WASHINGTON— Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano has extended Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for eligible nationals of Nicaragua for an additional 18 months, beginning July 6, 2013, and ending Jan. 5, 2015.
Current Nicaraguan beneficiaries seeking to extend their TPS status must re-register during the 60-day re-registration period that runs from April 3, 2013, through June 3, 2013. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) encourages beneficiaries to register as soon as possible once the 60-day re-registration period begins. Applications will not be accepted before April 3, 2013.
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Posted on April 9, 2013 | Category: Immigration News
Effective March 22, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is temporarily suspending adjudication of most Form I-129 H-2B petitions for temporary non-agricultural workers while the government considers appropriate action in response to the Court order entered March 21, 2013 in Comite de Apoyo a los Trabajadores Agricolas et al v. Solis, 2:09-cv-00240-LDD (E.D. Pa). That order granted a permanent injunction against the operation of the portion of the Department of Labor’s (DOL) 2008 wage rule related to certain prevailing wage determinations and gave DOL 30 days to come into compliance with the Court order.
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Posted on April 2, 2013 | Category: Immigration News
WASHINGTON – U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) today announced its intention to automatically extend employment authorization documents (EADs) for Liberian nationals covered under Deferred Enforced Departure (DED) through Sept. 30, 2013. This automatic extension of EADs follows President Obama’s announcement today of his decision to extend DED through Sept. 30, 2014 for qualified Liberians and those persons without nationality who last habitually resided in Liberia. The six-month automatic extension of existing EADs will permit eligible Liberians to continue working in the United States while they file their applications for new EADs that will cover the full 18 months of the DED extension through Sept. 30, 2014. The extension will also allow USCIS to complete processing and issuance of those new EADs.
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Posted on March 21, 2013 | Category: Immigration News
WASHINGTON—U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced today that it will begin accepting H-1B petitions subject to the Fiscal Year (FY) 2014 cap on Monday, April 1, 2013. Cases will be considered accepted on the date that USCIS receives a properly filed petition for which the correct fee has been submitted; not the date that the petition is postmarked.
The cap (the numerical limitation on H-1B petitions) for FY 2014 is 65,000. In addition, the first 20,000 H-1B petitions filed on behalf of individuals with U.S. master’s degree or higher are exempt from the fiscal year cap of 65,000.
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Posted on March 21, 2013 | Category: Immigration News
WASHINGTON – U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) today published a revised Employment Eligibility Verification Form I-9 for use. All employers are required to complete a Form I-9 for each employee hired in the United States.
Improvements to Form I-9 include new fields, reformatting to reduce errors, and clearer instructions to both employees and employers. The Department of Homeland Security has published a Notice in the Federal Register informing employers of the new Form I-9.
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Posted on March 12, 2013 | Category: Immigration News
