Fee Payment Changes at Two USCIS Los Angeles Field Offices

On Nov. 5, 2018, applicants, petitioners, or other requesters who are paying a filing fee at the Los Angeles Field Office and Los Angeles County Field Office will no longer be able to pay by money orders or cashier’s checks. They can still pay by check, debit card, credit card, or reloadable pre-paid credit or debit cards, which USCIS personnel will process through a new electronic system. USCIS is launching a pilot at these two field offices to test electronic payment processing, which will increase transaction security and reduce processing errors that could cause USCIS to reject applications and petitions. Beyond limiting the kind of payment USCIS will accept through this new system, applicants will not experience a change in how they pay their fees.

This internal transition is part of USCIS’ ongoing efforts to modernize its business practices, allowing USCIS fiel

USCIS to Expand Information Services Modernization Program to Key Locations

Program provides operational efficiencies, improves delivery of services

WASHINGTON—U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will expand its Information Services Modernization Program to key field offices, beginning with the Detroit Field Office and the five offices in the Los Angeles District on Nov. 13. Field offices in the Newark, Great Lakes, and San Francisco districts will implement the program during the first quarter of fiscal year (FY) 2019. USCIS anticipates expanding the program to all remaining field offices by the end of FY 2019.

The Information Services Modernization Program ends self-scheduling of InfoPass appointments and instead encourages applicants to use USCIS online information resources to view general how-to information and check case statuses through the USCIS Contact Center. Recen

USCIS Efforts Lead to Guilty Plea in Case of Unauthorized Practice of Immigration Law

COLUMBIA, S.C.—U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services  helped initiate an investigation that led to charges and guilty pleas from Veronica Perdomo, 43, for fraudulently practicing immigration law and impersonating an immigration officer.

The plea included two counts of Wire Fraud, each of which carries a sentence of up to 20 years in prison; four counts of Impersonating an Officer or Employee of the United States, each such count carrying a sentence of up to 3 years in prison, and twelve counts of Fraudulently Affixing the Seal of an Agency of the United States to a Document, each such count carrying a sentence of up to 5 years in prison.  Sentencing will occur after the preparation of a presentence report by the United States Probation Office.

A USCIS Fraud Detection and National Security (FDNS) immigration officer in Charl

USCIS Continuing Form I-751 Data Entry

USCIS has completed receipting and data entry for all filings of Form I-751, Petition to Remove Conditions on Residence, received between May 1 and Sept. 9, 2018. Petitioners should receive receipt notices by Oct. 22, 2018.

On June 13, 2018, USCIS announced that the California Service Center (CSC) was experiencing a delay in initial data entry for Form I-751. After changing the filing location for Form I-751 from the USCIS Service Centers to the USCIS Lockbox facilities in September, USCIS completed receipting and data entry of these petitions on Oct. 1.

If you submitted a Form I-751 to the CSC between May 1 and Sept. 9, 2018, and you have not received a receipt notice, do not file a duplicate Form I-751 unless you have re

Three Nigerian Nationals Living in Grambling and Texas Plead Guilty to Roles in Marriage Fraud Scheme

Release Date: Oct. 17, 2018

MONROE, La. – United States Attorney David C. Joseph announced that three Nigerian nationals living in Grambling and Texas have pleaded guilty Monday to roles in a scheme aimed at obtaining permanent residency illegally.

Adebisi Philip Bode Adejumo, 34, a Grambling, La., resident and Nigerian citizen; Godspower Raphael Sobaeh, 31, a Fort Worth, Texas, resident and Nigerian citizen; and Olabode Ebenezer Olubodun, 37, a Houston, Texas, resident and Nigerian citizen, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Terry Doughty to one count of conspiracy to make false statements in connection with immigration documents. Adejumo also pleaded guilty to one count of making false statements in connection with immigration documents, Sobaeh t

USCIS Reissues Receipt Notices for Extensions of Conditional Permanent Resident Status

On Oct. 16, 2018, USCIS began issuing new receipt notices for certain Forms I-751, Petition to Remove Conditions on Residence, to replace previously issued receipt notices containing inaccurate information.  

In August 2018, USCIS issued receipt notices for certain pending Form I-751 petitions to extend conditional permanent resident (CPR) status from 12 months to 18 months. These receipt notices were issued to provide an additional six months of CPR status to the I-751 petitioners while they continue to wait for their petition to be adjudicated. Some of the receipt notices contained incorrect information that does not affect the extension of the of the CPR status.

Petitioners who received incorrect receipt notices will receive corrected ones shortly. If you have not received a corrected receipt notice by Nov. 15, 2018, please reach out to the <a target='_bl

USCIS Policy Manual Update

USCIS is revising policy guidance for the validity period of Form I-693, Report of Medical Examination and Vaccination Record.

The updated policy, which goes into effect on Nov. 1, 2018, will require applicants to submit a Form I-693 that is signed by a civil surgeon no more than 60 days before filing the underlying application for an immigration benefit. The Form I-693 would remain valid for a two-year period following the date the civil surgeon signed it. As such, USCIS is retaining the current maximum two-year validity period of Form I-693, but calculating it in a different manner to both enhance operational efficiencies and reduce the number of requests to applicants for an updated Form I-693.

USCIS officers use Form I-693, Report of Medical Examination and Vaccination Record, to determine whethe