USCIS Reaches H-2B Cap for First Half of Fiscal Year 2009

WASHINGTON — U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced July 30, 2008 that it has received a sufficient number of petitions to reach the congressionally mandated H-2B cap for the first half of Fiscal Year 2009 (FY2009). USCIS is hereby notifying the public that July 29, 2008 is the “final receipt date” for new H-2B worker petitions requesting employment start dates prior to April 1, 2009. The “final receipt date” is the date on which USCIS determines that it has received enough cap-subject petitions to reach the limit of 33,000 H-2B workers for the first half of FY2009.

USCIS will reject petitions for new H-2B workers seeking employment start dates prior to April 1, 2009 that arrive after July 29, 2008.

USCIS will apply a computer-generated random selection process to all petitions which are subject to the cap and were received on July 29, 2008. USCIS will use this process to select the number of petitions needed to meet the cap. USCIS will reject, and return the fee, for all cap-subject petitions not randomly selected.

Petitions for workers who are currently in H-2B status do not count towards the congressionally mandated bi-annual H-2B cap. USCIS will continue to process petitions filed to:

• Extend the stay of a current H-2B worker in the United States
• Change the terms of employment for current H-2B workers and extend their stay; or
• Allow current H-2B workers to change or add employers and extend their stay.

More information about the H-2B work program is available by calling the National Customer Service Center at 1-800-375-5283.

USCIS Changes Vaccination Requirements To Adjust Status To Legal Permanent Resident

Washington – U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced today a revised list of vaccines required for applicants seeking to adjust status to become legal permanent residents. This revision follows guidance from the Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

CDC’s revised Technical Instructions to Civil Surgeons for Vaccination Requirements require the following age-appropriate additional vaccinations to adjust status to legal permanent resident:

• Rotavirus
• Hepatitis A
• Meningococcal
• Human papillomavirus
• Zoster

The requirements for these new vaccines went into effect on July 1, 2008, however CDC approved a 30-day grace period for any medical exam conducted before August 1, 2008. At that time the new vaccinations, if appropriate, must be administered in order for USCIS to approve the applicant for adjustment of status.

USCIS has revised the Report of Medical Examination and Vaccination Record (Form I-693) to include these new vaccination requirements. The June 5, 2008 edition of Form I-693 must be used for any medical examination completed on or after August 1, 2008.

CDC’s revised Technical Instructions to Civil Surgeons for Vaccination Requirements are posted on-line at http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dq/civil.htm. USCIS has posted a list of “Frequently Asked Questions” about the revised vaccination requirements at: http://www.uscis.gov. For additional help with the Form I-693, call USCIS’ Customer Service Center at (800) 375-5283.

USCIS Extends Validity Period of Employment Authorization Documents (EAD) for Refugees

WASHINGTON—In an effort to provide better customer service to refugees, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) recently announced that it would extend the validity of initial work authorization documents for refugees to two years after arrival in the United States. Previous policy required renewal of the Employment Authorization Document (EAD) after one year.

The new policy will reduce the financial burden on refugees by eliminating the need for many refugees to apply for renewal of work documents before they are able to adjust status to permanent residency. While there is no fee for the initial application for a refugee EAD, applicants incur a $340 fee for renewals.

USCIS estimated that a refugee would request, at minimum, one EAD renewal prior to adjustment of status if the EAD validity period was not extended to two years.

By extending the work authorization validity period, USCIS can increase Agency efficiency by reallocating resources from adjudication of refugee EAD renewals to other immigration benefit services. Finally, the policy change ensures consistency in the validity periods for initial EADs issued to both refugees and asylees (USCIS began issuing two-year initial EADs to asylees in 2006).

For more information on EADs, please contact the USCIS National Customer Service Center at (800) 375-5283.

Cap Count for H-1B and H-2B Workers for Fiscal Year 2009

H-1B

The H-1B visa program is used by some U.S.employers to employ foreign workers in specialty occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise in a specialized field and a bachelor's degree or its equivalent. Typical H-1B occupations include architects, engineers, computer programmers, accountants, doctors and college professors. The H-1B visa program also includes certain fashion models of distinguished merit and ability and up to 100 persons who will performing services of an exceptional nature in connection with Department of Defense (DOD) research and development projects or coproduction projects. The current annual cap on the H-1B category is 65,000. Not all H-1B nonimmigrants are subject to this annual cap.

H-1B1

An H-1B1 is a national of Chile or Singapore coming to the Unites States to work temporarily in a specialty occupation. The law defines an H-1B1 specialty occupation as a position that requires theoretical and practical application of a body of specialized knowledge. The beneficiary must have a bachelor's degree or higher (or equivalent) in the specific specialty. The combined statutory limit is 6,800 per year. 1,400 visas are set aside annually for nationals of Chile, and 5,400 for nationals of Singapore. The cap for H-1B1 for FY2009 has not been reached as of the date of this Update.

USCIS Launches Online Service to Check Status of FOIA Requests

WASHINGTON—U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) recently launched the online FOIA Request Status Check service providing customers a quick and secure way to check the status of requests they have made under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). See "Related Links" on the right side of this page.

Customers can use the online service anytime by entering their assigned control number to receive an immediate response on the status of their FOIA request. The customer will then receive either a 'pending' or 'processed' response. A pending response indicates to the customer the position of their request relative to all other requests in the same processing track. A &#processed' request indicates that the request was processed and the customer will be provided that processing date. USCIS will make daily updates to the status information.

Customers without Internet access can still obtain information on their FOIA requests by calling the USCIS FOIA Requester Service Center at (816) 350-5785 from 7 a.m. to 2:15 p.m. (Central Time).

As USCIS receives more than 110,000 requests annually for access to immigration records, the agency continues to improve its FOIA procedures and enhance processing times. For example, last year USCIS launched a new ‘Notice to Appear’ track that provides accelerated access of a large portion of FOIA requests from individuals, or their representatives, who have been notified to appear before an immigration court. See "Related Links" on the right side of this page. That new track provides those customers quicker access to their Alien-File (‘A’-File) when it is requested through the FOIA process.

For more information on USCIS' FOIA program, visit www.uscis.gov or contact the National Customer Service Center at (800) 375-5283 (TTY 800-767-1833).

USCIS Will Close Field Offices in Tijuana and Hong Kong

18 Jun 2008 On June 18, USCIS announced that it will close its field offices in Tijuana, Mexico and Hong Kong. The Tijuana office will close on July 3 and the Hong Kong office will close on August 29. In preparation of these closings, each field office will stop accepting the following applications and transfer responsibility for these forms on the dates here listed:

Tijuana

Form I-130, the Petition to Classify Alien as an Immediate Relative: June 20. Applications will be forwarded to the Mexico City District office for processing.

Form I-407, the Abandonment of Lawful Permanent Resident Status: July 1. Applications will be processed by the U.S. State Departments and the form and documents will be forwarded to the Mexico City District office for destruction and system updates.

Form I-600, the Petition to Classify Orphan as an Immediate Relative: June 20. Applications will be forwarded to the Ciudad Juarez Field office for processing.

Form I-600A/I-800A, the Application for Advance Processing of Orphan Petition: June 20. Applications will be forwarded to the Ciudad Juarez Field office for processing.

Hong Kong

Form I-130, the Petition to Classify Alien as an Immediate Relative: September 2. Applications will be managed and processed by the U.S. State Department Consular Section.

Form I-407, the Abandonment of Lawful Permanent Resident Status: June 23. Applications will be managed and processed by the U.S. State Department Consular Section.

Form I-600, the Petition to Classify Orphan as an Immediate Relative: September 2. Applications will be managed and processed by the U.S. State Department Consular Section.

Form I-600A/I-800A, the Application for Advance Processing of Orphan Petition: September 2. Applications will be received by the U.S. State Department Consular Section and forwarded to the USCIS Bangkok District office for processing.

Re-Entry Permits sent to Hong Kong for Collection: September 2. Permits will be distributed by the U.S. State Department Consular Section.

Application for Boarding Letters (also known as Transportation Letters): September 2. These documents will be processing by U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

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