Sunday, November 24, 2019

Tools Outage

USCIS will conduct system maintenance to the Customer Relationship Interface System (CRIS) from Thursday, November 21 at 11:59 p.m. to Friday, November 22 at 3:00 a.m. (EDT.)

During these timeframes, users may experience technical difficulties with one or more of the following 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



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Saturday, November 23, 2019

USCIS Issues Guidance on Adjustment of Status by Aliens Whose Conditional Permanent Residence Has Been Terminated

USCIS today issued policy guidance (PDF, 382 KB) explaining how USCIS applies Matter of Stockwell and clarifying when USCIS may adjust the status of an alien whose Conditional Permanent Resident (CPR) status has been terminated. An immigration judge does not need to affirm the termination of CPR status before the alien can file a new adjustment of status application.

An alien with CPR status obtains lawful permanent resident status either based on marriage to a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident (if the marriage is less than two years at the time the alien a



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Friday, November 22, 2019

USCIS Issues Further Guidance on Special Immigrant Juvenile Classification

On Oct. 11, USCIS issued three adopted Administrative Appeals Office decisions to clarify requirements for Special Immigrant Juvenile (SIJ) classification. USCIS is now updating the USCIS Policy Manual (PDF, 375 KB) to reflect those clarifications.

This update reaffirms and clarifies that:

  • The petitioner must have been a juvenile under relevant state law when the juvenile court order was


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Thursday, November 21, 2019

USCIS Releases Report on Arrest Histories of Illegal Aliens who Request DACA

Offenses include Murder, Rape, Weapon and Assault Charges  

Release Date: 

WASHINGTON—Today, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) updated <a target='_blank' href="https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/USCIS/Resources/Reports%20and%20Studies/Immigration%20Forms%20Data/Static_files/DACA_Requestors_IDENT_Nov._2019.pdf" r



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Wednesday, November 20, 2019

USCIS Publishes Guidance on H-2A Petitions for Sheep/Goat Herders

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services today published a policy memorandum (PDF, 408 KB) (PM) that requires requests for temporary foreign workers for range sheep or goat herding or production be subject to the same requirements as other temporary agricultural workers.

USCIS is issuing this PM to ensure that H-2A nonimmigrant sheep/goat herders may only fill temporary and/or seasonal herder positions, and that petitioners filing petitions for permanent sheep/goat herders comply with the requirements applicable to permanent positio



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Tuesday, November 19, 2019

Tools Outage

USCIS will conduct system maintenance to the Customer Relationship Interface System (CRIS) on Friday, November 15, 2019 from 12:01 a.m. until 6:00 a.m. (Eastern), Saturday, November 16, 2019 from 12:01 a.m. until 6:00 a.m. (Eastern) and Sunday, November 17, 2019 from 12:01 a.m. until 12:00 p.m. (Eastern).

During these timeframes, users may experience technical difficulties with one or more of the following online tools:

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


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Monday, November 18, 2019

December 2019 Visa Bulletin Analysis

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

Please see below analysis of December 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
INDIAMEXICOPHILIPPINES
F1+2 Months 14 Days+2 Months 14 Days+2 Months 14 DaysNo Change+1 Month 16 Days
F2ANo ChangeNo ChangeNo ChangeNo ChangeNo Change
F2B+1 Month+1 Month+1 MonthNo Change+2 Months
F3+24 Days+24 Days+24 DaysNo Change+3 Months
F4+1 Month+1 Month+17 DaysNo Change+3 Months 14 Days
"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
INDIAMEXICOPHILIPPINES
F1+2 Months 14 Days+2 Months 14 Days+2 Months 14 DaysNo Change+1 Month 17 Days
F2A+1 Month+1 Month+1 Month+1 Month+1 Month
F2B+1 Month+1 Month+1 MonthNo Change+2 Months
F3+1 Month+1 Month+1 MonthNo Change+3 Months
F4+21 Days+21 Days+16 DaysNo Change+3 Months 14 Days



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December 2019 Visa Bulletin

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

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

December 2019 Visa Bulletin has been officially released (valid from December 1 to December 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 15MAY13
15MAY13 15MAY13 08AUG97 01NOV08
F2A C C C C C
F2B 08AUG14 08AUG14 08AUG14 22AUG98 01DEC08
F3 08NOV07 08NOV07 08NOV07 22FEB96 01SEP98
F4 01FEB07 01FEB07 01NOV04 15DEC97 15DEC98
"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 15NOV13 15NOV13 15NOV13 15NOV99 01MAY09
F2A 01OCT19 01OCT19 01OCT19 01OCT19 01OCT19
F2B 08FEB15 08FEB15 08FEB15 22APR99 01JUN09
F3 15MAY08 15MAY08 15MAY08 15JUL00 01MAR99
F4 22JUL07 22JUL07 01JUL05 01JAN99 15JUN99



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December 2019 Visa Bulletin Special Notes

For the official December 2019 Visa Bulletin and analysis, please click here: https://www.mygcvisa.com/visa-bulletin/2019/visa-bulletin-december-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 (H.R. 4378 - Continuing Appropriations Act, 2020, and Health Extenders Act of 2019), signed on September 27, 2019, the non-minister special immigrant program expires on November 21, 2019. No SR visas may be issued overseas or final action taken on adjustment of status cases after midnight, November 20, 2019. Visas issued prior to this date will only be issued with a validity date of November 20, 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, November 20, 2019.

The final action date for this category has been listed as "Unavailable" for December for all countries.

If there is legislati



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USCIS to Deter Frivolous or Fraudulent Asylum Seekers from Obtaining Work Authorizations

WASHINGTON—U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services today announced a proposed rule to deter aliens from illegally entering the United States and from filing frivolous, fraudulent or otherwise non-meritorious asylum applications in order to obtain employment authorization.

The proposed rule will better allow USCIS to extend protections to those with bona fide asylum claims. USCIS also seeks to prevent certain criminal aliens from obtaining work authorization before the merits of their asylum application are adjudicated.

The proposed rule stems from th



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Sunday, November 17, 2019

USCIS Proposes to Adjust Fees to Meet Operational Needs

WASHINGTON – The Department of Homeland Security will publish a notice of proposed rulemaking in the Federal Register to adjust the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Immigration Examinations Fee Account fee schedule.

Fees collected and deposited into the IEFA fund nearly 96% of USCIS’ budget. Unlike most government agencies, USCIS is fee-funded. Federal law requires USCIS to conduct biennial fee reviews and recommend necessary fee adjustments to ensure recovery of the full cost of administering the nation



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Friday, November 15, 2019

USCIS Implements $10 Fee for H-1B Visa Registration

WASHINGTON—U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services today announced a final rule that will require a $10 non-refundable fee for each H-1B registration submitted by petitioning employers, once it implements the electronic registration system. The registration fee is part of an agency-wide effort to modernize and more efficiently process applications to live or work in the United States.

The H-1B program allows companies in the United States to temporarily employ foreign workers in occupations that require the ap



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Thursday, November 14, 2019

USCIS Assists in Case Where Federal Grand Jury Indicts Lawyer and Accountant in Visa Fraud Scheme to Obtain LPR Status for South Korean Nationals

LOS ANGELES – A federal grand jury has indicted two men in a scheme to obtain lawful permanent resident status for South Korean nationals by submitting fraudulent visa applications that falsely claimed American businesses wanted to hire skilled foreign workers.

The indictment, returned on Nov. 1, alleges that the defendants exploited the EB-2(a) visa program by submitting bogus Alien Worker Petitions on behalf of companies – some legitimate, some created specifically for the scheme – that purportedly wanted to hire foreign nationals after exhausting attempts to find suitable workers in the United States. According to court documents, those South Korean visa applicants simply want



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Wednesday, November 13, 2019

Wilmington Woman Pleads Guilty to Aiding and Abetting False Statements in Connection with a Conspiracy to Commit Marriage Fraud

NEW BERN, N.C. –Marlilyn Godshall of Wilmington, North Carolina, pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting fraudulent statements.  United States Magistrate Judge Robert B. Jones, Jr. sentenced Godshall to 12 months of probation.

Homeland Security Investigations initiated an inquiry with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Fraud Detection and National Security  into Godshall based on a fraudulent marriage between her daughter, Melissa Godshall, a United States citizen, and Levan Lomtatidze, a citizen of the Republic of Georgia.  A lead suggested that Melissa Godshall was married to Lomtatidze but also shared an address with her real boyfriend, Robert Kennerley.

“Tak



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Tuesday, November 12, 2019

DHS Extends TPS Documentation for Six Countries

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) today announced a Federal Register notice extending the validity of TPS-related documentation for beneficiaries under the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) designations for El Salvador, Haiti, Honduras, Nepal, Nicaragua and Sudan through Jan. 4, 2021. 

The notice automatically extends the validity of Employment Authorization Documents; Forms I-797, Notice of Action; and Forms I-94, Arrival/Departure Record (collectively, TPS-related documentation). The validity dates for the affected count



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Monday, November 11, 2019

Armenian Citizen Pleads Guilty for His Role in For-Profit U.S. Visa Fraud Scheme

NEW YORK—A man residing in Glendale, California, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to unlawfully bring in aliens and visa fraud for his role in a multi-year visa fraud scheme that brought Armenian citizens into the United States for profit.

Hrachya Atoyan, 32, pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge Sanket J. Bulsara in the Eastern District of New York.  Sentencing is scheduled for Feb. 20, 2020, before U.S. District Judge Margo K. Brodie.  According to the indictment, Atoyan allegedly participated in a transnational network of co-conspirators who engaged in a widespread visa fraud scheme to bring Armenian citizens into the United States by fraudulently claiming to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigratio



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Sunday, November 10, 2019

Tampa Woman Pleads Guilty to Charges Related to Immigration Fraud Scheme Stretching from Tampa to Chicago

TAMPA, Fla. — Erika Paola Intriago pleaded guilty to wire fraud in connection with a fraud scheme involving her posing as an immigration attorney to victims in Chicago and Tampa. Intriago faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison. A sentencing date has not yet been set.

According to court documents, Intriago portrayed herself as an immigration attorney and personal representative offering immigration-related services. She advertised her services on social media, targeting immigrants and immigrant families from Spanish-speaking countries. In fact, Intriago was not a licensed attorney in any state.

Victims retained and paid Intriago to represent them in immigration-r



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Saturday, November 9, 2019

USCIS Adjusting Premium Processing Fee

WASHINGTON — Today, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced beginning on Dec. 2, it is adjusting the fee to request premium processing for certain employment-based petitions.

The premium processing fee will increase to $1,440 from the current fee of $1,410 for Form I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker, and Form I-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker. This increase, which is done in accordance with the Immigration and Nationality Act, ref



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Friday, November 8, 2019

USCIS Makes Another Form Available for Online Filing

WASHINGTON – U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services today announced that petitioners can now complete and file Form I-130, Petition for Alien Relative, online. Online filing allows aliens to submit forms electronically, check the status of their case, and receive notices from USCIS.

“Form I-130 is one of the most widely filed USCIS forms,” said USCIS Acting Director Ken Cuccinelli. “As we continue our transition to paperless operations, petitioners can now experience the convenience of filing electronically. USCIS is increasing the number of forms available for online filing to make our agency more effective and efficient.&r



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Thursday, November 7, 2019

USCIS Updates Fee Waiver Requirements

WASHINGTON — U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has revised Form I-912, Request for Fee Waiver, by removing the means-tested benefit criteria that was previously used as a factor in determining whether an applicant was exempt from paying for filing fees or biometric services. Individuals may still request a fee waiver if their documented annual household income is at or below 150% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines or they demonstrate financial hardship.

A means-tested benefit is a public benefit—offered by federal, state, or local agencies—for which eligibility and amount considerations are based on a person’s income and reso



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Wednesday, November 6, 2019

Wilmington Woman Pleads Guilty to Aiding and Abetting False Statements in Connection with a Conspiracy to Commit Marriage Fraud

NEW BERN, N.C. –Marlilyn Godshall of Wilmington, North Carolina, pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting fraudulent statements.  United States Magistrate Judge Robert B. Jones, Jr. sentenced Godshall to 12 months of probation.

Homeland Security Investigations initiated an inquiry with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Fraud Detection and National Security  into Godshall based on a fraudulent marriage between her daughter, Melissa Godshall, a United States citizen, and Levan Lomtatidze, a citizen of the Republic of Georgia.  A lead suggested that Melissa Godshall was married to Lomtatidze but also shared an address with her real boyfriend, Robert Kennerley.

“Tak



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Monday, November 4, 2019

DHS Extends TPS Documentation for Six Countries

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) today announced a Federal Register notice extending the validity of TPS-related documentation for beneficiaries under the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) designations for El Salvador, Haiti, Honduras, Nepal, Nicaragua and Sudan through Jan. 4, 2021. 

The notice automatically extends the validity of Employment Authorization Documents; Forms I-797, Notice of Action; and Forms I-94, Arrival/Departure Record (collectively, TPS-related documentation). The validity dates for the affected count



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Sunday, November 3, 2019

Armenian Citizen Pleads Guilty for His Role in For-Profit U.S. Visa Fraud Scheme

NEW YORK—A man residing in Glendale, California, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to unlawfully bring in aliens and visa fraud for his role in a multi-year visa fraud scheme that brought Armenian citizens into the United States for profit.

Hrachya Atoyan, 32, pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge Sanket J. Bulsara in the Eastern District of New York.  Sentencing is scheduled for Feb. 20, 2020, before U.S. District Judge Margo K. Brodie.  According to the indictment, Atoyan allegedly participated in a transnational network of co-conspirators who engaged in a widespread visa fraud scheme to bring Armenian citizens into the United States by fraudulently claiming to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigratio



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Saturday, November 2, 2019

Tools Outage

USCIS will conduct system maintenance to the Customer Relationship Interface System (CRIS) on Saturday, November 2, 2019 from 12:01 a.m. until 6 a.m. (Eastern) and Sunday, November 3, 2019 from 5 a.m. until 6 p.m. (Eastern).

During this timeframe, users may experience technical difficulties with one or more of the following 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 </li


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Friday, November 1, 2019

Tampa Woman Pleads Guilty to Charges Related to Immigration Fraud Scheme Stretching from Tampa to Chicago

TAMPA, Fla. — Erika Paola Intriago pleaded guilty to wire fraud in connection with a fraud scheme involving her posing as an immigration attorney to victims in Chicago and Tampa. Intriago faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison. A sentencing date has not yet been set.

According to court documents, Intriago portrayed herself as an immigration attorney and personal representative offering immigration-related services. She advertised her services on social media, targeting immigrants and immigrant families from Spanish-speaking countries. In fact, Intriago was not a licensed attorney in any state.

Victims retained and paid Intriago to represent them in immigration-r



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