USCIS Announces Citizenship and Assimilation Grant Opportunities

WASHINGTON—U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced today it is accepting applications for two funding opportunities under the Citizenship and Assimilation Grant Program that will provide up to $10 million in grants for citizenship preparation programs in communities across the country.

These competitive grant opportunities are open to organizations that prepare lawful permanent residents for naturalization and promote civic assimilation through increased knowledge of English, U.S. history, and civics.

USCIS seeks to expand availability of high-quality citizenship and assimilation services throughout the country with these two grant opportunities:

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Tools Outage

USCIS will conduct a system maintenance from Friday, August 2, 2019 starting at 9 p.m. until 11:59 p.m. (Eastern) on Saturday, August 3, 2019.

During this time you may experience technical difficulties with one of our online tools:

• 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.

Asylum and Internal Relocation Guidance

The crisis at our Southern border continues to be severe. Every day, USCIS faces an unprecedented number of aliens overwhelming our asylum system, many of whom are ineligible for asylum and are attempting to enter and remain in the country in violation of our laws. This guidance further clarifies current regulations and policies that are already in place regarding internal relocation of an alien in their home country, eliciting testimony for credible fear screenings, and documenting outcomes. As detailed in the Department of State country conditions reports for these countries, private violence is not pervasive across the entirety of each Northern Triangle country. I am writing to provide a reminder of the importance of assessi

USCIS Closes the Moscow Field Office to Public on Feb. 28, 2019

As of Feb. 28, 2019, the USCIS field office in Moscow, Russia, is closed to the public and no longer accepting applications. Due to a significant decrease in workload, USCIS will permanently close the office on March 29, 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).

H-2B Petitioners Must Include Temporary Labor Certification Final Determination with Form I-129

On July 3, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) implemented its new Foreign Labor Application Gateway (FLAG) system for the H-2B temporary non-agricultural worker program. As of July 3, employers who file an H-2B application for temporary labor certification in FLAG will only receive a temporary labor certification electronically.

If your application for a temporary labor certification was processed in FLAG, you must include a printed copy of the electronic one-page “final determination” of your H-2B temporary labor certification approval when you submit your Form I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker.

New Rulemaking Brings Significant Changes to EB-5 Program

Minimum Investments, Targeted Employment Area Designations Among Reforms

WASHINGTON—U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will publish a final rule on July 24 that makes a number of significant changes to its EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program, marking the first significant revision of the program’s regulations since 1993. The final rule will become effective on Nov. 21, 2019.

New developments under the final rule include:

• Raising the minimum investment amoun

Tools Outage

USCIS will conduct a system maintenance from Friday, July 19, 2019 starting at 9 p.m. until 11:59 p.m. (Eastern) on Sunday, July 21, 2019.

During this time you may experience technical difficulties with one of our online tools:

• 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 Announces Plan to Improve the Naturalization Test

Memorandum Announces a Decennial Revision Schedule

WASHINGTON — U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is revising the current naturalization test with improvements to ensure it continues to serve as an accurate measure of a naturalization applicant’s civics knowledge and that it reflects best practices in adult education assessments. The goal is to create a meaningful, uniform, and efficient test that will assess applicants’ knowledge and understanding of U.S. history, government and values.

This spring, the former USCIS director signed the <a target='_blank' href="https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/USCIS/Office%20of%20Citizens

E-Verify is now on LinkedIn

The Verification Division is streamlining our public contact channels. E-Verify Listens will be discontinued on July 17.  We are encouraging interested parties to connect with us through our E-Verify website, on Twitter (@EVerify), and on Facebook. In addition, they can subscribe to GovDelivery to receive the latest E-Verify email updates, and text “EVERIFY UPDATES” to 468311 to get the latest E-Verify news. </

Visa Bulletin September 2019 Predictions

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

Please see September 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	08AUG12	08AUG12	08AUG12	15AUG96	01APR08
F2A	C	C	C	C	C
F2B	15MAR14	15MAR14	15MAR14	08JUL98	01MAY08
F3	01AUG07	01AUG07	01AUG07	08DEC95	15DEC97
F4	01DEC06	01DEC06	01OCT04	22JAN97	08AUG98

"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	01APR13	01APR13	01APR13	08DEC99	08SEP08
F2A	22JUL19	22JUL19	22JUL19	22JUL19	22JUL19
F2B	15SEP14	15SEP14	15SEP14	01APR99	01DEC08
F3	01FEB08	01FEB08	01FEB08	08SEP00	01JUL98
F4	08FEB07	08FEB07	01JUN05	01JAN99	08FEB99

Tools Outage

USCIS will conduct a system maintenance on Monday, July 15, 2019 from 9 p.m. until 11:59 p.m. (Eastern).

During this time you may experience technical difficulties with one of our online tools:

• 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.

August 2019 Visa Bulletin Analysis

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

Please see below analysis of August 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	+3 Months 24 Days	+3 Months 24 Days	+3 Months 24 Days	No Change	+6 Months
F2A	No Change	No Change	No Change	No Change	No Change
F2B	+4 Months	+4 Months	+4 Months	+1 Month 16 Days	+3 Months
F3	+3 Months 14 Days	+3 Months 14 Days	+3 Months 14 Days	+5 Months	+2 Months
F4	+3 Months 16 Days	+3 Months 16 Days	+24 Days	No Change	+4 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	+3 Months 23 Days	+3 Months 23 Days	+3 Months 23 Days	+10 Days	+3 Months 21 Days
F2A	+2 Months 24 Days	+2 Months 24 Days	+2 Months 24 Days	+2 Months 24 Days	+2 Months 24 Days
F2B	+17 Days	+17 Days	+17 Days	+1 Month 10 Days	+3 Months
F3	+3 Months 14 Days	+3 Months 14 Days	+3 Months 14 Days	+7 Days	+2 Months
F4	No Change	No Change	+23 Days	+7 Days	+4 Months

August 2019 Visa Bulletin Special Notes

For the official August 2019 Visa Bulletin and analysis, please click here: https://www.mygcvisa.com/visa-bulletin/2019/visa-bulletin-august-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. ESTABLISHMENT AND RETROGRESSION OF AUGUST EMPLOYMENT-BASED FINAL ACTION DATES

There has been a steadily increasing level of Employment applicant demand since late May for adjustment of status cases filed with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, and there is no indication that this increase will end. Therefore, it has been necessary to establish or retrogress many of the August Final Action Dates in an effort to hold worldwide number use within the maximum allowed under the respective FY-2019 annual limits.

The implementation of the above mentioned dates is expected to be only a temporary issue. For October, the first month of fiscal year 2020, every effort will be made to return these final action dates to those which applied for July.

E. DIVERSITY VISA LOTTERY 2020 (DV-2020) RESULTS

The Kentucky Consular Center in

August 2019 Visa Bulletin

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

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

August 2019 Visa Bulletin has been officially released (valid from August 1 to August 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	01JUL12	01JUL12	01JUL12	01AUG96	22FEB08
F2A	C	C	C	C	C
F2B	01JAN14	01JAN14	01JAN14	01JUN98	01APR08
F3	22JUN07	22JUN07	22JUN07	01DEC95	01OCT97
F4	01OCT06	01OCT06	15SEP04	01JAN97	01MAY98

"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	01MAR13	01MAR13	01MAR13	01NOV99	22AUG08
F2A	01JUN19	01JUN19	01JUN19	01JUN19	01JUN19
F2B	01SEP14	01SEP14	01SEP14	01FEB99	01NOV08
F3	22DEC07	22DEC07	22DEC07	15JUL00	01APR98
F4	15DEC06	15DEC06	15MAY05	15DEC98	01NOV98

Executives of Staffing Companies Charged with Visa Fraud

NEWARK, N.J. – Four executives of two information technology staffing companies have been arrested on charges of fraudulently using the H-1B visa program to gain an unfair advantage over competitors, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced yesterday.

Vijay Mane, 39, of Princeton, New Jersey; Venkataramana Mannam, 47, of Edison, New Jersey; Fernando Silva, 53, of Princeton; and Sateesh Vemuri, 52, of San Jose, California, are each charged by complaint with one count of conspiracy to commit visa fraud.

Vemuri made his initial appearance July 1, 2019, before U.S. Magistrate Judge Steven C. Mannion in Newark federal court. Mannam and Silva appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Leda Dunn Wettre in Newark federal court on June 25, 20

Celebrating Independence Day 2019 with Naturalization Ceremonies

On July 4, we celebrate our nation’s 243^rd birthday and the day the Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence in 1776.

USCIS marks Independence Day with naturalization ceremonies across the country. This year, we will welcome almost 7,500 new citizens in nearly 110 naturalization ceremonies between July 1 and July 5. A list of highlighted Independence Day-themed ceremonies is below.

We invite you to share your experiences and photos from naturalization ceremonies on social media, using the hashtags #newUScitizen, #4thofJuly and #IndependenceDay. You can follow us on Twitter (@uscis), Y