On Nov. 18, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services updated policy guidance in the USCIS Policy Manual to clarify the circumstances when we would find applicants ineligible for naturalization because they were not lawfully admitted for permanent residence.
Applicants are ineligible for naturalization if they obtained lawful permanent residence (LPR) status in error, by fraud or otherwise not in compliance with the law.
The update also clarifies that we r
Please see January 2021 Visa Bulletin Predictions below (for both Family Based and Employment Based categories for all countries):
| Family- Sponsored | All Chargeability Areas Except Those Listed | CHINA-mainland born | INDIA | MEXICO | PHILIPPINES |
| F1 | 22OCT14 | 22OCT14 | 22OCT14 | 22JAN98 | 22MAR12 |
| F2A | C | C | C | C | C |
| F2B | 08AUG15 | 08AUG15 | 08AUG15 | 01MAY99 | 22OCT11 |
| F3 | 01JUL08 | 01JUL08 | 01JUL08 | 15AUG96 | 01JUN02 |
| F4 | 15OCT06 | 15OCT06 | 15MAR05 | 08JUL98 | 08APR02 |
| Family- Sponsored | All Chargeability Areas Except Those Listed | CHINA-mainland born | INDIA | MEXICO | PHILIPPINES |
| F1 | 01SEP15 | 01SEP15 | 01SEP15 | 01MAR00 | 15JAN13 |
| F2A | 22AUG20 | 22AUG20 | 22AUG20 | 22AUG20 | 22AUG20 |
| F2B | 08JUN16 | 08JUN16 | 08JUN16 | 22DEC99 | 22JUN12 |
| F3 | 01JUL09 | 01JUL09 | 01JUL09 | 22AUG00 | 08APR03 |
| F4 | 08OCT07 | 08OCT07 | 01DEC05 | 01MAY99 | 01DEC02 |
Rule will encourage these aliens to depart the country
WASHINGTON—The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) today announced a proposed rule that would limit discretionary work authorization for aliens who have final orders of removal and who have been temporarily released from DHS custody on an order of supervision (OSUP). The rule would align the issuance of discretionary employment authorization with the administration's priorities to protect U.S. workers and strengthen immigration enforcement.
Orders of supervision allow DHS to place conditions on and monitor aliens with final orders of
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services is updating existing policy guidance in the USCIS Policy Manual regarding the exercise of the secretary of the Department of Homeland Security's discretion in adjudications of adjustment of status applications.
This update clarifies existing content by providing a non-exhaustive list of positive and negative factors that may be relevant to whether an adjustment of status applicant warrants a favorable exercise of discretion. It also lists the privileges, rights and responsibilities of lawful permanent residents (LPRs) as a reference for officers to consider when determining whether the grant of LPR
For analysis of December 2020 Visa Bulletin, please click here: https://www.mygcvisa.com/visa-bulletin/2020/visa-bulletin-analysis-december-2020.aspx
December 2020 Visa Bulletin has been officially released (valid from December 1 to December 31 only). Please see below for more details.
| Family- Sponsored | All Chargeability Areas Except Those Listed | CHINA-mainland born | INDIA | MEXICO | PHILIPPINES |
| F1 | 15SEP14 | 15SEP14 | 15SEP14 | 08JAN98 | 15DEC11 |
| F2A | C | C | C | C | C |
| F2B | 08JUL15 | 08JUL15 | 08JUL15 | 08APR99 | 01AUG11 |
| F3 | 15JUN08 | 15JUN08 | 15JUN08 | 01AUG96 | 15FEB02 |
| F4 | 22SEP06 | 22SEP06 | 08MAR05 | 22JUN98 | 01JAN02 |
| Family- Sponsored | All Chargeability Areas Except Those Listed | CHINA- mainland born | INDIA | MEXICO | PHILIPPINES |
| F1 | 22JUL15 | 22JUL15 | 22JUL15 | 22FEB00 | 08OCT12 |
| F2A | 01AUG20 | 01AUG20 | 01AUG20 | 01AUG20 | 01AUG20 |
| F2B | 01MAY16 | 01MAY16 | 01MAY16 | 01DEC99 | 01APR12 |
| F3 | 01JUN09 | 01JUN09 | 01JUN09 | 15AUG00 | 22DEC02 |
| F4 | 15SEP07 | 15SEP07 | 22NOV05 | 22APR99 | 01SEP02 |
Please see below analysis of December 2020 Visa Bulletin:
| Family- Sponsored | All Chargeability Areas Except Those Listed | CHINA-mainland born | INDIA | MEXICO | PHILIPPINES |
| F1 | No Change | No Change | No Change | No Change | No Change |
| F2A | No Change | No Change | No Change | No Change | No Change |
| F2B | No Change | No Change | No Change | No Change | No Change |
| F3 | No Change | No Change | No Change | No Change | No Change |
| F4 | No Change | No Change | No Change | No Change | No Change |
| Family- Sponsored | All Chargeability Areas Except Those Listed | CHINA-mainland born | INDIA | MEXICO | PHILIPPINES |
| F1 | No Change | No Change | No Change | No Change | No Change |
| F2A | No Change | No Change | No Change | No Change | No Change |
| F2B | No Change | No Change | No Change | No Change | No Change |
| F3 | No Change | No Change | No Change | No Change | No Change |
| F4 | No Change | No Change | No Change | No Change | No Change |
Apart from posting current dates, State Department has also added special notes to Visa Bulletin mentioned above. Please see full details below:
D. FOR THE LATEST INFORMATION ON VISA PROCESSING AT U.S. EMBASSIES AND CONSULATES DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC, PLEASE VISIT THE BUREAU OF CONSULAR AFFAIRS WEBSITE AT TRAVEL.STATE.GOV
E. SCHEDULED EXPIRATION OF TWO EMPLOYMENT VISA CATEGORIES
The Continuing Appropriations Act, 2021 and Other Extensions Act (P.L. 116-159) extends both the Employment Fourth Preference Certain Religious Workers (SR) and Employment Fifth Preference Pilot (I5 and R5) Categories until December 11, 2020.
Employment Fourth Preference Certain Religious Workers (SR):
Pursuant to the continuing resolution, the non-minister special immigrant program expires on December 11, 2020. No SR visas may be issued overseas, or final action taken on adjustment of status cases, after midnight December 10, 2020. Visas issued prior to this date will only be issued with a
USCIS is clarifying existing guidance on the Child Status Protection Act (CSPA) in the USCIS Policy Manual to address:
The Policy Alert is available here:
WASHINGTON — U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced today plans to implement a revised version of the naturalization civics test. The agency first announced plans to revise the civics test in July 2019.
USCIS revised the civics test as part of a decennial update to ensure that it remains an instrument that comprehensively assesses applicants' knowledge of American history, government and civic values.
The civics test is administered to applicants who apply for U.S. citizenship and is one of the statutory requirements for naturalizing. Applicants who apply for naturalization on or after Dec. 1, 2020, will take the up
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services today announced that current beneficiaries of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) under South Sudan's designation who want to maintain their status through May 2, 2022, must re-register for TPS beginning Nov. 2, 2020 through Jan. 4, 2021.
Re-registration procedures, including how to renew employment authorization documents (EADs), have been published in the Federal Register and are available at uscis.gov/tps.
All applicants who wish to re-register for TPS mus
Agency Proposes Prioritizing Higher Wage Levels to Better Protect U.S. Workers
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced the transmission to the Federal Register of a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) that would prioritize the selection of H-1B registrations (or petitions, if the registration process is suspended) based on corresponding wage levels in order to better protect the economic interests of U.S. workers, while still allowing U.S. employers to meet their personnel needs and remain globally competitive.
Modifying the H-1B cap selection process by replacing the random selection process