Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 86 / Wednesday, May 4, 2016 - "The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) proposes to adjust certain immigration and naturalization benefit request fees charged by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). USCIS conducted a comprehensive fee review, after refining its cost accounting process, and determined that current fees do not recover the full costs of the services it provides. Adjustment to the fee schedule is necessary to fully recover costs for USCIS services and to maintain adequate service. DHS proposes to increase USCIS fees by a weighted average of 21 percent and add one new...

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services said Tuesday that it received more than 236,000 H-1B petitions for skilled foreign workers in only seven days, breaking the record set last year for the highly popular visa, according to an agency spokeswoman.

DHS has been targeting its enforcement efforts to prioritize convicted criminals and threats to public safety, border security, and national security. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Fiscal Year (FY) 2015 statistics reflect the Department’s immigration enforcement efforts that prioritize convicted criminals and threats to public safety, border security, and national security. Overall, the Department apprehended 406,595 individuals nationwide and conducted a total of 462,463 removals and returns. The U.S. Border Patrol reported 337,117 apprehensions nationwide in FY 2015, compared to 486,651 in FY 2014, a decrease of 30 percent. Historically, a large number of ICE’s removals have been based on CBP’s significant border apprehensions. However, with the exception of one year, apprehensions along the southwest border – a key measure of illegal border crossings – are at their lowest level in more than 40 years. CBP apprehensions resulted in a decrease in the number of overall ICE intakes, falling from 263,340 intakes in FY 2014 to 193,951 intakes in FY 2015. This indicates a lower number of decreased illegal migration and CBP apprehensions. At the same time, ICE removed or returned 235,413 individuals in FY 2015, with 86 percent of these individuals considered a “top priority” (Priority One) – those considered border security or public safety threats. The number of convicted criminals removed from the interior continued to increase, as 91 percent of ICE’s FY 2015 interior removals and returns were individuals who were previously convicted of a crime, compared to 86 percent in FY 2014, and just 67 percent in FY 2011.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced Thursday that it had reached the annual cap for H-1B petitions for skilled guest workers, but it the agency said it was too soon to tell whether it was another record-breaking year for the highly popular visa.

NFAP POLICY BRIEF » M A R C H 2 0 1 6 IMMIGRANTS AND BILLION DOLLAR STARTUPS BY  STUART  ANDERSON EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Immigrants play a key role in creating new, fast-growing companies, as evidenced by the prevalence of foreign born founders and key personnel in the nation’s leading privately-held companies. Immigrants have started more than half (44 of 87) of America’s startup companies valued at $1 billion dollars or more and are key members of management or product development teams in over 70 percent (62 of 87) of these companies. The research finds that among the billion dollar startup...

USCIS reminded individuals applying for a change of status to H-4 that if they travel abroad before their Form I-539, Change of Status (COS) application is approved, USCIS will consider the application abandoned, and will issue a denial. Traveling abroad will also result in a denial of any Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization, filed before the COS is approved, even if the individual is re-admitted as an H-4 nonimmigrant.

On March 17, 2015, the VSC began issuing two-year work permits under 8 C.F.R. sec, 274a.12(c)(14) to U applicants granted Deferred Action under the conditional grant program. If there is an I-765 application based on 274a.12 (a)(19) or on (a)(20) submitted with the U visa application then it may be changed to a (c)(14) to issue an EAD without delay for the applicant. A principal applicant should include an I-765 based on (c)(14) with their U visa application. It is still a best practice for U visa derivatives to include two I-765 applications, one based on (c)(14) and one based...

H-1B Filing Tips On April 1, 2016, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will begin accepting H-1B petitions subject to the fiscal year (FY) 2017 cap. The congressionally mandated cap on H-1B visas for FY 2017 remains at  65,000. The first 20,000 H-1B petitions filed for individuals with a U.S. master’s degree or higher are exempt from the 65,000 cap. USCIS expects to receive more than 65,000 petitions during the first five business days of this year’s program. The agency will monitor the number of petitions received and notify the public when the H-1B cap has been met. If USCIS...

NATIONAL FOUNDATION FOR AMERICAN POLICY NFAP POLICY BRIEF  » M A R C H 2 0 1 6 IMMIGRANTS AND BILLION DOLLAR STARTUPS BY STUART ANDERSON EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Immigrants play a key role in creating new, fast-growing companies, as evidenced by the prevalence of foreign born founders and key personnel in the nation’s leading privately-held companies. Immigrants have started more than half (44 of 87) of America’s startup companies valued at $1 billion dollars or more and are key members of management or product development teams in over 70 percent (62 of 87) of these companies. The research finds that...

Lomi Kriel, Houston Chronicle, Mar. 15, 2016 - "The backlog in Houston's overwhelmed downtown immigration court grew more than 460 percent between 2010 and 2016, swelling from about 6,400 to 36,100 pending cases, according to a new analysis released Tuesday.  With only six immigration judges on the bench, Houston's court could see its case load double again in three years if no more are added, found the report by Human Rights First, a national nonprofit. In six years, the number of pending cases across the country could reach more than 1 million, twice as much as it is now."