Tools Outage

USCIS will conduct system maintenance to the Contact Relationship Interface System (CRIS) on Thursday, February 27th at 11:59 p.m. until Friday, February 28th at 3:00 a.m. (EST).

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 Case Processing Times
• Civil Surgeon Locator
• Office Locator
• File Online
• myUSCIS online account

We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.

H-2B Cap Reached for Second Half of FY2020

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has received enough petitions to meet the congressionally mandated H-2B cap for the second half of fiscal year 2020. Feb. 18, 2020, was the final receipt date for new cap-subject H-2B worker petitions requesting an employment start date before Oct. 1, 2020. USCIS will reject new cap-subject H-2B petitions received after Feb. 18 that request an employment start date before Oct. 1.

On Feb. 18, the number of beneficiaries for whom USCIS received petitions surpassed the total number of remaining H-2B visas available for the H-2B cap for the secon

USCIS Clarifies Effect of Breaks in Continuity of Residence on Eligibility for Naturalization

USCIS today announced an update to the USCIS Policy Manual to align USCIS practice with congressional intent and existing regulations by clarifying requirements surrounding naturalization applicants’ absences from the United States. This update concerns absences of more than six months but less than one year during the statutorily required continuous residence period.

This update clarifies the following requirements for naturalization:

• An applicant who has been absent from the United States for more than six months but less than a year must overcome the presumption that they have broken the continuity of their residence in the Unite

DHS Implements Inadmissibility on Public Charge Grounds Final Rule

WASHINGTON—The U.S. Department of Homeland Security today implemented the Inadmissibility on Public Charge Grounds final rule. Under the final rule, DHS will look at the factors required under the law by Congress, like an alien’s age, health, family status, assets, resources, and financial status, education and skills, among others, in order to determine whether the alien is likely at any time to become a public charge. The rule now applies nationwide, including in Illin

DHS to Implement Inadmissibility on Public Charge Grounds Final Rule Nationwide

WASHINGTON—U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will implement the Inadmissibility on Public Charge Grounds final rule (“Final Rule”) on Feb. 24, 2020 nationwide, including in Illinois, following another judicial victory lifting the injunction in that state.

In light of the U.S. Supreme Court’s Feb. 21, 2020 decision to stay the statewide injunction preventing implementation of the Final Rule issued by U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, USCIS will now apply the Final Rule to all applications and petitions postmarked (or submitted electronically) on or after Feb. 24, 2020. For applications and petitions that are sent by commercial courier (e.g., UPS/F

USCIS Announces H-1B Registration Account Creation

On Dec. 6, 2019, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced that we would implement the electronic registration process for the fiscal year (FY) 2021 H-1B cap. Prospective petitioners seeking to file H-1B cap-subject petitions, including those filing for beneficiaries eligible for the advanced degree exemption, must first electronically register with USCIS.

Submitting an H-1B registration requires a USCIS online account. The appropriate type depends on the submitter’s role:

• Representatives will use the same type of representative account that is already available and may use an existing account.
• Prospective petitioners submitting their own registrations (U.S. employers and U.S. agents, collectively

USCIS Opens Application Period for New Status for Long-Term Residents of CNMI

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services today announced that the application period for those seeking the new Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) long-term resident status will open on February 19, 2020. 

Eligible aliens will have 180 days to apply for the new status, which was created by the Northern Mariana Islands Long-Term Legal Residents Relief Act (48 U.S.C. 1806(e)(6)), signed by President Trump on June 25, 2019. Applicants must file Form I-955, Application for CNMI Long-Term Resident Status, together with Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization, by August 17, 2020. CNMI long-term r