H-2B Cap Reached for FY 2019

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has received enough petitions to meet the congressionally mandated H-2B cap for the second half of fiscal year (FY) 2019. Feb. 19, 2019, was the final receipt date for new cap-subject H-2B worker petitions requesting an employment start date before Oct. 1, 2019. USCIS will reject new cap-subject H-2B petitions received after Feb. 19 that request an employment start date before Oct. 1, 2019.

On Feb. 19, the number of beneficiaries USCIS received petitions for surpassed the total number of remaining H-2B visas available for the H-2B cap for the second half of FY 2019. In accordance with regulations, USCIS determined it was necessary to use a computer-generated process, commonly known as a lottery, to ensure the fair and orderly allocation of H-2B visa numbe

USCIS Resumes Premium Processing for H-1B Petitions Filed on or before Dec. 21, 2018

USCIS will resume premium processing on Tuesday, Feb. 19, for all H-1B petitions filed on or before Dec. 21, 2018. If you received a transfer notice for a pending H-1B petition, and you are requesting premium processing service, you must submit the premium processing request to the service center now handling the petition. You should also include a copy of the transfer notice with your premium processing request to avoid possible delays associated with the receipt of your premium processing request. Additionally, if you received a request for evidence (RFE) for a pending petition, you should also include the RFE response with the premium processing request. If your petition was transferred and you send your premium processing request to the wrong center, USCIS will forward it to the petition’s current location.

Visa Bulletin April 2019 Predictions

For official March 2019 Visa Bulletin and analysis, please click here: https://www.mygcvisa.com/visa-bulletin/2019/visa-bulletin-march-2019.aspx

Please see April 2019 Visa Bulletin Predictions below (for both Family Based and Employment Based):

Family Based:

Final Action Dates

Dates For Filing Applications

"Final Action Date" is the date when when USCIS/DOS may render their final decision on submitted applications. Your priority date should be before this date.

Family- Sponsored	All Chargeability  Areas Except Those Listed	CHINA-mainland  born	INDIA	MEXICO	PHILIPPINES
F1	08NOV11	08NOV11	08NOV11	01SEP97	15MAY07
F2A	01FEB17	01FEB17	01FEB17	08JAN17	01FEB17
F2B	15SEP12	15SEP12	15SEP12	22OCT97	15AUG07
F3	01OCT06	01OCT06	01OCT06	01FEB96	22JAN96
F4	22OCT05	22OCT05	22JUL04	15FEB98	01FEB96

"Date for Filing Application" is the date when you can submit I-485/NVC applications to USCIS/DOS. Your priority date should be before this date.

Family- Sponsored	All Chargeability  Areas Except Those Listed	CHINA-mainland  born	INDIA	MEXICO	PHILIPPINES
F1	01MAY12	01MAY12	01MAY12	22NOV99	15APR08
F2A	01JAN18	01JAN18	01JAN18	01JAN18	01JAN18
F2B	15SEP14	15SEP14	15SEP14	15MAR98	01FEB08
F3	08APR07	08APR07	08APR07	15SEP00	08NOV97
F4	01AUG06	01AUG06	01MAR05	01DEC98	01APR98

USCIS Strengthens Guidance on Spousal Petitions Involving Minors

Guidance Clarifies Agency Requirements for Petition

WASHINGTON — U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced today that it is publishing guidance for its officers to consider when adjudicating spousal petitions involving minors.

The guidance, published as an update (PDF, 210 KB) to the USCIS Adjudicator’s Field Manual (AFM), clarifies age requirements for a petitioner filing an Affidavit of Support for a spouse in conjunction with a concurrently filed I-485, and identifies factors officers should consider when adjudicating a <a target='_blank'

March 2019 Visa Bulletin Analysis

For March 2019 Visa Bulletin, please click here: https://www.mygcvisa.com/visa-bulletin/2019/visa-bulletin-march-2019.aspx

Please see below analysis of March 2019 Visa Bulletin:

Family Based:

Final Action Dates

Dates For Filing Applications

"Final Action Date" is the date when when USCIS/DOS may render their final decision on submitted applications. Your priority date should be before this date.

Family- Sponsored	All Chargeability Areas Except Those Listed	CHINA-mainland born	INDIA	MEXICO	PHILIPPINES
F1	+1 Month	+1 Month	+1 Month	No Change	+17 Days
F2A	+1 Month 7 Days	+1 Month 7 Days	+1 Month 7 Days	+1 Month	+1 Month 7 Days
F2B	+3 Months	+3 Months	+3 Months	+2 Months	+21 Days
F3	+17 Days	+17 Days	+17 Days	+24 Days	+4 Months 10 Days
F4	+3 Months	+3 Months	+16 Days	No Change	+3 Months

"Date for Filing Application" is the date when you can submit I-485/NVC applications to USCIS/DOS. Your priority date should be before this date.

Family- Sponsored	All Chargeability Areas Except Those Listed	CHINA-mainland born	INDIA	MEXICO	PHILIPPINES
F1	+14 Days	+14 Days	+14 Days	No Change	+17 Days
F2A	+7 Days	+7 Days	+7 Days	+7 Days	+7 Days
F2B	No Change	No Change	No Change	+4 Months	+7 Days
F3	+1 Month	+1 Month	+1 Month	No Change	+1 Month
F4	+7 Days	+7 Days	+7 Days	+7 Days	+1 Month

March 2019 Visa Bulletin

For February 2019 Visa Bulletin, please click here: https://www.mygcvisa.com/visa-bulletin/2019/visa-bulletin-february-2019.aspx

For analysis of March 2019 Visa Bulletin, please click here: https://www.mygcvisa.com/visa-bulletin/2019/visa-bulletin-analysis-march-2019.aspx

March 2019 Visa Bulletin has been officially released (valid from March 1 to March 31 only). Please see below for more details.

Family Based:

Final Action Dates

Dates For Filing Applications

"Final Action Date" is the date when when USCIS/DOS may render their final decision on submitted applications. Your priority date should be before this date.

Family- Sponsored	All Chargeability  Areas Except Those Listed	CHINA-mainland  born	INDIA	MEXICO	PHILIPPINES
F1	22OCT11	22OCT11	22OCT11	01AUG97	01APR07
F2A	08JAN17	08JAN17	08JAN17	15DEC16	08JAN17
F2B	01AUG12	01AUG12	01AUG12	22SEP97	22JUL07
F3	08SEP06	08SEP06	08SEP06	15JAN96	01JAN96
F4	22SEP05	22SEP05	08JUL04	08FEB98	01JAN96

"Date for Filing Application" is the date when you can submit I-485/NVC applications to USCIS/DOS. Your priority date should be before this date.

Family- Sponsored	All Chargeability  Areas Except Those Listed	CHINA- mainland  born	INDIA	MEXICO	PHILIPPINES
F1	22APR12	22APR12	22APR12	22SEP99	01APR08
F2A	08DEC17	08DEC17	08DEC17	08DEC17	08DEC17
F2B	22JUN14	22JUN14	22JUN14	08FEB98	22JAN08
F3	01MAR07	01MAR07	01MAR07	08JUN00	01SEP97
F4	22JUN06	22JUN06	08FEB05	08NOV98	08JAN98

March 2019 Visa Bulletin Special Notes

For the official March 2019 Visa Bulletin and analysis, please click here: https://www.mygcvisa.com/visa-bulletin/2019/visa-bulletin-march-2019.aspx

Apart from posting current dates, State Department has also added special notes to Visa Bulletin mentioned above. Please see full details below:

D. SCHEDULED EXPIRATION OF TWO EMPLOYMENT VISA CATEGORIES

Employment Fourth Preference Certain Religious Workers (SR):

Pursuant to the continuing resolution, signed on January 25, 2019, the non-minister special immigrant program expires on February 15, 2019. No SR visas may be issued overseas, or final action taken on adjustment of status cases, after midnight February 14, 2019. Visas issued prior to this date will only be issued with a validity date of February 14, 2019, and all individuals seeking admission as a non-minister special immigrant must be admitted (repeat, admitted) into the U.S. no later than midnight February 14, 2019.

The final action date for this category has been listed as "Unavailable" for March. If there is legislative action extending this category for FY-2019, the final action date would immediately become "Current" for March

USCIS to Publish Revised Form I-539 and New Form I-539A

We have revised Form I-539, Application to Extend/Change Nonimmigrant Status and will publish the revised form on our website on March 11, 2019. Starting on March 11, 2019, we will only accept the revised Form I-539 with an edition date of 02/04/19. We will reject any Form I-539 with an edition date of 12/23/16 or earlier. We will also be publishing a new Form I-539A, Supplemental Information for Application to Extend/Change Nonimmigrant Status, on the Form I-539 webpage on March 11. Form I-539A replaces the Supplement A provided in previous versions of Form I-539. Form I-539A can only be submitted with Form I-539; it cannot be filed as a standalone form.

The revised Form I-539 includes the following significant changes: 

• Every co-applicant included on the primary applicant’s

USCIS Now Accepting Copies of Negative P Visa Consultations Directly from Labor Unions

Effective immediately, USCIS will begin accepting copies of negative consultation letters directly from labor unions relating to a current or future P nonimmigrant visa petition. A consultation letter from a U.S. labor organization is generally required for petitions in the P visa classification, which covers athletes, artists, entertainers and their essential support personnel.

Typically, a petitioner submits the necessary P visa consultation with the petition, and that process requirement remains unchanged. After reported concerns from labor unions that some consultation letters, also known as advisory opinions, may have been falsified by petitioners and submitted to USCIS as no-objections or favorable consultations, when in fact they were negative, USCIS announced that it would begin accepting copies of nega

USCIS Statement on the International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation

On Feb. 6, 2019, the International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and the DHS Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties (CRCL) join other U.S. government agencies and the international community in calling for an end to the practice of female genital mutilation or cutting (FGM/C). 

FGM/C is the partial or total removal of the external female genitalia or other injury to the female genital organs for no medical reason.

The United Nations reports that more than 200 million women and girls around the world have undergone some form of FGM/C. On Zero Tolerance Day, we are raising awareness about this practice, which is happening here in the United States, in small towns and big cities alike. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates approximately 500,000 girls in the Un

Owner of Information Technology Staffing Company Charged With Visa and Naturalization Fraud

NEWARK, N.J. – A Middlesex County, New Jersey, man was arrested this morning for allegedly submitting 11 fraudulent H-1B visa applications as well as fraudulently procuring his own citizenship, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.

Neeraj Sharma, 43, of Piscataway, New Jersey, is charged by complaint with one count of visa fraud and one count of naturalization fraud. Sharma is scheduled to make his initial appearance this afternoon before U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael A. Hammer in Newark federal court.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

Sharma recruited foreign workers with purported IT expertise who sought work in the United States. When submitting the potential staffers’ H-1B visa paperwork to U.S. Citizenship and Immigrations Services, Sharma falsely represented that the foreign work

USCIS to Close the Moscow Field Office

Due to a significant decrease in workload, USCIS will permanently close its field office in Moscow, Russia, on March 29, 2019. The last day the office will be open to the public and accepting applications is Feb. 28, 2019. The USCIS field office in Athens, Greece, will assume jurisdiction over immigration matters in the Russian Federation, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Estonia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan.  The U.S. Embassy in Moscow will assume responsibility for certain limited services previously provided by USCIS to individuals residing in Russia (see table below). The USCIS Refugee Affairs Division will assume primary responsibility for adjudicating refugee cases presented for interview in the region.

Beginning on Mar