USCIS Updates Guidance Related to Religious Workers

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is issuing policy guidance in the USCIS Policy Manual to reorganize and expand on existing guidance related to special immigrant and nonimmigrant religious workers.

This update reorganizes the special immigrant religious worker guidance for clarity and provides more comprehensive information about the special immigrant religious worker filing process, verification of evidence, and the site-inspection process.

In addition, for both special immigrant and R-1 nonimmigrant religious worker petitions, this update clarifies the circumstances under which certain related petitioners may meet the compensation requirements even if the attesting employer will not dir

DHS Issues Regulation to Preserve and Fortify DACA

News release originally published by the Department of Homeland Security.

WASHINGTON – Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro N. Mayorkas today announced that the Department has issued a final rule (PDF) that will preserve and fortify the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) policy for certain eligible noncitizens who arrived in the United States as children, deferring their removal and allowing them an opportunity to access a renewable, two-year work permit. Since its inception in 2012, DACA has allowed over 800,000 young people to rem

Visa Bulletin October 2022 Predictions

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

Please see October 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	INDIA	MEXICO	PHILIPPINES
F1	01FEB15	01FEB15	01FEB15	22APR00	22APR12
F2A	C	C	C	22MAY19	C
F2B	01NOV15	01NOV15	01NOV15	08MAY01	01DEC11
F3	08DEC08	08DEC08	08DEC08	01NOV97	01JUL02
F4	15APR07	15APR07	08OCT05	15JUL00	22SEP02

"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	15AUG16	15AUG16	15AUG16	15JAN02	08JUN15
F2A	C	C	C	C	C
F2B	08JAN17	08JAN17	08JAN17	08SEP01	08NOV13
F3	15NOV09	15NOV09	15NOV09	01MAY01	01DEC03
F4	08JAN08	08JAN08	15MAR06	15MAY01	01MAY04

USCIS Reaches Fiscal Year 2023 H-1B Cap

USCIS has received a sufficient number of petitions needed to reach the congressionally mandated 65,000 H-1B visa regular cap and the 20,000 H-1B visa U.S. advanced degree exemption, known as the master's cap, for fiscal year (FY) 2023.

We have completed sending non-selection notifications to registrants' online accounts. The status for registrations properly submitted for the FY 2023 H-1B numerical allocations, but that were not selected, will now show:

• Not Selected: Not selected – not eligible to file an H-1B cap petition based on this registration.

We will continue to accept and process petitions that are otherwise exempt from the cap. Petitions filed for current H-1B workers who have been counted previously against the cap, and who still retain their cap number, are exempt from the FY 2023 H-1B cap. We will continue to accept and process petitions

Updated COVID-19 Vaccination Requirements for Uniting for Ukraine Parolees

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has updated the COVID-19 vaccination requirements for beneficiaries paroled into the United States under Uniting for Ukraine. Effective immediately, all beneficiaries aged 6 months and older must have an attestation submitted attesting that they received COVID-19 vaccinations both before traveling to the United States and after arrival in the United States, unless they are eligible for an exception. Previously, beneficiaries younger than 5 years old qualified for an exception to the COVID-19 vaccination requirement because the vaccine was not approved or licensed for use in that age group.

Before Traveling to the United States

To receive travel authorization under Uniting for Ukraine, all beneficiaries aged 6 months and older must have an attestation submitted attesting that they received

September 2022 Visa Bulletin

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

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

September 2022 Visa Bulletin has been officially released (valid from September 1 to September 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	01DEC14	01DEC14	01DEC14	15MAR00	01MAR12
F2A	C	C	C	22APR19	C
F2B	22SEP15	22SEP15	22SEP15	01APR01	22OCT11
F3	22NOV08	22NOV08	22NOV08	15OCT97	08JUN02
F4	22MAR07	22MAR07	15SEP05	01JUN00	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	08AUG16	08AUG16	08AUG16	01DEC01	22APR15
F2A	C	C	C	C	C
F2B	01JAN17	01JAN17	01JAN17	08AUG01	01OCT13
F3	08NOV09	08NOV09	08NOV09	15APR01	08NOV03
F4	15DEC07	15DEC07	22FEB06	15MAR01	22APR04

September 2022 Visa Bulletin Analysis

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

Please see below analysis of September 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	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

"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	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

USCIS Updates Interpretation of “Under Honorable Conditions” for Military Naturalization

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services is publishing an update to its Policy Manual to clarify that a current or former service member who received an uncharacterized discharge may be eligible for naturalization under sections 328 and 329 of the Immigration and Naturalization Act (INA).

Previously, USCIS had interpreted the requirement for a separation "under honorable conditions" in INA 328 and INA 329 to require a separation characterized as either Honorable or General-Under Honorable Conditions. This <a data-entity-substitution="media" data-entity-type="media" href="https://u5845491.ct.sendgrid.net/ls/click?upn=e113bc32R4bNU3on8i4xFGJrzYObBvJpO3ic9caGfdwlpO062pqbGhUjrxf6DRoF81Z5uWdyRnaT3VKed90JR1Rfb3nN-2FfCEBqQ8e4WV864h-2FFaPIntVzX-2BOQGJQPM-2FSXQOsZXKE7pgTP79TPHlnN-2FVZQMaWjnEEtk9v6DMWAWo-3DY7zS_uE5enmldDnhCX1vI-2FxNbrQZgUNueAFml0SuU9KJE2uflIoy53bXsCpdzZwiD6ABa5hMrLlu55Wqv4VxvBCJR4IxjiQHmdVXHVaMuIa5VbqFChXTkTRHF8P3Q55Cz9Q43-2F1foYxk5cFOLyQcQqjLMFB5kVZdRrfeOb8TEt-2FtvGABsPBCDM4hqOiBmYGhaI0NYWtZXbCcvogeRNxDn4FdBf-2FkRIyoGRHAjuvh07Ho8oG4-3D" typ

New STEM Resources Available on USCIS Website

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has published additional online resources on uscis.gov to provide an overview of some of the temporary and permanent pathways for noncitizens to work in the United States in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). This guide also highlights some of the most important considerations for STEM professionals who want to work in the United States.

New pages:

• Options for Noncitizen STEM Professionals to Work in the United States; 
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Information on Form I-589 Intake and Processing Delays

USCIS is currently experiencing delays in issuing receipts for Form I-589, Application for Asylum and for Withholding of Removal. Due to these delays, you may not receive a receipt notice in a timely manner after you properly file your Form I-589. For purposes of the asylum one-year filing deadline, affirmative asylum interview scheduling priorities, and Employment Authorization Document eligibility based on a pending asylum application, your filing date will still be the date that we receive

Parolees Can Now File Form I-765 Online

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services today announced that certain parolees can now file Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization, online.

Most individuals paroled into the United States for urgent humanitarian or significant public benefit purposes under INA 212(d)(5) are eligible to seek employment authorization under category (c)(11). Please see the Form I-765 instructions (PDF, 810.34 KB) for more information.

Effective immediately, applicants for employment authorizati