WASHINGTON—U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) today announced that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), in consultation with the Department of State, has identified 58 countries whose nationals are eligible to participate in the H-2A and H-2B programs for the coming year. The notice listing eligible countries will publish in tomorrow’s Federal Register. Each country’s designation is valid for one year from the date of publication.
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Posted on February 9, 2012 | Category: Immigration News
WASHINGTON—Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano has extended Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for eligible nationals of El Salvador for an additional 18 months, beginning March 10, 2012, and ending Sept. 9, 2013.
Current Salvadoran TPS beneficiaries seeking to extend their TPS status must re-register during the 60-day re-registration period that runs through March 12, 2012. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) encourages beneficiaries to register as soon as possible within the 60-day re-registration period. Although the Federal Register notice erroneously states that re-registration applications must be filed January 9, 2012 through March 9, 2012, USCIS will accept applications filed January 9, 2012 through March 12, 2012. USCIS is working to correct the public information on the re-registration filing dates.
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Posted on January 16, 2012 | Category: Immigration News
WASHINGTON – On January 1, 2012, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) changed the filing locations for Form I-130, Petition for Alien Relative. Domestic petitioners will now mail their stand-alone I-130 applications to either the Chicago Lockbox or the Phoenix Lockbox, depending on their residence in the United States. Updated filing addresses are available at this link: Form I-130 Direct Filing Locations. This effort will balance workloads between the two locations and provide more efficient and effective processing of Form I-130.
There will be no change in filing locations when submitting Form I-130 along with Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status. Individuals filing these forms together will continue to mail them to the Chicago Lockbox facility. Petitioners filing from overseas addresses in countries without USCIS offices will also continue to file at the Chicago Lockbox facility. Petitioners residing in a country with a USCIS office may send their I-130 forms to the Chicago Lockbox, or they may file their Forms I-130 at the international USCIS office having jurisdiction over the area where they live.
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Posted on January 2, 2012 | Category: Immigration News
WASHINGTON – U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) reminds its customers that the open re-registration period for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for nationals of Honduras and Nicaragua ends on Jan. 5, 2012.
Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano extended TPS for eligible nationals of Honduras and Nicaragua for an additional 18 months, beginning Jan. 6, 2012, and ending July 5, 2013.
To re-register, current TPS beneficiaries must submit an Application for Temporary Protected Status, Form I-821. TPS re-registrants must also submit an Application for Employment Authorization, Form I-765, regardless of whether they are applying for an Employment Authorization Document (EAD).
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Posted on December 29, 2011 | Category: Immigration News
USCIS reminds the sheepherding industry of the upcoming expiration of the one-time accommodation giving them more time to fully transition to the three-year limitation-of-stay requirements for the H-2A nonimmigrant classification.
USCIS announced its limitation-of-stay requirements under a final rule that became effective on Jan. 17, 2009.
The agency granted a one-time accommodation for sheepherders in H-2A status in December 2009 in deference to their industry’s prior exemption from the three-year limitation. This exemption did not impact other H-2A categories.
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Posted on December 29, 2011 | Category: Immigration News
