The USCIS Asylum Division Stakeholder will host their quarterly stakeholder meeting on June 8 at 2:00 p.m. in the White Oak Conference Room, 20 Massachusetts Ave, NW, Washington D.C. 20529.  Please send questions and suggested agenda items to Elizabeth Scott, at elizabeth.hahn@dhs.gov by COB May 21, 2010.  The final agenda will be posted on uscis.gov prior to the meeting.

In order to attend this meeting please provide your full name and the organization you represent to Suzie Clarke, at suzanne.clarke@dhs.gov or (202) 272-1279 by COB Friday, June 4th.

Be sure to arrive at least 15 minutes early to allow extra time to be processed through security and bring a photo I.D.

The Office of Public Engagement invites you to participate in an information sharing session to learn about a web-based tool that will help bring uniformity and consistency to the processing of employment-based immigrant and nonimmigrant petitions.

During this session, Service Center Operations (SCOPS) staff will provide a presentation of the VIBE program, followed by an opportunity for you to share your comments.  As VIBE is implemented at the Service Centers, we welcome your input on your experience and suggestions on how to improve this program.

Information Sharing Session – Validation Instrument for Business Enterprise (VIBE)
May 27, 2010 @ 1:00pm
Tomich Center
111 Massachusetts Ave, NW
Washington, DC 20529

There are two ways to attend this meeting:

In person – please provide your full name and the organization you represent to Victoria Porto, at Victoria.Porto@dhs.gov or (202) 272-1275 by COB Tuesday, May 25th.

Be sure to arrive at least 15 minutes early to allow extra time to be processed through security and bring a photo I.D.

Via telephone – call-in information will be provided when you respond.  Please provide your full name and the organization you represent to Victoria Porto, at Victoria.Porto@dhs.gov or (202) 272-1275 by COB Tuesday, May 25th.

The Office of Public Engagement invites you to participate in the first quarterly stakeholder meeting with the Field Operations Directorate.

On January 6, 2010, Director Mayorkas announced the realignment of USCIS organizational structure to better reflect Agency priorities and responsibilities. The Field Office Directorate was created to foster greater innovation and achieve greater efficiency in delivery of immigration services.

We are hosting an engagement session with the head of our Field Office Directorate, Debbie Rogers, and regional and district directors, on May 25, 2010. We want to frame this first discussion on issues of immediate interest to you. To that end, we ask that you submit suggested topics or themes to us. Please send your ideas to Courtney Winship, at courtney.winship@dhs.gov by COB May 18, 2010.

Field Operations Stakeholder Meeting
May 25, 2010 @ 2:00pm
Tomich Center
111 Massachusetts Ave, NW
Washington, DC 20529

There are two ways to attend this meeting:

In person – please provide your full name and the organization you represent to Courtney Winship, at courtney.winship@dhs.gov or (202) 272-1273 by COB Friday, May 21st.

Be sure to arrive at least 15 minutes early to allow extra time to be processed through security and bring a photo I.D.

Via telephone – call-in information will be provided when you respond.  Please provide your full name and the organization you represent to Courtney Winship, at courtney.winship@dhs.gov by COB Friday, May 21st.

The USCIS Vermont Service Center (VSC) invites you to participate in a teleconference with Q & A session to discuss I-360 Violence Against Women (VAWA) cases and T & U visa cases. During this session, the VSC VAWA staff will provide overviews, provide an update on the process and address questions and concerns.

The session will be held on Wednesday, May 12, 2010 at 1:00 PM EST.

To join this teleconference, please use the call-in information provided below:

Telephone Number: 877-917-9492
Passcode: 2279462

The USCIS Office of Public Engagement and Verification Division invite you to a listening session on the topic of employment eligibility verification – the process by which an employer confirms an employee’s eligibility to work in the United States. The USCIS Verification Division is responsible for administering both the Form I-9 (Employment Eligibility Verification) and E-Verify which are used by employers to confirm employment eligibility.

Date & Venue:

May 3, 2010 @ 2:00pm
Tomich Center
111 Massachusetts Ave NW
Washington DC

USCIS is interested in hearing feedback and input on employment verification, including from organizations that deal with small businesses and employee rights. The topics that would be covered at this meeting include:
• Form I-9
• FAR (Federal Acquisition Regulation)
• Self-Check Initiative

If you would like to suggest questions to address the above topics, please provide these by COB Monday, April 26, 2010 to suzanne.clarke@dhs.gov.

There are two ways to attend this meeting:

In person – please provide your full name and the organization you represent to Suzie Clarke, at suzanne.clarke@dhs.gov or (202) 272-1279 by COB Friday, April 30th. Be sure to arrive at least 15 minutes early to allow extra time to be processed through security and bring a photo I.D.

Via telephone – call-in information will be provided when you respond. Please provide your full name and the organization you represent to Suzie Clarke, at suzanne.clarke@dhs.gov or (202) 272-1279 by COB Friday, April 30th.

USCIS is launching an initiative to review and revise the RFE templates used at the Service Centers in order to bring uniformity and consistency to the process. The USCIS Office of Public Engagement invites you to participate in a listening session to kick off Phase One of the RFE review and revision process.

The session will be held Monday, April 12, 2010 @ 4:00pm (Eastern) / 1:00pm (Pacific) @ the California Service Center, 24000 Avila Rd, Laguna Niguel, CA.

The first phase of this project will focus on the O, P, and Q nonimmigrant classifications and the E11 immigrant classification. Specifically, we would like to seek your input on the following questions:

1.  What are the top 5 issues stakeholders have with the RFEs in these
classifications?
2.  What improvements can be made to the current RFE process in these
classifications?
3.  Why are certain types of evidence unavailable when requested?
4.  What evidence could be submitted as an alternative?

USCIS would also like to hear suggestions for other classifications in which you would like to see RFEs reviewed during future phases of this project.

There are two ways to attend this meeting:

In person – please provide your full name and the organization you represent to Suzie Clarke, at suzanne.clarke@dhs.gov by COB Friday, April 9th.

*Be sure to bring a photo I.D. and arrive at least 15 minutes early to allow extra time to be processed through security.

Via telephone – please provide your full name and the organization you represent to Suzie Clarke, at suzanne.clarke@dhs.gov by COB Friday, April 9th. Call-in information will be provided when you respond.

The USCIS Office of Public Engagement invites you to participate in a stakeholder engagement to discuss the agency moving toward electronic filing for specific benefit request and standard form types. This conversation will focus upon which benefit requests and standard forms types and which stakeholders might be most suited to transition to e-filing in the short, medium, and long terms.

The stakeholder engagement will be held on March 12, 2010 at 2:00pm EST in the Tomich Center, 111 Massachusetts Ave NW, Washington D.C. 20529.

We are interested in hearing feedback and input on the impact of this change initiative, how to best implement and to understand any stakeholder concerns.

There are two ways to attend this meeting:

In person – please provide your full name and the organization you represent to Courtney Winship, at courtney.winship@dhs.gov or (202) 272-1273.

Be sure to arrive at least 15 minutes early to allow extra time to be processed through security and bring a photo I.D.

Via telephone – call-in information will be provided when you respond.  Please provide your full name and the organization you represent to Courtney Winship, at courtney.winship@dhs.gov.

Alejandro Mayorkas, Director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, cordially invites you to attend his quarterly meeting with stakeholders

The meeting will be held Wednesday, March 17, 2010 @ 1:30 pm at the Tomich Conference Center, 111 Massachusetts Avenue, Northwest, Washington, DC.

There are two ways to attend this meeting:

In person – please provide your full name and the organization you represent to Mary Herrmann, at mary.herrmann@dhs.gov or (202) 272-1213 by COB by Tuesday, March 16th.

Be sure to arrive at least 15 minutes early to allow extra time to be processed through security and bring a photo I.D.

Via telephone – call-in information will be provided when you respond.  Please provide your full name and the organization you represent to Mary Herrmann, at mary.herrmann@dhs.gov or (202) 272-1213 by COB by Tuesday, March 16th.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced today that it will begin accepting H-1B petitions subject to the fiscal year (FY) 2011 cap on April 1, 2010.  Cases will be considered accepted on the date that USCIS takes possession of a properly filed petition with the correct fee; not the date that the petition is postmarked.

The fiscal year cap (numerical limitation on H-1B petitions) for FY 2011 is 65,000.  Additionally, the first 20,000 H-1B petitions filed on behalf of individuals who have earned a U.S. master’s degree or higher are exempt from the H-1B cap.

USCIS will monitor the number of petitions received and will notify the public of the date on which USCIS received the necessary number of petitions to meet the H-1B cap.  If needed, USCIS will randomly select the number of petitions required to reach the numerical limit from the petitions received on the final receipt date.  USCIS will reject cap-subject petitions that are not selected, as well as those received after the final receipt date.

Petitions for new H-1B employment are exempt from the annual cap if the beneficiaries will work at institutions of higher education or related or affiliated nonprofit entities, nonprofit research organizations or governmental research organizations.  Petitions filed on behalf of beneficiaries who will work only in Guam or the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas Islands are exempt from the cap until Dec. 31, 2014.  Employers may continue to file petitions for these cap-exempt H-1B categories seeking work dates starting in FY 2010 or 2011.

Petitions filed on behalf of current H-1B workers who have been counted previously against the cap also do not count towards the congressionally mandated H-1B cap.  Accordingly, USCIS will continue to process petitions filed to:

• extend the amount of time a current H-1B worker may remain in the United States;
• change the terms of employment for current H-1B workers;
• allow current H-1B workers to change employers; or
• allow current H-1B workers to work concurrently in a second H-1B position.

H-1B petitioners should follow all statutory and regulatory requirements as they prepare petitions to avoid delays in processing and possible requests for evidence.  USCIS has developed detailed information, including a processing worksheet, to assist in the completion and submission of a FY2011 H-1B petition, which can be found on our website.

U.S. businesses use the H-1B program to employ foreign workers in specialty occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise in specialized fields, such as scientists, engineers, or computer programmers.

For more information on the H-1B nonimmigrant visa program and current Form I-129 processing times, visit www.uscis.gov or call the National Customer Service Center at (800) 375-5283.

The USCIS Office of Public Engagement cordially invites you to the third collaboration session to discuss External Data Interface Standards (EDIS), which are the set of technical standards required to successfully transfer benefit request data from third party systems to USCIS.  For background information on EDIS and notes from the first two collaboration sessions, see the links to the right.

The objectives of this session are to follow up on open issues from previous sessions and to provide additional information on Transformation, including an overview of immigration accounts. In addition, USCIS will present information on and look for stakeholder input on the following topics:

• EDIS Information Exchange Package Documentation Exchange Models (Data Elements)
• Web Service Architecture (Characteristics and Patterns of this Interface)

A more detailed agenda and additional materials will be distributed to registered attendees prior to the meeting.