Immigration News  |
| Changes in immigration that impact your life. |
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| USCIS Settles Kaplan Class Action |
| May 6, 2008 |
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| U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has entered into a settlement agreement in a national class action, Kaplan, et al. v. Chertoff, et al., CV 06-5304, which was filed in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. |
| USCIS Issues Revised Guidance on Child Status Protection Act (CSPA) |
| May 6, 2008 |
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| U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services today issued guidance that will modify its earlier interpretation of the Child Status Protection Act (CSPA) which permits applicants for certain immigration benefits to retain classification as a child even if he or she has reached the age of 21. |
| USCIS Announces a Proposal to Increase Periods of Stay for TN Professional Workers from Canada or Mexico |
| May 5, 2008 |
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| U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced today that it is publishing a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) to increase the maximum amount of time a Trade-NAFTA (TN) professional worker from Canada or Mexico can remain in the United States before seeking readmission or obtaining an extension of stay. The proposal will extend the maximum period of admission for TN workers from one year to three years, the same term that USCIS currently may grant to H-1B specialty occupation workers. |
| USCIS Announces Enhancements to E-Verify Program |
| May 5, 2008 |
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| U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced today improvements to the E-Verify employment authorization program that will reduce an already low mismatch rate, while also streamlining and increasing the effectiveness of the overall program. |
| USCIS Revises Form I-693, Report of Medical Examination and Vaccination Record |
| April 29, 2008 |
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| The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has announced that it has revised Form I-693, Report of Medical Examination and Vaccination Record. The revision was necessitated by changes to the Tuberculosis (TB) Component of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Technical Instructions for Civil Surgeons. This revised form (edition date 04/02/08) must be used for any medical examination completed on or after May 1, 2008. Previous editions of the Form I-693 may not be used on or after that date. |
| USCIS Updates Naturalization Processing Times at Local Offices |
| April 22, 2008 |
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| The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has released the projected times for local offices to complete processing of applications for citizenship from individuals who filed during the summer of 2007. Last July, USCIS received 460,000 applications for Naturalization. That was three times the record for any previous month. For the year, USCIS received 1.4 million naturalization applications, almost double the normal annual volume. |
| USCIS Carries Out Random Selection Process for H-1B Petitions |
| April 14, 2008 |
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| The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) today conducted the computer-generated random selection processes on H-1B petitions, to select which H-1B petitions for fiscal year 2009 (FY 2009) would continue to full adjudication. If approved these H-1B petitions will be eligible to receive an H-1B visa number. |
| Update on Processing Petitions for Nonimmigrant Victims of Criminal Activity |
| April 10, 2008 |
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| The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has announced that, until further notice, it will not terminate interim relief for aliens who have not yet filed for U nonimmigrant status, except in those cases where USCIS is aware of adverse factors. USCIS will continue to accept petitions for U nonimmigrant status at any time. It is to be recalled that the USCIS had announced on Sept. 5, 2007 the publication of an interim final rule granting immigrant benefits to certain victims of crimes who assist government officials in investigating or prosecuting the criminal activity. That rule was effective Oct. 17, 2007 and established procedures for applicants seeking U nonimmigrant status, one of which encouraged aliens who had been granted interim relief to petition for U nonimmigrant status prior to Apr. 13, 2008 (180 days from the effective date of the rule). The rule states that USCIS will terminate interim relief for aliens who fail to petition for the “U” classification within the 180-day time period. |
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