDs when the evidence submitted at the time of filing did not establish eligibility. In practice, the 2013 PM limited denials without RFEs or NOIDs to statutory denials by providing that RFEs should be issued unless there was “no possibility” of approval. This “no possibility” policy limited the application of an adjudicator’s discretion. The policy implemented in this guidance restores to the adjudicator full discretion to deny applications, petitions, and requests without first issuing an RFE or a NOID, when appropriate. This policy is intended to discourage frivolous or substantially incomplete filings used as “placeholder” filings and encourage applicants, petitioners, and requestors to be diligent in collecting and submitting required evidence. USCIS will continue issuing statutory denials when appropriate without first issuing an RFE or NOID when the applicant, petitioner, or requestor has no legal basis for the benefit/request sought, or submits a request for a benefit or relief under a program that has been terminated. If all required initial evidence is not submitted with the benefit request, USCIS, in its discretion, may deny the benefit request for failure to establish eligibility based on lack of required initial evidence. Examples of filings that may be denied without sending an RFE or NOID include, but are not limited to:
For more information on USCIS and its programs, please visit uscis.gov or follow us on Twitter (@uscis), Instagram (/ |
Thursday, July 12, 2018
Guidance for Processing Reasonable Fear, Credible Fear, Asylum, and Refugee Claims in Accordance with Matter of A-B PM-602-0162
From USCIS:
The following immigration policy memorandum is now available on the Policy Memoranda section of the USCIS website:
- Guidance for Processing Reasonable Fear, Credible Fear, Asylum, and Refugee Claims in Accordance with Matter of A-B PM-602-0162
On June 11, 2018, the attorney general published Matter of A-B-, 27 I&N Dec. 316 (A.G. 2018), which addresses what asylum applicants must demonstrate in order to show that they were persecuted because of their membership in a particular social group. The purpose of this memorandum is to provide guidance to asylum and refugee officers on how to apply this decision while processing reasonable fear, credible fear, asylum, and refugee claims.
Wednesday, July 11, 2018
Monday, July 9, 2018
Saturday, July 7, 2018
Friday, July 6, 2018
Thursday, July 5, 2018
USCIS Updates Notice to Appear Policy Guidance to Support DHS Enforcement Priorities
| WASHINGTON — U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services issued updated guidance (PDF, 139 KB) today that aligns its policy for issuing Form I-862, Notice to Appear, with the immigration enforcement priorities of the Department of Homeland Security. A Notice to Appear (NTA) is a document given to an alien that instructs them to appear before an immigration judge on a certain date. The issuance of an NTA commences removal proceedings against the alien. Under the new guidance, USCIS officers will now issue an NTA for a wider range of cases where the individual is removable and there is evidence of fraud, criminal activity, or where an applicant is denied an immigration benefit and is unlawfully present in the United States. “For too long, USCIS officers uncovering instances of fraudulent or criminal activity have been limited in their ability to help ensure U.S. immigration laws are faithfully executed. This updated policy equips USCIS officers with clear guidance they need and deserve to support the enforcement priorities established by the president, keep our communities safe, and protect the integrity of our immigration system from those seeking to exploit it,” said USCIS Director L. Francis Cissna. Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients and requestors are exempted from this updated guidance when: (1) processing an initial or renewal DACA request or DACA-related benefit request; or (2) processing a DACA recipient for possible termination of DACA. As explained in the concurrently issued DACA-specific guidance, USCIS will continue to apply the 2011 NTA guidance (PDF, 77 KB) to these cases. USCIS will also continue to follow the existing DACA information-sharing policy regarding any information provided by a DACA requestor in a DACA request or DACA-related benefit request. USCIS, along with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), has legal authority under current immigration laws to issue NTAs. This Policy Memorandum updates the guidelines USCIS officers use to determine when to refer a case to ICE or to issue an NTA. The revised policy generally requires USCIS to issue an NTA in the following categories of cases in which the individual is removable:
Interim and final policy memos are official USCIS policy documents and are effective the date the memos are issued. For more information on USCIS and our programs, please visit uscis.gov or follow us on Twitter (@uscis), YouTube (/uscis), Facebook (/uscis), and Instagram (@USCIS). |
Wednesday, July 4, 2018
Monday, July 2, 2018
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