Category: US Immigration

On Nov. 2, 2022 USCIS announced a change in our method for calculating orphan and Hague adoption case processing times. In response to this announcement, we received several questions from stakeholders that we address in this FAQ posted on our USCIS Electronic Reading Room (PDF, 136.04 KB). We know that behind every adoption case is […]

Redesignation Allows Additional Eligible Somali Nationals to Apply for TPS and Employment Authorization Documents WASHINGTON – The Department of Homeland Security today published a Federal Register notice extending and redesignating Somalia for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for 18 months, from March 18, 2023, through September 17, 2024. The notice provides information about how to register for TPS […]

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has issued comprehensive guidance (PDF, 311.98 KB) on parole for international entrepreneurs. To enhance entrepreneurship, innovation and job creation in the United States, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) published the International Entrepreneur Rule on Jan. 17, 2017. This rule provides a framework for DHS to use its parole authority to […]

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has published additional online resources on uscis.gov to provide an overview of some of the temporary and permanent pathways for noncitizen entrepreneurs to work in the United States. This guide also highlights some of the most important immigration-related considerations for entrepreneurs contemplating starting or managing a business in the United […]

USCIS will conduct system maintenance to the Contact Relationship Interface System (CRIS) on Wednesday, March 8, 2023 at 11:50 p.m. through Thursday, March 9, 2023 at 2:00 a.m. Eastern. During this time frame, users may experience technical difficulties with one or more of the following online tools: Check My Case Status e-Request Change of Address […]

We are issuing policy guidance in the USCIS Policy Manual to address how we provide mobile biometrics services. The purpose of the new guidance is to reduce barriers for benefit requestors who are unable to attend appointments at Application Support Centers to provide biometrics, such as fingerprints, required for certain benefit requests. The guidance describes […]

WASHINGTON — U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced today the expansion of premium processing for certain F-1 students seeking Optional Practical Training (OPT) and F-1 students seeking science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) OPT extensions who have a pending Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization, and wish to request a premium processing upgrade.  Online filing of […]

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services today issued policy guidance (PDF, 310.33 KB) clarifying how it evaluates evidence to determine eligibility for O-1B nonimmigrants of extraordinary ability in the arts and nonimmigrants of extraordinary achievement in the motion picture or television industry. Policy updates include adding a chart in the appendix that describes examples of evidence […]

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has received enough petitions to meet the H-2B cap for the second half of fiscal year (FY) 2023 and is announcing the filing dates for supplemental H-2B visas for the reminder of FY 2023 made available under the FY 2023 H-2B supplemental visa temporary final rule. H-2B Cap for Second […]

Today, the Department of Homeland Security posted a Federal Register notice providing information related to the EB-5 Integrity Fund. We will use the EB-5 Integrity Fund primarily to administer the EB-5 Regional Center Program, as required by the EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act of 2022. Starting March 2, we will collect an annual fee from […]