Month: May 2015

USCIS recognizes that many U.S. citizens now wish to help and adopt Nepali children affected by the recent earthquake in Nepal. The agency, however, cautions that adoptions by a U.S. citizen does not make the child a U.S. citizen nor does it make him or her immediately eligible to immigrate to the United States.

According to USCIS, “Before a child may immigrate to the United States immediately as a result of an intercountry adoption or proposed intercountry adoption, USCIS must determine that the child qualifies as an “orphan” under the immigration laws of the United States, and that the adoptive parents are capable of providing proper care. The proper authorities in the child’s country of origin must also determine whether the child can be legally adopted under the country’s laws. USCIS considers specific facts in each case to make a determination.”

USCIS asserts that it is common in emergencies for children to be temporarily separated from their parents, other family members or legal guardians, and that efforts to reunite these children with their family or legal guardians is of prime importance.

USCIS has notified the public of a number of immigration relief measures that may be available to Nepali nationals affected by the earthquake that recently struck their home nation. Measures that may be available to Nepali nationals upon request include:

• The change or extension of nonimmigrant status for an individual who is currently in the U.S., even in cases where that person’s request is filed after the authorization period of admission has expired.
• A grant of re-parole
• Expedited processing of advance parole requests;
• Expedited adjudication and approval, if possible, of requests for off-campus employment authorization for F-1 students who are experiencing severe economic hardship;
• Expedited adjudication of employment authorization applications from Nepali nationals, when appropriate;
• Consideration for waivers of fees associated with USCIS benefit applications, based on an inability to pay; and
• Assistance replacing lost or damaged immigration or travel documents issued by USCIS, such as Permanent Resident Cards (green cards).

On May 4, 2015, USCIS announced that it had completed data entry of all fiscal year 2016 H-1B cap-subject petitions selected in its computer-generated random selection process. The agency will now start returning all H-1B petitions that were not selected. Because of the high volume of H-1B filings, the time frame for returning all unselected applications is not certain.

USCIS asks petitioners to hold from inquiring about the status of a submitted cap-subject H-1B petition until they receive a receipt notice or their unselected petition is returned. Once all petitions have been returned USCIS will issue a public announcement.