Immigration News & Article

USCIS issued a notice requiring certain nonimmigrant aliens from designated countries to appear before, register with, and provide requested information to the Immigration and Naturalization Service on or before December 16, 2002.

President Bush signed into law a private bill.

How to respond to USCIS's Denial or RFE.

President Bush, on 11/2/02, signed into law the "21st Century Department of Justice Appropriations Authorization Act" (H.R. 2215; PL 107-273). The new law contains immigration provisions impacting, among other things, H-1B status, J-1 physician waivers, and EB-5 entrepreneurs.

The USCIS, on October 28, announced the successful implementation of Case Status Online. Individuals who have a receipt number for an application or petition filed at an USCIS Service Center can now check the status of their pending case online through the USCIS website at www.uscis.gov

A State Dept. notice adds Romania to the list of countries whose passports are recognized as valid for return to that country for a period of six months beyond the passport’s stated expiration date.

State Department indicates that, effective 11/1/02, the U.S. consulate in Ciudad Juarez will cease taking appointments for third country nationals applying for nonimmigrant visas.

In light of reports that many foreign students have been erroneously informed that they must report to the USCIS for a special registration interview, the agency clarified that special registration pertains only to those nonimmigrants who were registered upon arrival into the U.S. and notified at that time to appear for a subsequent interview.

The Department of Justice announced changes in its system of records of certain information on aliens.

Reuters reports "President Bush on Wednesday set the number of refugees the United States will admit in the next fiscal year at 70,000, with the largest group -- 20,000 -- from Africa."

A 10/11/02 USCIS proposed rule would implement a process for the certification of foreign health care workers under USCIS §§ 212(a)(5)(C) and (r), and would add a requirement that all nonimmigrants coming to the U.S. to work as health care workers, including those seeking change of status, be required to submit a certification.

A 10/11/02 USCIS interim rule specifies the passenger data elements that must be electronically transmitted to the USCIS by carriers seeking to transport Visa Waiver Program (VWP) passengers into and out of the U.S. The rule took effect upon publication an

A supervisor at the Nebraska Service Center has indicated to AILA’s NSC liaison chair that adjudicators are being told to deny TN applications based on immigrant intent if an I-140 immigrant petition has been filed on the individual’s behalf.