The Washington Post has a nice expose of a new source of delays for the naturalization proceedings for thousands of legal permanent residents. The Post article quotes the report by the USCIS Ombudsman, dated December 16, 2008, which finds that while USCIS naturalized more than 1,000,000 new citizens in Fiscal Year 2008 and while there [...]
The Department of Homeland Security has released a final rule, with targeted effective date of January 18, 2009, which would dramatically expand the number of aliens who are subject to the US-VISIT program biometric requirements. About the US-VISIT Program. The US-VISIT program was established in 2003 to verify the identities and travel documents of visitors. US-VISIT [...]
USCIS announced last week changes to the H-2A program which changes would streamline the hiring process for temporary and seasonal agricultural workers. The final rule is intended to facilitate the H-2A process for employers by removing certain limitations and to encourage lawful employment. About the H-2A Program The H-2A visa allows a foreign national entry into the [...]
A new Department of Defense pilot program will allow non-U.S. citizens to enlist in the U.S. army and be able to obtain expedited U.S. citizenship. The program will temporarily permit enlistment into military service of certain legal aliens (who have lived in the United States for at least two years) and who hold skills that are [...]
Some US Consulates abroad are requiring the use of the DS-160 form. For Non-Immigrant Visas, the Consulates in Nuevo Laredo, Monterrey, Montreal, and Vancouver require the DS-160 online form. As of November 24, 2008, the U.S. Consulate in Hong Kong will require the use of the DS-160 form for petition based applicants (H, [...]
The U.S. Department of State reported yesterday that it has issued a record high number of F, J and M visas for the fiscal year 2008 - 710,631 in total. This represents a 9.1 percent increase in comparison to fiscal year 2007 and a 26 percent increase in comparison to fiscal year 2001. Among some of [...]
The visa-free travel to the U.S. for certain nationals of Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia and South Korea is now effective. The final rule admitting these countries to the Visa Waiver Program (VWP) has been published. One note for nationals of these seven countries who wish to travel to the U.S. under VWP - [...]
We have written about this requirement in the past, but it is now a final rule. Starting January 15, 2009, federal contractors and subcontractors will be required to begin using the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ E-Verify system to verify their employees’ eligibility to legally work in the United States. Federal contracts awarded and solicitations issued [...]
With the Visa Waiver Program’s (VWP) recent expansion and the upcoming mandatory use of the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) after January 12, 2009, we wanted to review the passport requirements for visa-free travel to the U.S. under VWP. Passports Issued on or After October 26, 2006. Any passport issued by a VWP country on [...]
President Bush just announced that the Department of Homeland Security has notified Congress that the administration intends to admit seven new countries into the Visa Waiver Program. The new countries are Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia and South Korea. The exact date of the visa waiver program eligibility for these countries is expected [...]