USCIS WEBSITE: Please click on the highlighted link to visit the USCIS Home Page: https://www.uscis.gov/
CHECK CASE STATUS: Please click on the highlighted link to check the latest status of your case: USCIS CASE STATUS
CASE PROCESSING TIMES: Please click on the highlighted link to check the current case processing times: USCIS CASE PROCESSING TIMES
VISA BULLETIN: Please click on the highlighted link for the latest visa bulletin: https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/legal/visa-law0/visa-bulletin.html
ADDRESS CHANGE INFORMATION: All non-immigrants and permanent residents are required to notify USCIS of their address change by submitting the AR11 form within 10 days via mail or the internet. The AR11 form can be accessed here: https://egov.uscis.gov/coa/displayCOAInitForm.do
I-94 RECORD: If you are not a U.S. citizen or a lawful permanent resident, you should download and carefully inspected your I-94 record after each new entry into the U.S. to make sure your all the information relating to your visa and authorized admission period are correct. The I-94 record, not your prior petition approval or the visa in your passport, governs your lawful authorized stay in the U.S. You can obtain your I-94 record at https://i94.cbp.dhs.gov.
IMMIGRATION NEWS UPDATES
Initial registration period for FY2024 H-1B cap will open at 12:00 noon (ET) on March 1 and run through 12:00 noon (ET) on March 17, 2023. During this period, prospective petitioners and representatives will be able to submit registrations using its online H-1B registration system.
April, 2022: USCIS has recently stopped issuing the EAD/Advance parole combo cards in an effort to
reduce growing EAD backlogs. As the two documents will now be sent to you separately, you may receive your EAD card before your Advance Parole document. Please note that the EAD card alone will not permit you to travel and re-enter the United States. You must carry your separate Advance Parole document issued by USCIS to travel.
October 1st, 2021: Starting October 1st, 2021, all Medical exam reports submitted to USCIS by Green card applicants must include evidence of Covid 19 vaccination.
Sept. 4, 2021: USCIS is extending the time that receipt notices can be used to show evidence of lawful status from 18 months to 24 months for petitioners who properly file Form I-751, Petition to Remove Conditions on Residence. Conditional permanent residents who properly file Form I-751 will receive a receipt notice that can be presented with their Permanent Resident Card (also known as a Green Card), as evidence of continued status for up to 24 months past the expiration date on their Green Card, while their case remains pending with USCIS.
Additionally, due to the current lengthy processing times, USCIS will issue new receipt notices to eligible conditional permanent residents who properly filed their Form I-751 before Sept. 4, 2021 and whose cases are still pending. Those receipt notices will also serve as evidence of continued status for 24 months past the expiration date on their Green Card.
March 9, 2021: The Biden Administration ends the public charge "wealth test” implemented by the Trump administration which would have allowed officials to deny immigrants permanent residency more commonly known as a green card if the person used public benefits such as food stamps, public housing and some forms of Medicaid. The harsh public charge rule implemented by the Trump administration prevented thousands of immigrants from seeking much-needed assistance including medical care causing extreme hardship to families in need.
Effective March 9, 2021, applicants and petitioners should not provide information required solely by the Public Charge Final Rule. That means that applicants for adjustment of status should not provide the Form I-944, Declaration of Self-Sufficiency, or any evidence or documentation required on that form with their Form I-485.
November 3, 2020: The Seventh Circuit has issued an administrative stay of the N.D. of Illinois decision to vacate the DHS Public Charge Final rule pending an appeal which is effective immediately. Accordingly, the Public Charge Rule is still in effect and Adjustment of Status applications must be filed with the Form I-944.
September 29, 2020: The significant USCIS fee increases which were scheduled to go into effect on October 2nd have been enjoined by a court order at least for the time being. There is still uncertainty about possible developments on this in the weeks ahead, but as of now the fee increase will not go into effect.
USCIS Fee increase: The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has released the new DHS fee schedule, which will go into effect on October 2, 2020. The new USCIS fees will significantly increase costs for most petitioners and applicants.
Currently, adjustment applicants pay a filing fee of $1,225. This fee covers the adjustment application itself, in addition to applications for initial employment authorization documents (EADs) and advance parole (AP). It also covers future EAD and AP renewals while the adjustment case is pending.
Under the new fee schedule, the cost to file an adjustment of status application with the standard ancillary benefits will increase to $2,270, and applicants will be required to pay fees of $550 and $590, respectively, for each EAD and AP renewal. The filing fee for Naturalization applications will go up from $640 to $1160.
If you are planning to apply for a green card for yourself/or a family member by filing for adjustment of status, or are eligible for Naturalization it is recommended to file your application very soon to avoid paying the increased filing fee costs which will go into effect on October 2, 2020.
USCIS Public Charge Rule update: On July 31, 2020, USCIS issued an announcement in response to the SDNY injunction stating that it will not apply the 2019 Public Charge rule, but rather will apply the 1999 public charge guidance while the SDNY decision is in effect.
USCIS stated that for applications and petitions that USCIS adjudicates on or after July 29, 2020, it will not consider any information provided by an applicant or petitioner that relates to the Public Charge Rule, including information provided on the Form I-944, or information on the receipt of public benefits in Part 5 on Form I-539, Part 3 on Form I-539A or Part 6 on Form I-129.
July 14, 2020: In response to a lawsuit filed by Harvard University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has agreed to rescind a policy that would have barred international students taking online-only courses from staying in the U.S. in the fall 2020 semester.
July 6, 2020: The US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on Monday night issued a statement modifying the previous temporary procedural adaptations related to online courses permitted by the Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) during the height of the Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) crisis which will impact students for the fall 2020 semester as follows:
Non-immigrant F-1 and M-1 students attending schools operating entirely online may not take a full online course load and remain in the United States. Visas will not be issued to students enrolled in schools and/or programs that are fully online for the fall semester nor will US permit these students to enter country.
Active students currently in the US enrolled in such programs must depart the country or take other measures, such as transferring to a school with in-person instruction to remain in lawful status. If not, they may face immigration consequences including, but not limited to, the initiation of removal proceedings.
Non-immigrant F-1 students attending schools operating under normal in-person classes are bound by existing federal regulations. Eligible F students may take a maximum of one class or three credit hours online.
Non-immigrant F-1 students attending schools adopting a hybrid model—that is, a mixture of online and in person classes—will be allowed to take more than one class or three credit hours online. These schools must certify to SEVP, through the Form I-20, “Certificate of Eligibility for Non-immigrant Student Status,” certifying that the program is not entirely online, that the student is not taking an entirely online course load this semester, and that the student is taking the minimum number of online classes required to make normal progress in their degree program.
June 23, 2020: President Donald Trump signed an executive order Monday that freezes new visas for foreign workers through the end of the year, citing the need to preserve jobs amid the economic downturn caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
H-1B visas for tech workers, H-2B visas for low-skill jobs, H-4 visas for spouses of certain visa holders and J visas for those participating in work and student exchanges, as well as L visas for intracompany transfers, will all be suspended through Dec. 31, 2020. Please note that this proclamation applies only to those individuals outside the United States on the effective date of the Proclamation, who do not have a non-immigrant visa that is valid on the effective date of the Proclamation. It does not affect those currently working in the United States on valid H-1B or similar visas listed above. It also does not prevent individuals in possession of valid visas prior to the effective date of the proclamation from entering or re-entering the US if they have been abroad. The U.S. will continue to honor these already valid visas.
May 29, 2020: USCIS Resumes Premium Processing for Certain Petitions. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services today announced that it will resume premium processing for Form I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker and Form I-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Workers, in phases over the next month.
Naturalization interviews and ceremonies to resume soon as USCIS preparing to reopen on June 4, 2020
May 19, 2020: UCIS expects that staff will be returning to work at their offices on June 1 and reopening to the public on June 4. Their priority will be naturalization cases. They have begun to schedule naturalization ceremonies which will be conducted on a small-scale basis (probably limited to 10 people in a space depending on further examination of the Governor’s orders). Naturalization interviews will also begin to be scheduled. The details are still being worked out to ensure public safety. CIS New England region does not yet have plans on when they will schedule adjustment interviews.
USCIS Offices Preparing to Reopen on June 4, 2020.
On March 18, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services temporarily suspended in-person services at its field offices, asylum offices, and application support centers (ASCs) to help slow the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19). USCIS is readying offices to reopen on or after June 4.
During this time, individuals may still submit applications and petitions to USCIS, including applications requesting an extension or change of status. While offices are temporarily closed, USCIS will continue to provide limited emergency in-person services. Please call the USCIS Contact Center for assistance with emergency services.
USCIS field offices will send notices to applicants and petitioners with scheduled biometrics appointments and naturalization ceremonies impacted by the extended temporary closure. When USCIS again resumes operations for in-person services, USCIS will automatically reschedule ASC appointments due to the temporary office closure. Individuals will receive a new appointment letter in the mail.
Presidential Proclamation suspending the entry of certain immigrants into the United States.
April 22, 2020: President Trump signed the executive order to stop people outside the United States from obtaining immigrant visas for 60 days. The executive order went into effect on April 23, 2020. Routine visa services at all U.S. embassies and consular posts around the world were already previously suspended as of March 20, 2020. The U.S. Consulates all over the world have already cancelled all interviews for both non-immigrant visas and immigrant visas for an indefinite period of time. By this executive order, immigrant visa issuance will be suspended for 60 days. It can be extended or modified. Non-immigrant visa holders are not prohibited from coming to the U.S. by this proclamation.
This 60 day moratorium for issuing immigrant visas will not affect the spouses of U. S. citizens and children under 21. However it restricts issuance of immigrant visas to spouses and children of Green Card holders. Parents and siblings of U.S.citizens will also not be able to get a green card while this order remains in effect. We will post more details as and when new announcements comes are made by the White House, U. S Immigration and Citizenship services, and the U.S. State Department.
The U.S. borders with Canada remain closed for non-essential travel until at least July 21, 2020.