Wednesday, March 27, 2024

Secretary Mayorkas Announces Extension and Redesignation of Burma (Myanmar) for Temporary Protected Status

WASHINGTON – Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro N. Mayorkas today announced the extension and redesignation of Burma for Temporary Protected Status for 18 months, from May 26, 2024, to November 25, 2025, due to extraordinary and temporary conditions in Burma that prevent individuals from safely returning. The corresponding Federal Register notice provides information about how to register as a new first-time applicant or current beneficiary for TPS under Burma's extension and redesignation.

After consultation with interagency partners, Secretary Mayorkas determined that an 18-month TPS extension and redesignation are warranted because conditions that support Burma's TPS designation are ongoing. B

Monday, March 25, 2024

USCIS Extends Initial Registration Period for FY 2025 H-1B Cap

USCIS has extended the initial registration period for the fiscal year (FY) 2025 H-1B cap. The initial registration period, which opened at noon Eastern on March 6, 2024, and was originally scheduled to run through noon Eastern on March 22, 2024, will now run through noon Eastern on March 25, 2024. USCIS is aware of a temporary system outage experienced by some registrants, and is extending the registration period to provide additional time due to this issue.

During this period, prospective petitioners and their representatives, if applicable, must use a USCIS online account to register each beneficiary electronically for the selection process and pay the associated registration fee for each beneficiary. USCIS still intends to notify selected registrants by March 31, 2024.

On Feb. 28, 2024, we launched new myUSCIS organizational accounts that allow multiple people within a

Saturday, March 23, 2024

USCIS Updates Policy Guidance Clarifying Expedite Requests

USCIS is updating guidance in the USCIS Policy Manual to clarify how we consider expedite requests related to government interests and requests related to emergencies or urgent humanitarian situations, including travel-related requests. This update also clarifies how to make an expedite request and explains how we process expedite requests.

Government Interests

This update clarifies that we may expedite cases identified as urgent by federal, state, tribal, territorial, or local governments of the United States because they involve public interest, public safety, national interest, or national security interests. This update clarifies that when an expedite request is made by a

Friday, March 22, 2024

Visa Bulletin May 2024 Predictions

For official April 2024 Visa Bulletin & Analysis, please click here: https://www.mygcvisa.com/visa-bulletin/2024/visa-bulletin-april-2024.aspx

Please see May 2024 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
INDIAMEXICOPHILIPPINES
F115APR1515APR1515APR1515MAY0122APR12
F2A01OCT2001OCT2001OCT2015OCT2001OCT20
F2B01JAN1601JAN1601JAN1608JAN0401DEC11
F301NOV0901NOV0901NOV0908OCT9801JUL02
F401JUL0701JUL0722DEC0508NOV0008JUL03
"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
INDIAMEXICOPHILIPPINES
F122SEP1722SEP1722SEP1715JUN0508JUN15
F2A22SEP2322SEP2322SEP2301OCT2322SEP23
F2B15FEB1715FEB1715FEB1722OCT0408NOV13
F315MAR1015MAR1015MAR1022JUN0101DEC03
F422MAR0822MAR0801MAY0608MAY0122MAY05

Monday, March 18, 2024

USCIS Clarifies Anti-Discrimination Policy

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services today announced agency-wide anti-discrimination guidance that addresses public-facing interactions and affirms our public service principles.

The Policy Manual update reiterates that, consistent with the USCIS mission statement and core values, USCIS does not tolerate the discriminatory treatment of any individuals. USCIS considers discrimination to be the unlawful treatment of a person or group of persons based on classes or other categories to which they belong or are perceived to belong. The update clarifies that it is USCIS policy to treat the public in a nondiscriminatory manner, regardless of whether they belong to a class or group s

Saturday, March 16, 2024

USCIS Streamlines Process for Refugee Employment Authorization Documents

USCIS has begun implementing a streamlined process for Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization, to provide Employment Authorization Documents (EADs) more efficiently to eligible refugees after they are admitted into the United States. This streamlined process shortens the wait time for an EAD to approximately 30 days instead of several months. All individuals admitted into the United States as refugees on or after Dec. 10, 2023, will receive EADs pursuant to this new process.

Under U.S.

Wednesday, March 13, 2024

USCIS Reaches H-2B Cap for Second Half of FY 2024 and Announces Filing Dates for the Second Half of FY 2024 Supplemental Visas

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has received enough petitions to meet the H-2B cap for the second half of fiscal year (FY) 2024 and is announcing the filing dates for supplemental H-2B visas for the reminder of FY 2024 made available under the FY 2024 H-2B supplemental visa temporary final rule.

H-2B Cap for Second Half of FY 2024

USCIS has received enough petitions to meet the congressionally mandated <a target='_blank' href="https://www.uscis.gov/working-in-the-united-states/temporary-workers/h-2b-non-agricultural-workers/cap-count-for-h-2b-nonimmigrants" data-entity-type="node" dat