Articles Posted in Immigration News

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) released a News Alert (12/29/15) stating that the statutory maximum of 10,000 U nonimmigrant petitions (U Visas) for FY2016 has been reached. This is the 7th year in a row that this maximum cap has been reached before the end of the fiscal year. USCIS will continue to accept U visa petitions! USCIS will process them in the order received at the beginning of FY2017, which starts October 1, 2016, at that point the U Visa cap of 10,000 will open again.

The U nonimmigrant status (U Visa) is set aside for victims of crimes who have suffered substantial mental or physical abuse and are willing to assist law enforcement and government officials in the investigation or prosecution of the criminal activity. Note that a U-Visa petition requires certification of assistance from law enforcement.

Source of Information:

Processing Time reports for all of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) Service Centers were released on 11/17/15 with processing dates as of 10/31/15.

If you filed a petition with one of the Service Centers, please review the links below to determine the applicable processing time associated with your particular case.

California Service Center (CSC)

Senate:

December 2, 2015

Committee: U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary Title: Oversight of the Administration’s Criminal Alien Removal Policies

Processing Time reports for all of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) Service Centers were released on 11/17/15 with processing dates as of 9/30/15.

If you filed a petition with one of the Service Centers, please review the links below to determine the applicable processing time associated with your particular case.

California Service Center (CSC)

The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and the U.S. Department of State (DOS) will be holding a stakeholder listening session (teleconference) on Thursday, November 19th between 1:00pm to 2:00pm (Eastern). The subject of the event will be a general overview of filing tips and to gather any feedback on the following forms:

• Form I-864, Affidavit of Support Under Section 213A of the INA • Form I-864A, Contract Between Sponsor and Household Member • Form I-864EZ, Affidavit of Support Under Section 213A of the INA • Form I-864W, Intending Immigrant’s Affidavit of Support Exemption

Event Information:

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), Office of Foreign Labor Certification (OFLC) has provided FY2015 statistics (fourth quarter) in the form of program factsheets for each of the major immigration programs. These updated FY2015 statistics (fourth quarter) cover August 2015 through September 2015.

The link to each program factsheet is listed below:

• Permanent Labor Certification Program – Select Statistics, FY 2015 (fourth quarter)

Processing Time reports for all of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) Service Centers were released on 10/15/15 with processing dates as of 8/31/15.

If you filed a petition with one of the Service Centers, please review the links below to determine the applicable processing time associated with your particular case.

California Service Center (CSC)

USCIS released a News Alert on Thursday, October, 15th listing immigration relief measures that may help people affected by the recent flooding disaster in South Carolina.

These immigration relief measures may be available upon request:

• Change or extension of nonimmigrant status for an individual currently in the United States, even if the request is filed after the authorized period of admission has expired.

Senate:

October 7, 2015

Committee: U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Title: Business Meeting – the agenda includes S. Res. 104, a resolution regarding the success of Operation Streamline and the importance of prosecuting first time illegal border crossers Time: 10:00am Place: SD-342 Dirksen Senate Office Building

Processing Time reports for all of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) Service Centers were released on 9/22/15 with processing dates as of 7/31/15.

If you filed a petition with one of the Service Centers, please review the links below to determine the applicable processing time associated with your particular case.

California Service Center (CSC)