USCIS Announces Final Rule Adjusting Immigration Benefit Application and Petition Fees

From USCIS, 10/24/2016

WASHINGTON – U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services today announced a final rule published in the Federal Register today adjusting the fees required for most immigration applications and petitions. The new fees will be effective Dec. 23.

USCIS is almost entirely funded by the fees paid by applicants and petitioners for immigration benefits. The law requires USCIS to conduct fee reviews every two years to determine the funding levels necessary to administer the nation’s immigration laws, process benefit requests and provide the infrastructure needed to support those activities.

Fees will increase for the first time in six years, by a weighted average of 21 percent for most applications and petitions. This increase is necessary to recover the full cost of services provided by USCIS. These include the costs associated with fraud detection and national security, customer service and case processing, and providing services without charge to refugee and asylum applicants and to other customers eligible for fee waivers or exemptions.

The final rule contains a table summarizing current and new fees. The new fees will also be listed on the Our Fees page on our website. Form G-1055 will not reflect the new fees until the effective date. Applications and petitions postmarked or filed on or after Dec. 23 must include the new fees or USCIS will not be able to accept them.

"This is our first fee increase since November 2010, and we sincerely appreciate the valuable public input we received as we prepared this final rule," said USCIS Director León Rodríguez. "We are mindful of the effect fee increases have on many of the customers we serve. That’s why we decided against raising fees as recommended after the fiscal year 2012 and 2014 fee reviews.  However, as an agency dependent upon users’ fees to operate, these changes are now necessary to ensure we can continue to serve our customers effectively.  We will also offer a reduced filing fee for certain naturalization applicants with limited means."

Read more about the new fee schedule on the Our Fees page. 

In preparing the final rule, USCIS considered all 436 comments received during the 60-day public comment period for the proposed rule published May 4.

Summary of Fee Changes Impacting Georgia Tech 

August 8 is the Deadline to Apply to Add 7 Months to a 17-Month STEM OPT Extension

From USCIS, 08/01/2016

If you currently have a 17-month STEM OPT extension, you may apply to add 7 months to your STEM OPT period. If you want to apply for this 7-month extension, you must properly file your Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization (with the required fee and signature) on or before August 8, 2016. USCIS will deny applications filed after August 8, 2016.

You may apply to add 7 months to your 17-month STEM OPT period if:

• You are currently participating in STEM OPT based on a 17-month extension;
• You request the additional 7-month period by filing a new Form I-765 between May 10, 2016 and August 8, 2016, and within 60 days of the date your designated school official’s enters the recommendation for the 24-month OPT extension into your SEVIS record;
• You have at least 150 days of valid employment authorization remaining on your 17-month STEM OPT period on the date you properly file your new Form I-765; and
• You, your designated school official, and your employer meet all the 24-month STEM OPT extension requirements.

For more information on the STEM OPT extension, visit the USCIS Optional Practical Training Extension for STEM Students (STEM OPT) page.

USCIS Processing Times

Message adapted from USCIS Stakeholder Communication, 04/28/2016

United States Citizenship and Immigration Services recognizes that some cases are taking longer to complete than usual and apologize for any inconvenience that this may have caused. Current personnel resources do not align with the present caseload, but they are working to address the staffing shortages and workload issues that are causing the delays. 

USCIS continually reviews their workload capacity at each service center and, based on their findings, redistribute the work among the service centers. This type of planning allows USCIS to maximize their resources and minimize any delays when work is transferred. USCIS has recently transferred cases between all of the service centers, including their newest center, the Potomac Service Center. This work includes all recently filed Forms I-765, Application for Employment Authorization, submitted by F-1 and M-1 students for Optional Practical Training.  For more details, you can visit the workload transfer updates page.

While this may not reduce wait times immediately, USCIS hopes you will see improvement over the next few months. Transferring cases will assist with backlog reduction, ensure processing times are consistent across service centers, and provide customers and stakeholders with faster responses.

Here is what you need to know if your case is transferred to another center for action: 

• Your case will be worked based on the processing times of the receiving center
• All notices and requests will come from the new center
• Please notify USCIS any time you change your address
• If you receive notice that your Green Card has been approved, please wait 120 days to receive it in the mail

Customers can access current processing times on the USCIS website at https://egov.uscis.gov/cris/processTimesDisplayInit.do.

USCIS encourages you to sign up for an account with Case Status Online to get an email or text notification when there is an update to your status, including when your Green Card is mailed. They also encourage you to keep your address up to date to ensure that your card is delivered to your most current physical address. You can update your mailing address online at www.uscis.gov/changeaddress.

Changes Coming for USCIS Filing Fees

A new USCIS fee schedule is currently under review at the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). OMB has 90 days to review the fee schedule before it is published in the Federal Register for public comment. The proposed fee schedule is expected to be published by July 1, 2016. As fees have not changed since 2010, some fee increases could be significant.

USCIS Message: Beware of Immigration Scams

Immigrants all over the country are being targeted for phone scams. Don’t be one of the victims!

Scammers pretend to be a government official and call immigrants saying there is a problem with their immigration record. Sometimes they know personal information about the immigrant. They ask for personal and sensitive details, and demand immediate payment to fix the problem. They get angry and threaten people with deportation if payment is not made immediately with electronic money transfers.

Sometimes, scammers use special software to make it look like our 800 number is calling. Other times they leave a message to call a number that sounds exactly like our 800 number.

Remember, USCIS officials rarely call customers on the phone, and WE WILL NEVER ASK FOR PAYMENT OVER THE PHONE. If we need payment, we will send a letter on official stationery requesting payment.   

If you receive a call like this, hang up and report it to the Federal Trade Commission at www.ftccomplaintassistant.gov.  

Visit www.uscis.gov/avoidscams for information on where to report scams in your state. If you have a question about your immigration record, please call customer service at 800-375-5283, or make an InfoPass appointment at http://infopass.uscis.gov.

USCIS Message: Reminder for H-4 Applicants When Traveling Abroad

From USCIS Public Engagement, 03/24/2016

USCIS would like to remind individuals applying for a change of status to H-4 that if you travel abroad before we approve your Form I-539, Change of Status (COS) application, we will consider your application to be abandoned. This means we will deny your COS application. If you filed your Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization, and travel abroad before your COS is approved, it will be considered abandoned, along with your I-539 application. This will result in a denial of your Form I-765 even if you are re-admitted as an H-4 nonimmigrant.  If re-admitted as an H-4 nonimmigrant, you would need to file a new Form I-765, with fee, in order to apply for employment authorization.

For more information, see the FAQs: Employment Authorization for Certain H4 Dependent Spouses webpage at www.uscis.gov.

USCIS Launches Virtual Assistant

Emma Gives Customers Another Option for Finding Answers

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services launched a virtual assistant named “Emma” today on uscis.gov, allowing customers to quickly find accurate information. She answers questions in plain English and navigates users to relevant USCIS web pages.

She is named after Emma Lazarus, whose famous words are inscribed at the base of the Statue of Liberty.

Emma was developed in response to a growing interest in self-help tools and to enhance our customer service. USCIS call centers currently receive many questions concerning general information requests that can be provided through the Web. Now Emma will help provide that information.

Although Emma can currently answer many questions our customers commonly ask, her knowledge base is still growing. As customers ask more questions, Emma gets smarter and can better assist future customers.

You can access Emma on a desktop or laptop. Soon, she’ll be expanding to mobile devices, and her Spanish language capabilities will be arriving early next year.

Check out Emma at USCIS.gov and click “Ask a Question” in the upper right-hand corner of the page.

USCIS Provides Guidance on Immigrant Visa Availability and Priority Dates

From GreenbergTraurig, 11/17/2015

The Basics of Immigrant Visa Availability

The Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) sets a limit on the number of immigrant visas (i.e. green cards) that may be issued to foreign nationals each year, and the U.S. Department of State (DOS) is the agency that allocates the aforementioned immigrant visas.

There are an unlimited number of immigrant visas available each year for “immediate relatives” of U.S. citizens. “Immediate Relatives” include spouses, unmarried children under the age of 21, parents of U.S. citizens at least 21 years old, and surviving spouses of U.S. citizens if the U.S. citizen spouse filed a petition before his or her death, or the surviving spouse files a petition within two years of the U.S. citizen’s death.

There are approximately 226,000 immigrant visas available each year in the family-sponsored preference categories; employment-based preference category immigrant visas are typically limited to 140,000 visas per year. However, these numbers may increase when immigrant visas from the previous fiscal year’s allotment are not used up. DOS further distributes based on preference category, country of chargeability (usually country of birth) and priority date.

Priority Dates

When the demand for immigrant visas exceeds the number of visas available, a waiting list for immigrant visa availability forms and the priority date is used to determine an individual’s place in the visa queue.

The priority date is located on a prospective immigrant’s Form I-797 Notice of Action for the relevant immigrant visa petition filed on their behalf. For most family-sponsored preference categories, the priority date is the date the Form I-130, Petition for Alien Relative is filed with USCIS. For employment-based preference categories that require a labor certification from the Department of Labor (DOL), the priority date is the date that the labor certification application is filed with the DOL, and the petitioner must file an I-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker with USCIS within 180 days from the date the labor certification is approved. For employment-based preference categories that do not require a DOL labor certification, the priority date is the date the immigrant visa application is filed with USCIS for processing.

Only when a prospective immigrant’s priority date is earlier than the cut-off date shown for a given preference category and country of chargeability in the relevant chart of the monthly Visa Bulletin (also known as when the priority date is “current”) is a visa number available. When an individual’s priority date is current, he or she can take one of the final steps in the process of obtaining lawful permanent residence status in the U.S.

Sometimes, the visa cut-off date will move backwards or “retrogress” to an earlier date, and a priority date that is current one month will no longer be current the next month. This occurs when the number of people who apply for a visa in a given category exceeds the number of available immigrant visas that month.

Adjustment of Status Applications

Individuals present in the U.S. can file a Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence of Adjust Status in connection with a family-sponsored or employment-based immigrant visa petition according to the monthly Visa Bulletin published by DOS. The monthly DOS Visa Bulletin indicates the availability of immigrant visas according to “Application Final Action Dates” and “Dates for Filing Applications.” Usually the “Application Final Action Dates” chart will determine when a prospective immigrant is eligible to file an adjustment of status application with USCIS.

When immigrant visas are currently available based on preference category, country of chargeability and priority date, a prospective immigrant can file his or her Form I-485 adjustment of status application concurrently with an underlying family-sponsored or employment-based immigrant petition.

As part of the adjustment of status application, an applicant must submit a Form I-693, Report of Medical Examination and Vaccination Record. However, the Form I-693 has limited validity and thus many applicants choose to wait to provide the Form I-693 until after receiving a Request for Evidence (RFE) or an immigrant visa interview to avoid having to repeat the immigration medical examination.

Along with a Form I-485 adjustment of status application, the applicant can also apply for a combination Employment Authorization Document (EAD)/Advance Parole card, which serves as a prospective immigrant’s work and travel authorization while the adjustment of status application is pending. This EAD/Advance Parole combo card is valid for one year but can be extended until the Form I-485 is processed.  

Finally, a prospective immigrant can request to have a pending I-485 Application for Adjustment of Status transferred from one immigrant visa eligibility basis to another, as long as the applicant is the beneficiary of a pending or approved visa petition in the new preference category. In order to quality, the priority date must be current in the new category and for the prospective immigrant’s country of chargeability on the date the transfer is filed.

Pending Adjustment of Status Applications and AC21

Under Section 204(j) of the American Competitiveness in the Twenty-First Century Act (AC21), a prospective immigrant with employment-based Form I-485 pending for 180 days or more can seek to “port” to a new job in the same or similar occupational classification before final adjudication of the adjustment of status application.

Under AC21 Section 104(c), the beneficiary of an approved I-40 petition can extend his or her H-1B status beyond the six-year H-1B limitation if a he or she is eligible for lawful permanent resident status but a cannot currently file to adjust status due to lack of current availability of a visa number. To determine whether an individual is eligible for this benefit, USCIS relies on the “Application Final Action Dates” chart of the Visa Bulletin: if the priority date is on or after the cut-off date listed in the chart for the individual’s preference category and country of chargeability, then he or she may be eligible for an H-1B extension under AC21 Section 104(c).

DOS Publishes Updated Visa Bulletin for October 2015

From USCIS, 09/25/2015

On Sept. 25, the Department of State (DOS) published an updated Visa Bulletin for October 2015. This bulletin supersedes the bulletin for October 2015 that was originally published on Sept. 9, 2015. Following consultations with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the Dates for Filing Applications for some categories in the Family-Sponsored and Employment-Based preferences have been adjusted to better reflect a timeframe justifying immediate action in the application process. The Dates for Filing Applications sections on pages 4 and 6, which have been adjusted, have been identified in bold type and highlighted. 

Applicants should use the chart published by DOS on Sept. 25 when filing for adjustment of status. This chart has also been updated on uscis.gov. Please be advised that DHS will rely on this revised bulletin rather than the bulletin published on Sept. 9, 2015, when considering whether an individual is eligible to file his or her application for adjustment of status.

The Dates for Filing Applications chart is a part of the revised procedures for determining visa availability for applicants waiting to file for adjustment of status that USCIS announced on Sept. 9, 2015. Continue reading below for more information.

Background Information

USCIS, in coordination with Department of State (DOS), is revising the procedures for determining visa availability for applicants waiting to file for employment-based or family-sponsored preference adjustment of status. The revised process will better align with procedures DOS uses for foreign nationals who seek to become U.S. permanent residents by applying for immigrant visas at U.S. consulates and embassies abroad.

This revised process will enhance DOS’s ability to more accurately predict overall immigrant visa demand and determine the cut-off dates for visa issuance published in the Visa Bulletin. This will help ensure that the maximum number of immigrant visas is issued annually as intended by Congress, and minimize month-to-month fluctuations in Visa Bulletin final action dates.

The Visa Bulletin revisions implement November 2014 executive actions on immigration announced by President Obama and Secretary of Homeland Security Johnson, as detailed in the White House report, Modernizing and Streamlining Our Legal Immigration System for the 21st century, issued in July 2015.

What is Changing

Two charts per visa preference category will be posted in the DOS Visa Bulletin:

• Application Final Action Dates (dates when visas may finally be issued); and
• Dates for Filing Applications (earliest dates when applicants may be able to apply).

Each month, in coordination with DOS, USCIS will monitor visa numbers and post the relevant DOS Visa Bulletin chart. Applicants can use the charts to determine when to file their Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status.

To determine whether additional visas are available, USCIS will compare the number of visas available for the remainder of the fiscal year with: 

• Documentarily qualified visa applicants reported by DOS;
• Pending adjustment of status applications reported by USCIS; an
• Historical drop off rate (for example, denials, withdrawals, abandonments).

About the Visa Bulletin

DOS publishes current immigrant visa availability information in a monthly Visa Bulletin. The Visa Bulletin indicates when statutorily limited visas are available to prospective immigrants based on their individual priority date.

• The priority date is generally the date when the applicant’s relative or employer properly filed the immigrant visa petition on the applicant’s behalf with USCIS. If a labor certification is required to be filed with the applicant’s immigrant visa petition, then the priority date is when the labor certification application was accepted for processing by Department of Labor.
• Availability of an immigrant visa means eligible applicants are able to take one of the final steps in the process of becoming U.S. permanent residents.

Learn more about adjustment of status and the Visa Bulletin on the USCIS website.

SAVE CaseCheck Now Easier for Benefit Applicants

From USCIS, 09/172015

On September 9, USCIS enhanced SAVE CaseCheck to make it easier for people applying for federal, state or local benefits to check the status of their immigration verification case.

Benefit-granting agencies may need to verify a person’s immigration status to process an application. The SAVE Program lets them do that, and CaseCheck lets applicants monitor the progress of the request.

Until now, to run a CaseCheck query, applicants had to obtain a case verification number from a participating SAVE agency. Now, they can enter their date of birth along with a number from one of these immigration documents:

• Certificate of Citizenship
• Certificate of Naturalization
• Form I-20, Certificate of Eligibility for Nonimmigrant Student Status
• Form I-94, Arrival/Departure Record
• Form I-94 stamp in an unexpired foreign passport
• Permanent Resident Card
• Employment Authorization Card

This update of CaseCheck will mean more convenience for applicants, and save time for benefit-granting agencies.

USCIS Announces Revised Procedures for Determining Visa Availability for Applicants Waiting to File for Adjustment of Status

From uscis.gov, 09/09/2015

USCIS, in coordination with Department of State (DOS), is revising the procedures for determining visa availability for applicants waiting to file for employment-based or family-sponsored preference adjustment of status. The revised process will better align with procedures DOS uses for foreign nationals who seek to become U.S. permanent residents by applying for immigrant visas at U.S. consulates and embassies abroad.

This revised process will enhance DOS’s ability to more accurately predict overall immigrant visa demand and determine the cut-off dates for visa issuance published in the Visa Bulletin. This will help ensure that the maximum number of immigrant visas are issued annually as intended by Congress, and minimize month-to-month fluctuations in Visa Bulletin final action dates.

The Visa Bulletin revisions implement November 2014 executive actions on immigration announced by President Obama and Secretary of Homeland Security Johnson, as detailed in the White House report, Modernizing and Streamlining Our Legal Immigration System for the 21st century, issued in July 2015. 

What is Changing

• Application Final Action Dates (dates when visas may finally be issued); and

• Dates for Filing Applications (earliest dates when applicants may be able to apply).

• Documentarily qualified visa applicants reported by DOS;

• Pending adjustment of status applications reported by USCIS; and

• Historical drop off rate (for example, denials, withdrawals, abandonments).

About the Visa Bulletin

• The priority date is generally the date when the applicant’s relative or employer properly filed the immigrant visa petition on the applicant’s behalf with USCIS. If a labor certification is required to be filed with the applicant’s immigrant visa petition, then the priority date is when the labor certification application was accepted for processing by Department of Labor.

• Availability of an immigrant visa means eligible applicants are able to take one of the final steps in the process of becoming U.S. permanent residents. 

Two charts per visa preference category will be posted in the DOS Visa Bulletin:

Each month, in coordination with DOS, USCIS will monitor visa numbers and post the relevant DOS Visa Bulletin chart. Applicants can use the charts to determine when to file their Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status.

To determine whether additional visas are available, USCIS will compare the number of visas available for the remainder of the fiscal year with:

DOS publishes current immigrant visa availability information in a monthly Visa Bulletin. The Visa Bulletin indicates when statutorily limited visas are available to prospective immigrants based on their individual priority date.

Learn more about adjustment of status and the Visa Bulletin on our website.

Delays in Production of EADs and Green Cards

Delays have been reported between the approval of a Form I-765 or I-485 and the client's receipt of the employment authorization document (EAD) or lawful permanent resident card. USCIS has confirmed that the card production facility in Corbin, Kentucky, is undergoing maintenance, and that all card production work was transferred to the facility in Lee's Summit, Missouri. As a result, there is a backlog of cases in Lee's Summit, and clients may not receive their cards until two to three weeks after approval of the underlying application. USCIS anticipates that the backlog will be resolved sometime next month.

USCIS Resumes Premium Processing for Extension of Stay H-1B Petitions

Beginning July 13, 2015, USCIS will resume accepting Form I-907, Request for Premium Processing Service for all Form I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker, H-1B extension of stay petitions. 

USCIS previously announced on May 19, 2015, that premium processing service would be suspended for Form I-129 H-1B extension of stay petitions from May 26, 2015 to July 27, 2015. The temporary suspension allowed us to implement the Employment Authorization for Certain H-4 Dependent Spouses final rule in a timely manner and begin adjudication of applications for employment authorization filed by H-4 nonimmigrants under the new regulation. Premium processing remained available for all other types of Form I-129 H-1B petitions during the temporary suspension.

USCIS Tool Makes It Easier to Find a Doctor

From http://www.uscis.gov/

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has launched an enhanced tool to find local doctors authorized to perform medical examinations for green card applicants.

The improved Find a Doctor locator lets you enter your address or ZIP code to search for a doctor based on distance. You can also look up directions and find local transportation. And we have added a helpful checklist of what to bring with you to your doctor visit.

All of this can be accessed online at any time using any device.

Only doctors authorized by USCIS, known as civil surgeons, may perform the exams that are usually required as part of the process for obtaining permanent resident status.

For more information, visit my.uscis.gov.

Your feedback helps us improve our services. Send comments to myuscissupport@uscis.dhs.gov or through the USCIS Idea Community. We also encourage you to register to receive email updates and find out about opportunities to test new features.

USCIS Discontinues Electronic Form I-539, Form I-526, and Regional Center Document Library

From USCIS, 06/16/2015

On June 15, 2015, USCIS stopped accepting electronically filed Forms I-539, Application to Extend/Change Nonimmigrant Status, and Forms I-526, Immigrant Petition by Alien Entrepreneur. USCIS also discontinued the Regional Center Document Library.

This change will not adversely affect customers who have pending or draft cases that were created before June 15. We will adjudicate those cases to completion and allow the standard 30 days for customers to complete and submit their draft cases.

Recently, USCIS updated the Form I-539 and Form G-28, Notice of Entry of Appearance as Attorney or Accredited Representative. To ensure that the paper and electronic versions of these forms are consistent with each other, we must temporarily remove the current electronic versions until we develop these updated forms in our new USCIS online filing system, which launched in March 2015.

Filing a Form I-539 or Form I-526

Customers who need to file a Form I-539 or Form I-526 must now file the paper version of the form. If you already started an electronic Form I-539 or Form I-526, you will have 30 days from the day you began your application/petition to complete and submit it online. If you are unable to complete your electronic form within this 30-day time period, you will need to file a new paper application or petition.

For instructions on how to file a paper Form I-539, please visit our Form I-539 page.

For instructions on how to file a paper Form I-526, please visit our Form I-526 page.

If You Filed Electronically Before June 15, 2015

If you filed a Form I-539 or Form I-526 electronically, you will still be able to access your account to check your case status, change your address, and respond to requests for evidence while USCIS processes your case. If you filed a Form I-526 electronically, you will still be able to review and attest existing deal packages created by the Document Library Manager. However, Document Library Managers will not be able to create new document libraries or deal packages.

For More Information

If you have any questions about filing a Form I-539 or Form I-526 or accessing a Regional Center Document Library, please contact us through our online help form or call customer service at 1-800-375-5283 (1-800-767-1833 (TDD)). If you have questions about filing Form I-526 or accessing a Regional Center Document Library, you can also email us at USCIS.ImmigrantInvestorProgram@uscis.dhs.gov.

For more information on USCIS and its programs, please visit www.uscis.gov or follow us on Twitter(@uscis), YouTube (/uscis), and the USCIS blog The Beacon.

For more information, visit our website.

USCIS Publishes Filing Guidance for Certain H-4 Dependent Spouses

USCIS has published information to help eligible H-4 dependent spouses who want to apply for employment authorization under the Employment Authorization for Certain H-4 Dependent Spouses final rule.
You can view the information on:

• The Employment Authorization for Certain H-4 Dependent Spouses Web page, and
• The list of Frequently Asked Questions that we have compiled since we announced the H-4 rule in February.

Please note that you may not apply for employment authorization under this rule until May 26, 2015. Until the H-4 rule takes effect on May 26, 2015, USCIS will not accept any Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization requesting employment authorization based on your H-4 status. If you submit a Form I-765 before May 26, 2015 USCIS will reject your application and return it and the filing fee to you. You would then need to re-submit the application on or after May 26, 2015.

USCIS Temporarily Suspends Premium Processing for Extension of Stay H-1B Petitions

Starting May 26, 2015, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will temporarily suspend premium processing for all H-1B Extension of Stay petitions until July 27, 2015. During this time frame, petitioners will not be able to file Form I-907, Request for Premium Processing Service, for a Form I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker, requesting an extension of the stay for an H-1B nonimmigrant.  USCIS will continue to premium process H-1B Extension of Stay petitions filed with Form I-907 premium requests prior to May 26, 2015.
USCIS will refund the premium processing fee if:

• A petitioner filed H-1B petitions prior to May 26, 2015, using the premium processing service, and 
• USCIS did not act on the case within the 15-calendar-day period.

Premium processing remains available for all other Form I-129 H-1B petitions, including petitions subject to the H-1B cap that are requesting a change of nonimmigrant status or consular notification.

This temporary suspension will allow USCIS to implement the Employment Authorization for Certain H-4 Spouses final rule in a timely manner and adjudicate applications for employment authorization filed by H-4 nonimmigrants under the new regulations.

Revised Form I-539 Application to Extend/Change Nonimmigrant Status Now Available

A revised Form I-539, Application to Extend/Change Nonimmigrant Status, is now available for use.

Applicants may begin using the revised Form I-539 today. Applicants may continue to use other previously accepted versions (dated 12/18/2012 or earlier), until July 6, 2015, at which point only the most current version will be accepted.

Please be sure to visit www.uscis.gov/forms  to ensure that the Form you are submitting is the most current version available.

USCIS Customer Service Tools Outage

From USCIS, 01/15/2015

USCIS will conduct system maintenance from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. (Eastern) on Saturday, Jan. 17.

During this time, our online tools will be unavailable, including:

• Check My Case Status
• e-Request
• Change of Address Online
• Check Processing Times
• Civil Surgeon Locator
• FOIA Status Check
• Forms by Mail
• Office Locator

http://www.uscis.gov/news/customer-service-tools-outage-alert 

USCIS Website Gets a New Look and Enhanced Tools

On Friday, Nov. 7, USCIS’ website will have a new look and a better Case Status tool.

The updated homepage for www.uscis.gov and www.uscis.gov/espanol will still offer the user-friendly icons and tabs you are familiar with, and it will now provide easy-to-navigate sections on USCIS news, outreach events, educational webinars, and other services. You can now access the enhanced Case Status tool on your mobile device. The tool now includes case history, next steps and clearer information. The new look of the website and updates to Case Status will give customers a unified user experience from one, trusted government source.

To learn more about the tools you can use to track your case, submit case questions, and avoid spending time on the phone, visit the USCIS customer tools page at www.uscis.gov/tools.