Friday, December 31, 2021

DHS Withdraws H-1B Selection Final Rule

The Department of Homeland Security has published a final rule that withdraws the Modification of Registration Requirement for Petitioners Seeking to File Cap-Subject H-1B Petitions final rule, also known as the H-1B Selection Final Rule, issued Jan. 8, 2021. That rule was vacated by the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

On Sept. 15, 2021, the court in Chamber of Commerce of the United States of America et al. v. United States Department of Homeland Security, et al., No. 4:20–cv–07331 (N.D. Cal. March 19, 2021) vacated the H-1B Selection Final Rule. The rule would have changed the way USCIS selects H-1B registrations (or petitions, if registration is suspended) submitted by prospective petitioners seeking to file an H-1B cap-subject petition by ranking and selecting registrations based generally on corresponding wage levels.

For more



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Tuesday, December 28, 2021

For First Time, DHS to Supplement H-2B Cap with Additional Visas in First Half of Fiscal Year

WASHINGTON—The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Department of Labor (DOL) today announced the forthcoming publication of a joint temporary final rule to make available an additional 20,000 H-2B temporary nonagricultural worker visas for fiscal year (FY) 2022. These visas will be set aside for U.S. employers seeking to employ additional workers on or before March 31, 2022.

This supplemental cap marks the first time that DHS is making additional H-2B visas available in the first half of the fiscal year. Earlier this year, USCIS received enough petitions for returning workers to reach the additional 22,000 H-2B visas made available under the FY 2021 H-2B supplemental visa temporary final rule.

The supplemental H-2B visa allocation consists of 13,500 visas available to returning workers who received an H-2B visa, or were otherwise granted H-2B



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Sunday, December 26, 2021

Visa Bulletin February 2022 Predictions

For official January 2022 Visa Bulletin & Analysis, please click here: https://www.mygcvisa.com/visa-bulletin/2022/visa-bulletin-january-2022.aspx

Please see February 2022 Visa Bulletin Predictions below (for both Family Based and Employment Based categories for all countries):

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
F108DEC1408DEC1408DEC1401NOV9922APR12
F2ACCCCC
F2B01NOV1501NOV1501NOV1515OCT0001DEC11
F301DEC0801DEC0801DEC0822OCT9715JUN02
F408APR0708APR0701OCT0515MAY9908SEP02
"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
F108JUN1608JUN1608JUN1601MAR0115JUL15
F2A22OCT2122OCT2122OCT2122OCT2122OCT21
F2B01OCT1601OCT1601OCT1608APR0115NOV13
F308SEP0908SEP0908SEP0915OCT0022OCT03
F422OCT0722OCT0722JAN0601SEP9915MAR04



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Friday, December 24, 2021

USCIS Announces FY 2021 Accomplishments

WASHINGTON— Today, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services is releasing preliminary fiscal year (FY) 2021 agency statistics and accomplishments. These preliminary statistics highlight important immigration trends and illustrate the work accomplished by USCIS in FY 2021. The agency will publish final, verified FY 2021 statistics in January 2022. 

"I'm immensely proud of the USCIS workforce and for their achievements in a year of many challenges and rebuilding. From responding to the COVID-19 pandemic and addressing processing delays to enacting numerous operational and policy changes in response to executive orders from the Biden-Harris Administration, FY 2021 marks a year of growth and renewed vision for our agency



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Tuesday, December 21, 2021

Immigration Help Available to Those Affected by Natural Disasters and Other Unforeseen Circumstances

USCIS is reminding the public that we offer immigration services that may help people affected by unforeseen circumstances such as natural disasters. Examples of unforeseen circumstances include, but are not limited to, the severe weather in Kentucky and surrounding states.

The following measures may be available on a case-by-case basis upon request:

  • Changing a nonimmigrant status or extending a nonimmigrant stay for an individual currently in the United States. Failure to apply for the extension or change before expiration of your authorized period of admission may be excused if the delay was due to extraordinary circumstances beyond your control;
  • Re-parole of individuals previously granted parole by USCIS;
  • Expedited processing of advance parole requests;
  • Expedited adjudication of requests for off-campus employment authorization for


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Friday, December 17, 2021

USCIS Reverts to Previous Criteria for Interviewing Petitioners Requesting Derivative Refugee and Asylee Status for Family Members

USCIS is rescinding a November 2020 policy memorandum requiring interviews of all petitioners filing Form I-730, Refugee/Asylee Relative Petition. Effective immediately, USCIS will return to its prior long-standing practice of making case-by-case determinations on whether to interview Form I-730 petitioners. 

The policy memorandum, which directed the phased expansion of in-person interviews for Form I-730 petitioners, imposed significant burdens on refugee and asylee populations. This is inconsistent with Executive Orders 14012, <a target='_bl



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Thursday, December 16, 2021

January 2022 Visa Bulletin Analysis

For January 2022 Visa Bulletin, please click here: https://www.mygcvisa.com/visa-bulletin/2022/visa-bulletin-january-2022.aspx

Please see below analysis of January 2022 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
F1No ChangeNo ChangeNo Change+4 MonthsNo Change
F2ANo ChangeNo ChangeNo ChangeNo ChangeNo Change
F2BNo ChangeNo ChangeNo Change+2 MonthsNo Change
F3No ChangeNo ChangeNo Change+2 MonthsNo Change
F4No ChangeNo ChangeNo Change+1 Month 7 DaysNo Change
"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
F1No ChangeNo ChangeNo Change+2 MonthsNo Change
F2A+1 Month+1 Month+1 Month+1 Month+1 Month
F2BNo ChangeNo ChangeNo Change+2 MonthsNo Change
F3No ChangeNo ChangeNo Change+1 MonthNo Change
F4No ChangeNo ChangeNo Change+21 DaysNo Change



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January 2022 Visa Bulletin

For December 2021 Visa Bulletin, please click here: https://www.mygcvisa.com/visa-bulletin/2021/visa-bulletin-december-2021.aspx

For analysis of January 2022 Visa Bulletin, please click here: https://www.mygcvisa.com/visa-bulletin/2022/visa-bulletin-analysis-january-2022.aspx

January 2022 Visa Bulletin has been officially released (valid from January 1 to January 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 01DEC14
01DEC14 01DEC14 08SEP99 01MAR12
F2A C C C C C
F2B 22SEP15 22SEP15 22SEP15 01SEP00 22OCT11
F3 22NOV08 22NOV08 22NOV08 15SEP97 08JUN02
F4 22MAR07 22MAR07 15SEP05 22APR99 22AUG02
"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 15MAY16 15MAY16 15MAY16 01FEB01 22APR15
F2A 01OCT21 01OCT21 01OCT21 01OCT21 01OCT21
F2B 22SEP16 22SEP16 22SEP16 01MAR01 01OCT13
F3 22AUG09 22AUG09 22AUG09 08OCT00 01OCT03
F4 01OCT07 01OCT07 01JAN06 22AUG99 01FEB04



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Tuesday, December 14, 2021

USCIS Temporarily Waiving 60-Day Rule for Civil Surgeon Signatures

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services is temporarily waiving the requirement that the civil surgeon sign Form I-693, Report of Medical Examination and Vaccination Record, no more than 60 days before an applicant files an application for the underlying immigration benefit (including Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status), until Sept. 30, 2022.  

This temporary waiver will help applicants who have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and related processing delays, which have sometimes caused delays in completing the immigration medical examination. Temporarily allowing applicants to submit their underlying application for an immigration benefit with a completed Form I-693, even if the civil surg



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Friday, December 10, 2021

USCIS Extends Transitional Parole for CNMI Long-Term Resident Status Applicants

USCIS announced today that it will automatically extend parole and employment authorization, if applicable, for parolees who timely applied for Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) long-term resident status. 

This specific extension of parole applies only to current parolees who timely filed Form I-955, Application for CNMI Long-Term Resident Status, and <a data-entity-substitution="canonical" data-entity-type="node" data-entity-uuid="983b2b27-2406-41b0-a21b-c5c916fc669c" href="https://www.uscis.gov/i-765" rel="noreferrer



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Tuesday, December 7, 2021

All Temporary Protected Status (TPS) Applicants May Now File Forms I-821 and I-765 Online

As of Nov. 29, all applicants eligible to file for TPS under one of the current designations may file Form I-821, Application for Temporary Protected Status, and Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization, online. The following countries are currently designated for TPS:

  • Burma (Myanmar)
  • El Salvador
  • Haiti
  • Honduras
  • Nepal
  • Nicaragua
  • Somalia
  • South Sudan
  • Sudan
  • Syria
  • Venezuela
  • Yemen

First-time TPS applicants and TPS beneficiaries who are re-registering may apply for TPS online. Applicants can request an Employment Authorization Document (EAD) by submitting a completed Form I-765 with their Form I-821, or may submit their Form I-765 separately later. However, filing both forms together may help applicants receive their EAD more promptly.

To



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Friday, December 3, 2021

USCIS Incorporates General Adjudications Guidance into the Policy Manual

We are incorporating existing guidance from the Adjudicator's Field Manual (AFM) into the USCIS Policy Manual. In general, this update does not make major substantive changes, but consolidates and incorporates existing AFM guidance on general adjudications topics into the Policy Manual, streamlines USCIS immigration policy, and removes obsolete information.

The update:

  • Incorporates existing guidance regarding types of evidence, including primary and secondary evidence, documentary and testimonial evidence, and original documents and document translations.
  • Incorporates existing guidance regarding adjudicative decisions including approvals, and denials.
  • Incorporates existing guidanc


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