Certain Nonimmigrants Can Now File Form I-539 Online

You may file Form I-539, Application to Extend/Change Nonimmigrant Status, online if you are applying as a single applicant (without co-applicants, or legal or accredited representation) to extend your stay and you hold status as a:

• B-1 temporary visitor for business;
• B-2 temporary visitor for pleasure;
• F-1 academic student with a specific status expiration date;
• F-2 spouse or child of an academic student with a specific expiration date;
• M-1 vocational student; or
• M-2 spouse or child of an M-1 student.

Filing online lets you:</stro

USCIS Accelerates Transition to Digital Immigration Processing

WASHINGTON – U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) today announced a new strategy known as eProcessing to accelerate USCIS’ transition to a digital business model. eProcessing will be a complete digital experience, from applying for a benefit, to communicating with USCIS, through receiving a decision on a case.

As a first step, certain visitors for business, visitors for pleasure, and vocational students can now apply online to extend their stay in the United States. Additional classifications are coming soon.

eProcessing connects previously separate technology systems within the agency to ultimately improve de

Tools Outage

USCIS will conduct a widespread system maintenance on Wednesday, May 22, 2019, from 9 p.m. until midnight (Eastern).

During this time you may experience technical difficulties and many of our online tools may be unavailable, including:

• Check My Case Status
• e-Request
• Change of Address Online
• Check Processing Times
• Civil Surgeon Locator
• FOIA Status Check
• Office Locator
• File Online
• myUSCIS Online Account 

We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.

Texas Service Center to Begin Accepting Form I-129 for Certain H-1B Petitions

On May 20, 2019, the Texas Service Center will begin processing Form I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker, for certain H-1B cap-exempt petitions requesting:

• A change in previously approved employment;
• A change of employer;
• Concurrent employment;
• Amendments;
• A continuation of previously approved employment without change with the same employer;
• A change of status to H-1B; or
• Notification to a U.S. Consulate or inspection facility (port of entry or pre-flight inspection).

This does not include H-1B petitions for cap-exempt entities, petitions that are cap-exempt based on a Co

USCIS Completes Data Entry of Fiscal Year 2020 H-1B Cap Subject Petitions

USCIS has completed data entry for all fiscal year 2020 H-1B cap-subject petitions selected in our computer-generated random selection process, including those selected under the U.S. advanced degree exemption. As in previous years, we will now begin returning all H-1B cap-subject petitions that we did not select and will issue an announcement once we are done notifying petitioners. Due to the volume of filings, we cannot provide a definite time frame for returning unselected petitions. We ask petitioners to wait to inquire about the status of their cap-subject petitions until they receive a receipt notice or an unselected petition that we have returned.

Additionally, we may transfer some Form I-129 H-1B cap-subject petitions between the

Five Individuals Involved in Marriage Fraud Scheme Plead Guilty

NEW HAVEN, Conn. — John H. Durham, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, today announced that five individuals have pleaded guilty in Hartford federal court to charges related to their participation in fraudulent marriages so that non-U.S. citizens would receive U.S. immigration benefits.  The fifth defendant pleaded guilty this afternoon.

According to court documents and statements made in court, four of the defendants are U.S. citizens who entered into one or more fraudulent marriages with non-citizens, and sponsored each non-citizen’s fraudulent application for lawful permanent resident (“LPR”) status, also known as a “green card.”  A fifth defendan

Visa Bulletin July 2019 Predictions

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

Please see July 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	22MAR12	15MAR12	15MAR12	22AUG97	01AUG07
F2A	C	22AUG17	22AUG17	08AUG17	22AUG17
F2B	15JUL13	15JUL13	15JUL13	15APR98	08DEC07
F3	15JAN07	15JAN07	15JAN07	01MAR96	01APR97
F4	15MAY06	15MAY06	01SEP04	01MAR98	15AUG97

"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	01NOV12	01NOV12	01NOV12	22NOV99	08JUN08
F2A	C	22APR19	22APR19	22APR19	22APR19
F2B	01NOV14	01NOV14	01NOV14	01FEB99	22JUL08
F3	22SEP07	22SEP07	22SEP07	01SEP00	15JAN98
F4	22JAN07	22JAN07	22APR05	15DEC98	15MAY98

Hudson County Woman Convicted at Trial of Compelled Labor of Sri Lankan Woman for over Nine Years

NEWARK, N.J. - A Hudson County, New Jersey, woman was convicted last week on charges of forced labor, alien harboring for financial gain, and marriage fraud, announced Assistant Attorney General Eric Dreiband of the Civil Rights Division and U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito for the District of New Jersey.

Alia Imad Faleh Al Hunaity, aka “Alia Al Qaternah,” 43, was found guilty on all counts of the indictment against her following a six-day trial before U.S. District Judge Robert B. Kugler in Camden federal court. The jury deliberated for two hours before returning the guilty verdict.

“The defendant took advantage of the victim for years, forcing her to live in terrible conditions, work wit

June 2019 Visa Bulletin Analysis

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

Please see below analysis of June 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 7 Days	+1 Month 7 Days	+1 Month 7 Days	No Change	+1 Month 7 Days
F2A	+2 Months	+2 Months	+2 Months	+2 Months	+2 Months
F2B	+3 Months 14 Days	+3 Months 14 Days	+3 Months 14 Days	+1 Month	+1 Month 14 Days
F3	+1 Month 14 Days	+1 Month 14 Days	+1 Month 14 Days	+7 Days	+3 Months 24 Days
F4	+1 Month 14 Days	+1 Month 14 Days	+14 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	+1 Month 17 Days	+1 Month 17 Days	+1 Month 17 Days	+7 Days	+7 Days
F2A	+1 Year 2 Months	+1 Year 2 Months	+1 Year 2 Months	+1 Year 2 Months	+1 Year 2 Months
F2B	+7 Days	+7 Days	+7 Days	+2 Months 14 Days	+1 Month 17 Days
F3	+2 Months	+2 Months	+2 Months	+9 Days	+1 Month
F4	+2 Months	+2 Months	+1 Month	+9 Days	+14 Days

June 2019 Visa Bulletin

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

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

June 2019 Visa Bulletin has been officially released (valid from June 1 to June 30 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	15FEB12	15FEB12	15FEB12	08AUG97	22JUN07
F2A	15JUL17	15JUL17	15JUL17	01JUL17	15JUL17
F2B	15MAY13	15MAY13	15MAY13	15MAR98	15NOV07
F3	22DEC06	22DEC06	22DEC06	22FEB96	01FEB97
F4	01APR06	01APR06	15AUG04	08FEB98	01JUN97

"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	08OCT12	08OCT12	08OCT12	15OCT99	22APR08
F2A	08MAR19	08MAR19	08MAR19	08MAR19	08MAR19
F2B	08AUG14	08AUG14	08AUG14	15DEC98	01JUL08
F3	22AUG07	22AUG07	22AUG07	01JUL00	01NOV97
F4	01DEC06	01DEC06	15APR05	01DEC98	01MAR98

Nearly 100 Charged in Massive Marriage Fraud Scheme

HOUSTON – A total of 50 people are now in custody following the return of a 206-count indictment alleging varying roles in a large-scale marriage fraud scheme, announced U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Patrick along with Special Agent in Charge Mark Dawson of Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and District Director Tony Bryson of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).

The federal grand jury returned the massive indictment April 30, 2019, charging 96 individuals. To date, law enforcement has taken 50 into custody. Of those, nine are set to appear for a detention hearing before U.S. Magistrate Judge Nancy Johnson at 10:00 a.m. today.

The indictment remains sealed as to

June 2019 Visa Bulletin Special Notes

For the official June 2019 Visa Bulletin and analysis, please click here: https://www.mygcvisa.com/visa-bulletin/2019/visa-bulletin-june-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. INDIA EMPLOYMENT-BASED FIRST PREFERENCE VISA AVAILABILITY

Despite the final action date for this country having been held for the past three months, there continues to be an extremely high rate of demand for Employment First preference (E1) numbers, primarily for USCIS adjustment of status applicants. This situation has resulted in the retrogression of this final action date for the month of June in an effort to limit future number use.

Such action will only be temporary with the E1 date for India returning to at least February 22, 2017 for October, the first month of fiscal year 2020.

E. EMPLOYMENT-BASED FIFTH PREFERENCE VISA AVAILABILITY

India: Continued heavy applicant demand is expected to result in the India Employment Fifth preference (E5) category approaching the per-country annual limit during July. This is like

USCIS Names New Deputy Director

WASHINGTON—U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) today announced it has selected Mark Koumans as the agency’s next Deputy Director, and he will start his new duties on Monday, May 13.

Koumans, a career federal employee, has served since September 2015 in a number of executive positions at U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP).

Koumans will replace Tracy Renaud who has served as the USCIS Acting Deputy Director since March 2018. Renaud will return to her previous position as the Associate Director of the Management Directorate.

Koumans previously served for eight years as a Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Department of Homeland Security Office of Policy. Prior to that, he was

Tools Outage

USCIS will conduct a widespread system maintenance on Saturday, May 11, 2019, from 8 a.m. until 3 p.m.(Eastern).

During this time you may experience technical difficulties and many of our online tools may be unavailable, including:

• Check My Case Status
• e-Request
• Change of Address Online
• Check Processing Times
• Civil Surgeon Locator
• FOIA Status Check
• Office Locator
• File Online
• myUSCIS Online Account 

We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.

USCIS Clarifies the Period of Authorized Stay for P-1S Essential Support Personnel of Individual Athletes

USCIS has updated the Adjudicator’s Field Manual (AFM) (PDF, 224 KB) to emphasize that, under current regulations, the periods of initial authorized stay are different for individual athletes (P-1A) and their essential support personnel (P-1S). The P-1S classification is for “Essential Support Personnel” who are an integral part of the performance of a P-1 nonimmigrant, and who perform support services that cannot be readily performed by a U.S. worker.

Under existing DHS regulations, P-1A individual athletes have an initial period of authorized sta

Queens Immigration Attorney Sentenced To Five Years In Prison For Operating Asylum Fraud Scheme

NEW YORK — Geoffrey S. Berman, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that Andreea Dumitru, a/k/a “Andreea Dumitru Parcalaboiu,” an immigration attorney based in Queens, New York, was sentenced to five years in prison in connection with her operation of a scheme to submit fraudulent asylum applications to United States immigration authorities.  Dumitru was convicted on November 19, 2018, of asylum fraud, making false statements to immigration authorities, and aggravated identity theft following a two-week trial before U.S. District Judge Lewis A. Kaplan, who imposed yesterday’s sentence.

Manhattan U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman said:  &ld

DHS, DOL Publish Joint Rule for Additional Visas for Returning Foreign Workers

WASHINGTON – The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Department of Labor (DOL) have published a joint rule making available an additional 30,000 H-2B temporary nonagricultural worker visas for fiscal year (FY) 2019. These supplemental H-2B visas are available only to returning workers who received an H-2B visa, or were otherwise granted H-2B status, during one of the last three fiscal years (FY 2016, 2017, or 2018), and availability is restricted by prioritizing only those businesses who would suffer irreparable harm without the additional workers.

Returning H-2B workers have demonstrated their ability to abide by the terms and conditions of the H-2B program and, therefore, are less likely to rem

Tools Outage

USCIS will conduct a widespread system maintenance on Saturday, May 4, 2019, from 8 a.m. until 2 p.m.(Eastern) and Sunday, May 5, 2019, from 5 a.m. until 6 p.m.(Eastern).

During this time you may experience technical difficulties and many of our online tools may be unavailable, including:

• Check My Case Status
• e-Request
• Change of Address Online
• Check Processing Times
• Civil Surgeon Locator
• FOIA Status Check
• Office Locator
• File Online
• myUSCIS Online Account 

We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.