U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced today it will accept resubmitted fiscal year (FY) 2021 H-1B cap-subject petitions that were rejected or administratively closed solely because the requested start date was after Oct. 1, 2020. If your FY 2021 petition was rejected or administratively closed solely because your petition was based on a registration submitted […]

USCIS announced today that it will automatically extend parole and employment authorization, if applicable, for parolees who timely applied for Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) long-term resident status. This specific extension of parole applies only to current parolees who timely filed Form I-955, Application for CNMI Long-Term Resident Status, and Form I-765, Application

Effective June 14, 2021, the Vermont Service Center will no longer receive any incoming mail at the St. Albans, VT facility, which is being decommissioned. Mail sent to the previous addresses will be forwarded for one year, but any mail sent to the previous addresses after June 2022 may be returned to the sender by

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services will offer filing flexibilities to provide relief to certain applicants and petitioners impacted by delays at a USCIS lockbox. These flexibilities only apply to benefit requests submitted to a USCIS lockbox and not to USCIS service centers or field offices. The following temporary flexibilities are effective for 60 days from

Under the recently announced H-2B supplemental cap temporary final rule, USCIS has received enough petitions to reach the cap for the additional 16,000 H-2B visas made available for returning workers only. We continue to accept petitions for H-2B nonimmigrant workers for the additional 6,000 visas allotted for nationals of Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador (collectively

We are updating guidance in the USCIS Policy Manual to provide clarification regarding certain naturalization applications filed by veterans of the U.S. armed forces under section 329 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). INA section 329 permits certain veterans who served and were honorably discharged from the military but are not lawful permanent residents

Due to updated guidance from the CDC, USCIS has updated its visitor policy. Fully vaccinated individuals no longer have to wear a face covering. Individuals two years old and older who are not fully vaccinated must still wear a face covering. To be considered fully vaccinated, it must be at least two weeks after receiving

The Department of Homeland Security has issued a final rule that removes from the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) an interim final rule (IFR) issued in October 2020, which has since been vacated by a federal district court. On Oct. 8, 2020, DHS issued an IFR titled, Strengthening the H-1B Nonimmigrant Visa Classification Program. On

Effective May 17, 2021, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services will temporarily suspend the biometrics submission requirement for certain applicants filing Form I-539, Application To Extend/Change Nonimmigrant Status, requesting an extension of stay in or change of status to H-4, L-2, and E nonimmigrant status. USCIS will allow adjudications for those specific categories to proceed based

The Department of Homeland Security has withdrawn a proposed rule that would have expanded department authorities and requirements for collecting biometrics by removing age restrictions; requiring submission of biometrics for every applicant, petitioner, sponsor, beneficiary, or other individual filing for or associated with any immigration or naturalization benefit or request unless DHS waives or exempts