WASHINGTON—U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced on March 15, 2013 that it will begin accepting H-1B petitions subject to the Fiscal Year (FY) 2014 cap on Monday, April 1, 2013. Cases will be considered accepted on the date that USCIS receives a properly filed petition for which the correct fee has been submitted; not the date that the petition is postmarked. The cap (the numerical limitation on H-1B petitions) for FY 2014 is 65,000. In addition, the first 20,000 H-1B petitions filed on behalf of individuals with U.S. master’s degree or higher are exempt from the fiscal year cap of 65,000. Based on feedback from a number of stakeholders, USCIS anticipates that it may receive more petitions than the H-1B cap between April 1, 2013 and April 5, 2013 . USCIS will monitor the number of petitions received and notify the public of the date on which the numerical limit of the H-1B cap has been met. This date is known as the final receipt date. I...
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) ...
WASHINGTON - U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Director Alejandro Mayorkas announced on October 25, 2011 the launch of an enhanced Employment Authorization Document (EAD) and a redesigned Certificate of Citizenship (Form N-560) with new features to strengthen security and deter fraud. As part of USCIS’s ongoing efforts to enhance the integrity of the immigration system, the state-of-the-art technology incorporated into the new documents will deter counterfeiting, obstruct tampering, and facilitate quick and accurate authentication. USCIS began issuing the new EADs today and will begin using the redesigned certificates on Oct. 30. The agency anticipates that more than 1 million people will receive the new documents over the next year. The new features of the EAD will better equip workers, employers and law enforcement officials to recognize the card as definitive proof of authorization to work in the United States. Additionally, USCIS employs a n...