Step 1: Contact (800) 375-5283 Contact the National Customer Service Center (NCSC) at (800) 375-5283 or submit an online request. NCSC can help customers, community-based organizations and liaison groups with case-related inquiries and expedites. Step 2: NCSC Follow-Up Email If more than 30 days have passed since you contacted NCSC and the issue has not been resolved or you have not received a response, email the USCIS Service Center that has jurisdiction of your case to check the status. California Service Center: csc-ncsc-followup@uscis.dhs.gov Vermont Service Center: vsc.ncscfollowup@uscis.dhs.gov Nebraska Service Center: nscfollowup.ncsc@uscis.dhs.gov Texas Service Center: tsc.ncscfollowup@uscis.dhs.gov Potomac Service Center PSC.ncscfollowup@uscis.dhs.gov Step 3: Email Service Center Operations...

On October 18, 2016, USCIS released the latest updated processing time reports, with processing dates as of August 31, 2016, for the California Service Center (CSC), the Nebraska Service Center (NSC), the Texas Service Center (TSC), the Vermont Service Center (VSC), the Potomac Service Center (YSC), the National Benefits Center (NBC), and the Immigrant Investor (EB-5) Program.

DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY Departmental Offices announced that the Interest Rate Paid on Cash Deposited to Secure U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Immigration Bonds will be set at an interest rate of 0.31 per centum per annum.   The change will be effective for the period beginning October 1, 2016, and ending on December 31, 2016.

Department of State in a Liaison Meeting on October 6, 2016 announced that a TN visa is not employer specific. DOS takes the position that if the TN worker changes employers, the TN visa remains valid until it expires or is revoked. When a worker changes employers, however, DOS suggests that the TN worker should keep the I-797 approval notice for their records, and in case it is requested by a Department of Homeland Security official.

1. The Department made the formal public announcement of the Diversity Visa (DV) 2018 program on September 16, 2016, in Washington, D.C. Posts may now access an English language version of the DV-2018 instructions bulletin from travel.state.gov (TSG). 2. The Immigration and Nationality Act states that no DVs shall be provided for "high admission" countries – those countries from which there were more than a total of 50,000 immigrants during the previous five years. 3. For DV-2018, there is one change to the eligible countries list: Ecuador is once again eligible this year. The complete list of ineligible countries is:...

Last year, an organization known as the Louisiana Family Forum lobbied Louisiana legislators for a bill that would curb a supposed epidemic of “marriage fraud”.  A state representative, Valarie Hodges, obliged and introduced the bill to the state legislature. Both claim to be a voice for “traditional families” amid the country’s latest wave of nativism. The bill became law and received little attention when it went into effect in January 2016. The little-noticed new state law has effectively made it illegal for thousands of refugees to get married. So, as of this year, any foreign-born person wanting to get married...

1. Effective November 1, 2016 Consular Affairs (CA) will no longer accept photographs of visa and passport applicants wearing eyeglasses, except in rare, medically-documented circumstances. CA will implement this policy with a soft one-month enforcement period from November 1 to November 30, 2016, after which accept photographs with eyeglasses will not be accepted. 2. CA decided to prohibit photographs of applicants wearing eyeglasses to enhance the performance of CA's facial recognition (FR). This prohibition increases the overall accuracy of the FR software and decreases the likelihood of misidentifying an applicant. 3. Under the “No Eyeglasses Policy” , an applicant may...

The U.S. Department of State  implemented a policy on November 5, 2015, which requires consular officers to prudentially revoke (i.e., without making a determination that the individual is inadmissible) nonimmigrant visas of individuals arrested for, or convicted of, driving under the influence or driving while intoxicated, or similar arrests/convictions, that occurred within the previous five (5) years. This change in policy is detailed in 9 FAM 403.11-3(A). The Department’s prudential revocations reflect that, after visa issuance, new or additional information calls into question the subject’s continued eligibility for a visa. In cases of a DUI arrest/conviction, consular officers may prudentially...

CBP Announces the Addition of Nine Airports to Global Entry Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 192 / Tuesday, October 4, 2016- CBP is designating nine additional Global Entry airports. Each of these airports will have Global Entry kiosks for the use of participants. The additional airports, listed alphabetically by state, and then city, are: Fairbanks International Airport, Fairbanks, Alaska (FAI); Oakland International Airport, Oakland, California (OAK); Sacramento International Airport, Sacramento, California (SMF); Norman Y. Mineta San Jose International Airport, San Jose, California (SJC); Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport, New Orleans, Louisiana (MSY); Kansas City International Airport, Kansas City,...

CBP announced on September 29, 2016, that travelers can now apply and pay for the FORM I-94 online prior to entering at a land port of entry. The traveler can pay the $6.00 up to 7 days prior to entry A provisional I-94 will be issued which will expire in 7 days Travelers should be prepared to show CBP evidence of their residence, employment, and/or travel plans Payment can be made by: Credit Card Debit Card PayPal To apply visit https://i94.cbp.dhs.gov