Month: June 2014

USCIS has released key demographic data on the Fiscal Year 2014 H-2B program to date. Nearly 90,000 positions were requested and just under 80,000 positions were certified. The majority of worker positions (34,300) were for landscaping and groundskeeping workers, followed by Forest and Conservation Workers (6,068) and Amusement and Recreation Attendants (5,391).

The majority of issued H-2B visas were issued for people to work in Texas (over 11,000), followed by Louisiana (4,063), Colorado (3,921) and Virginia (3,868).

The Department of State has amended immigration visa regulations to add a new symbol for an immigrant visa that is issued to a foreign national who is the parent of a current U.S. citizen or parent of a former U.S. citizen who lost or renounced U.S. citizenship within the past two years because of a domestic violence situation or death. This person should additionally be a person of good moral character, eligible to be classified as an immediate relative, lives or lived with the U.S. citizen daughter or son and has an approved petition from the Department of Homeland Security.

The Department of State currently identifies applicants for this status using the “IB5” symbol, which is a symbol used for parents of U.S. citizens who are at least 21 years old. The unique IB5 classification will enable the Department of State to identify applicants for this status in their various immigration visa information databases.

This rule takes effect on June 5, 2014.

On August 28, 2014, the Department of State published an interim final rule to change fees for certain visa and citizenship services. That publication incorrectly stated that the rule would go into effect on September 6, 2014. The Department of State has corrected the interim final rule to accurately state that the rule will go into effect on September 12, 2014. Comments must be received by October 26, 2014.

USCIS has provided guidance regarding the Department of Labor’s announcement to extend the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI)-Only Transitional Worker (CW-1) program for five years. This extension extends the program until December 31, 2019 and will allow CNMI businesses to continue to hire CW-1 workers to meet their needs for foreign workers.

USCIS provided extensions of status and grants of new CW-1 statuses until December 31, 2014, the previous end date of the program. USCIS will continue to approve petitions in periods of up to one year with end dates now able to extend past the previous sunset date.