Visa Bulletin July 2018 Special Notes

For the official July 2018 Visa Bulletin and analysis, please click here: https://www.mygcvisa.com/visa-bulletin/2018/visa-bulletin-july-2018.aspx

Apart from posting current dates, State Department has also added special notes to Visa Bulletin mentioned above. Please see full details below:

D. SPECIAL IMMIGRANT (SI) TRANSLATOR CATEGORY VISA AVAILABILITY

Given the limited availability of visa numbers and the existing demand, the Department expects to reach the FY-2018 annual limit of 50 Special Immigrant Visas in the SI category early this year. As a result, it has been necessary to maintain a July Final Action Date of April 22, 2012. It is likely that number use will require the SI category to become "unavailable" in the coming months. Once the annual limit of 50 visas is reached, further issuances in the SI category will not be possible until October 2018, under the FY-2019 annual limit. The SQ Special Immigrant Visa category for certain Iraqi and Afghan nationals employed by or on behalf of the U.S. government in Iraq or Afghanistan is not affected and remains current.

E. RETROGRESSION OF JULY EMPLOYMENT-BASED FINAL ACTION DATES

Visa Bulletin July 2018

For June 2018 Visa Bulletin, please click here: https://www.mygcvisa.com/visa-bulletin/2018/visa-bulletin-june-2018.aspx

For analysis of July 2018 Visa Bulletin, please click here: https://www.mygcvisa.com/visa-bulletin/2018/visa-bulletin-analysis-july-2018.aspx

July 2018 Visa Bulletin has been officially released (valid from July 1 to July 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	22APR11	22APR11	22APR11	01AUG97	01JUN06
F2A	22JUN16	22JUN16	22JUN16	08JUN16	22JUN16
F2B	15AUG11	15AUG11	15AUG11	08MAR97	01FEB07
F3	01MAY06	01MAY06	01MAY06	01DEC95	15APR95
F4	15NOV04	15NOV04	22MAR04	15JAN98	22MAR95

"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	08MAR12	08MAR12	08MAR12	01SEP98	15FEB08
F2A	01DEC17	01DEC17	01DEC17	01DEC17	01DEC17
F2B	08JAN12	08JAN12	08JAN12	08JUN97	15DEC07
F3	22SEP06	22SEP06	22SEP06	08OCT98	01AUG95
F4	01MAY05	01MAY05	01JAN05	01JUN98	01DEC95

USCIS Efforts Lead to Sentencing of Florida Woman for Obtaining U.S. Citizenship by Fraud and False Statements

Release Date: June 5, 2018

Tampa, Fla. – U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) assisted in an investigation that led to U.S. District Judge Virginia M. Hernandez Covington sentencing Enite Alindor, also known as Odette Dureland, to five months in federal prison. The 55-year-old woman was sentenced for making false statements in a matter relating to naturalization and citizenship and for procuring naturalization as a U.S. citizen. As part of her sentence, the court also entered an order de-naturalizing her, thus revoking her July 2012 naturalization as a U.S. citizen. A federal jury had found her guilty on March 1, 2018.

According to court documents, Alindor, a citizen of Haiti, applied for asylum with the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) in Miami in 1997. After the INS denied that application, the United States Immigration Cou

USCIS to Conduct Lottery for Temporary Increase in FY 2018 H-2B Cap

As previously announced, USCIS began accepting H-2B petitions on May 31, 2018, under the temporary final rule increasing the numerical limit, or cap, on H-2B nonimmigrant visas by up to 15,000 additional visas through the end of fiscal year (FY) 2018.

In the first five business days of filing, USCIS received petitions for more beneficiaries than the number of H-2B visas available under the FY 2018 supplemental cap. Accordingly, USCIS is required by regulation to use a computer-generated process, commonly known as a lottery, to randomly select the number of petitions required to meet the increased cap for FY 2018.

The lottery will include all H-2B cap-subject petitions received between May 31, 2018 and June 6, 2018.

USCIS will reject and return a

Re-Registration Period Now Open for Hondurans with Temporary Protected Status

WASHINGTON—U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announces today that current beneficiaries of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) under Honduras’ designation who want to maintain their status through the effective termination date of Jan. 5, 2020, must re-register between June 5, 2018, and Aug. 6, 2018.

Re-registration procedures, including how to renew employment authorization documents, have been published in the Federal Register and on uscis.gov/tps.

All applicants must submit Form I-821, Application for Temporary Protected Status. Applicants may als

USCIS Redesigns Citizenship and Naturalization Certificates

High-Tech Features Create More Secure Documents

WASHINGTON — U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) began issuing redesigned Certificates of Citizenship and Naturalization today, following a successful pilot in four USCIS field offices and one service center. The redesign of these eight certificates is one of the many ways USCIS is working to combat fraud and safeguard the legal immigration system. 

We piloted the new certificate design at the Norfolk, Tampa, Minneapolis-St. Paul, and Sacramento Field Offices, as well as at the Nebraska Service Center. 

The certificates of naturalization are:  

• N-550, issued to an individual who obtains U.S. citizenship through the naturalization process; 
• N-578, issued to a naturalized U.S. citizen to obtain r

SAVE Goes Completely Paperless

 

WASHINGTON—Starting June 1, benefit-granting agencies using U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ (USCIS) SAVE (Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements) Program can no longer submit paper versions of Form G-845, Verification Request. Previously, agencies submitted paper forms to request immigration status verification and for additional verification requests. Now all agencies must submit their requests and institute additional verification electronically, drastically reducing case processing time.   

SAVE provides a fast, secure and efficient se