WASHINGTON - Recently, USCIS has decided that they will issue Form I-797C, Notice of Action, with a new look and feel. The Form I-797C will be printed on a plain bond paper. The agency will save an estimated amount of $1.1 million per year. This form change will help reduce public perception that the Form I-797C demonstrates evidence of an immigration benefit or status. The top of the new Form I-797C will clearly display: “ THIS NOTICE DOES NOT GRANT ANY IMMIGRATION STATUS OR BENEFIT.” The following is a sample of how this disclaimer will appear on the Form I-797C: Please note,the Form I-797C, Notice of Action is used ONLY for certain types of communication between individuals and the agency including notifications of: Receipt (notifies the customer that their payment and application/petition has been received by USCIS) Rejection (notifies the customer that their application/petition has been rejected due to incorrect information or payment) ...
On January 2, 2013, Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano announced the posting of a final rule in the Federal Register that reduces the time U.S. citizens are separated from their immediate relatives (spouse, children and parents), who are in the process of obtaining visas to become lawful permanent residents of the United States under certain circumstances. The final rule establishes a process that allows certain individuals to apply for a provisional unlawful presence waiver before they depart the United States to attend immigrant visa interviews in their countries of origin. The process will be effective on March 4, 2013 and more information about the filing process will be made available in the coming weeks at www.uscis.gov. “This final rule facilitates the legal immigration process and reduces the amount of time that U.S. citizens are separated from their immediate relatives who are in the process of obtaining an immigrant visa,” said Secretary Napolitano. U.S....
WASHINGTON - U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced today that it has received a sufficient number of H-1B petitions to reach the statutory cap of 65,000 for fiscal year (FY) 2012. USCIS is notifying the public that yesterday, Nov. 22, 2011, was the final receipt date for new H-1B specialty occupation petitions requesting an employment start date in FY 2012. Properly filed cases will be considered received on the date that USCIS physically receives the petition; not the date that the petition was postmarked. USCIS will reject cap-subject petitions for new H-1B specialty occupation workers seeking an employment start date in FY 2012 that arrive after Nov. 22, 2011. As of Oct. 19, 2011, USCIS had also received more than 20,000 H-1B petitions filed on behalf of persons exempt from the cap under the ‘advanced degree’ exemption. USCIS will continue to accept and process petitions that are otherwise exempt from the cap. In addition, petitions filed on be...