ImmiTips

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) today announced that it has posted a revised Petition for Amerasian, Widow(er), or Special Immigrant (Form I-360).  The new form is dated “12/30/09,” and due to the changes, no previous versions of the form will be accepted 30 days after publication.

Beginning February 25, 2010, applicants must file a Form I-360 with either the Vermont Service Center, the Nebraska Service Center, or at a USCIS Lockbox facility.  Where applicable, USCIS Service Centers will forward Form I-360 petitions to the appropriate Lockbox facility until March 29, 2010.  After the transitional period, the Service Centers may return incorrectly filed Form I-360 with instructions to send the petition to the correct location.   USCIS will accept previous versions of Form I-360 until March 29, 2010. After March 29, 2010, USCIS will reject previous versions of the form submitted.

When filing Form I-360 at a Lockbox facility, you may elect to receive an email and/or text message notifying you that USCIS has accepted your petition.  To receive notification, you must complete an E-Notification of Application/Petition Acceptance (Form G-1145), and attach it to the first page of your petition.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) today announced that it has posted a revised Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status, Form I-485.  In addition to a revised form, there are new filing locations.

Beginning February 25, 2010, most applicants must submit Form I-485 to a USCIS Lockbox facility, depending  on the eligibility category under which they are filing, as provided in the form instructions.  USCIS Service Centers will forward all Form I-485 applications to the appropriate Lockbox facility until March 29, 2010.  USCIS will accept previous versions of Form I-485 until March 29, 2010.  After March 29, 2010, USCIS will only accept the Form I-485 dated “12/03/09.”Any previous versions of the the form that are submitted will be rejected. After the transitional period, the Service Centers will return any incorrectly filed Form I-485 with instructions to send the application to the correct location.

At this time, applicants should not concurrently file Form I-485 with an Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker (Form I-140) at a USCIS Lockbox facility. Refer to the Form I-140 filing Instructions for information on how to file forms concurrently.

When filing Form I-485 at a Lockbox facility, you may elect to receive an email and/or text message notifying you that USCIS has accepted your application.  To receive notification, you must complete an E-Notification of Application/Petition Acceptance (Form G-1145), and attach it to the first page of your application.

For more information on USCIS programs, visit www.uscis.gov or call the National Customer Service Center at 1-800-375-5283.

Senators John Kerry and Richard Lugar today introduced The Startup Visa Act in Washington. The full text of the proposed legislation is here.

This new legislation is also supported by signatures from over 100 US venture capital and angel investors. The Startup Visa Act proposes legislation to modify the existing EB-5 Visa in order to drive job creation in the US and increase American global competitiveness.  This would enable immigrant entrepreneurs who are creating new companies to secure visas to come to the United States, if there is investment capital available from a sponsoring US venture capital or angel investor of at least $100,000 in an equity financing of not less than $250,000.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) today announced revised filing instructions and addresses for applicants filing an Application for Employment Authorization (Form I-765).  The change of filing location is part of an overall effort to transition the intake of some benefit forms from Service Centers to USCIS Lockbox facilities.  Centralizing form and fee intake allows USCIS to provide the public more efficient and effective initial processing of applications and fees.

Beginning February 24, 2010 applicants must now submit Form I-765 to one of the USCIS Lockbox facilities or the USCIS Vermont Service Center, based on the classification under which they are filing. Detailed guidance can be found in updated Form I-765 instructions as well as at www.uscis.gov.

The Service Centers will forward incorrectly filed applications to the USCIS Phoenix and Dallas Lockbox facilities for the first 30 days, until March 26, 2010. After March 26, 2010, applications incorrectly filed at USCIS Service Centers will be returned to the applicant, with a note to send the application to the correct location.

When filing Form I-765 at one of the USCIS Lockbox facilities, you may elect to receive an email and/or text message notifying you that your application has been accepted.  You must complete an E-Notification of Application/Petition Acceptance (Form G-1145), and attach it to the first page of your application.

Form I-765 may be electronically filed (e-filed) with USCIS when submitted under certain categories. View our Web site for a list of who is eligible to e-file Form I-765.

For more information on USCIS programs, visit www.uscis.gov or call the National Customer Service Center at 1-800-375-5283.

Under normal circumstances, a child immigrating to the United States from Haiti as the adopted orphan child of a U.S. citizen is adopted before leaving Haiti, and is then admitted to the United States with an immigrant visa for Lawful Permanent Residence (LPR) status. The adopted child then acquires citizenship upon entry as specified in section 320 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA).

In light of the devastating earthquakes in Haiti, the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security authorized Haitian children, who were adopted or were in the process of being adopted by American families prior to the earthquake, to be paroled into the United States. “Category 1” parolees are Haitian orphans who were already legally adopted in Haiti. “Category 2” parolees are certain Haitian orphans whose cases had not yet resulted in final adoptions. You may find more information about the parole policy on USCIS’ Haiti Earthquake Response page at www.USCIS.gov.

To determine what steps to take next, it is most important to understand where you were in the adoption process in Haiti, regardless of the category you believe your child fell within at the time of parole. The following is provided for informational purposes to U.S. citizen adoptive parents and prospective adoptive parents.

Read more on USCIS Website