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NEWS UPDATES
H-1B Cap Count for Fiscal Year
2011 As of May 11, 2010, approximately
18,000 H-1B cap-subject petitions were filed.
Additionally, USCIS has received 7,600 H-1B
petitions for aliens with advanced degrees.
2011 VISA LOTTERY The Department of State announced the opening
of the registration period for the DV-2011
Diversity Visa lottery. Entries for the DV-2011
Diversity Visa lottery must be submitted
electronically between noon, Eastern Daylight
Time, Friday, October 2, 2009, and noon, Eastern
Standard Time, Monday, November 30, 2009. Only
electronic filings are accepted. NOT ALL
INDIVIDUALS ARE ELIGIBLE TO APPLY. For detailed
information about entry requirements, along with
frequently asked questions about the DV lottery,
please see the instructions at www.dvlottery.state.gov
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DHS Announces
New Land and Sea Travel Document
Procedures
The Department of Homeland Security has updated its website with information regarding travel documents that should be
presented at land and sea ports of entry as of June 1, 2009. This also applies to US Citizens. Visit for details: http://www.dhs.gov/xtrvlsec/crossingborders/
USCIS Announces
Revised Form I-9 All employers
are required to complete a Form I-9 for each new
employee hired in the United States. Key to
the Form revision is the removal of documents for
proof of both identity and employment
eligibility. After April 3, 2009,
employers are required to use the new Form I-9.
International
Trusted Traveler Program Now Available At LAX,
Miami, Chicago, Atlanta
U.S. Customs and Border Protection
announced 10/27/2008 that Global Entry enrollment centers are now
open at four additional international U.S.
airports. Global Entry is a new program to allow
approved U.S. citizens and lawful permanent
residents returning to the U.S. to use the Global
Entry kiosk as an alternative to the regular
passport control line. For more information on
this or other CBP trusted traveler programs, or
for an application to enroll in the Global Entry
pilot program, please visit www.GlobalEntry.gov.
Expansion of
US-Visit Procedures as of January 18, 2009
Effective
1/18/09, additional categories of visitors will be required to
provide fingerprints when entering the United States at
airports:
-Lawful permanent residents of the United States
(LPRs);
-Persons entering on immigrant visas;
-Persons entering as refugees and
asylees;
-Canadian citizens who are required to obtain
a Form I-94 or
who require a waiver of inadmissibility to enter
the United States (this excludes most
Canadians
entering the United States
for tourism or short business trips
); -Persons paroled
into the United States; -Persons applying for
admission under the Guam VWP. At a land
border,
US VISIT discretionery.
ADDITIONAL COUNTRIES TO ENTER
THE VISA WAIVER PROGRAM (VWP) AND NEW ESTA PROGRAM
Effective 12/30/08, Malta
will be designated as a VWP
country. Effective 11/17/08, the citizens of
the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia,
Lithuania, Slovakia, and South Korea will be
designated as VWP countries. This will increase
the Program to 35 countries from 27. The
VWP allows citizens of qualifying
countries to travel to the United States for
tourism or business without obtaining a visa.
Nationals participating in the VWP must travel
only for business, pleasure, or transit; stay in
the United States for 90 days or less; and, if
arriving by sea or air, hold a valid ticket for
return or onward travel and enter the United
States aboard an air or sea carrier designated as
a participant in the VWP.
Beginning Jan. 12, 2009,
all visitors from such VWP countries must apply
for and receive an approved travel authorization
via ESTA prior to
traveling to the United States. ESTA is a free
program. For additional information about the new
ESTA requirement, please visit http://www.cbp.gov/esta.
Department of State Announces Increase in Visa Application Fee Effective January 1, 2008,
the application fee for a U.S. nonimmigrant visa
will increase from $100 to $131.USCIS Announces New Citizenship Test On September 27, 2007 USCIS
announced the 100 questions and answers that
comprise the civics component of the new
naturalization test. If an applicant applies
AFTER October 1, 2008, he or she will take the
redesigned version. Passport Requirement for Air Travel Begins January 23, 2007 The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and U.S. Department of State issued a reminder that beginning Jan. 23, 2007, citizens of the United States, Canada, Mexico, and Bermuda are required to present a passport to enter the United States when arriving by air from any part of the Western Hemisphere. Since announcing this requirement last November, the departments have been encouraging all travelers to obtain passports before they travel. Department of Homeland Security Updates the Visa Waiver Program Passport
Requirement Traveler Guide:
The Guide clarifies changes in passport and e-Passport requirements for visitors
traveling to the U.S as part of the VWP. Any passport issued on or after
October 26, 2006, by a VWP country must be an e-Passport for travelers to be
eligible to enter the U.S. without a visa. E-Passports are not required until
the traveler's existing passport expires in the following cases: a VWP traveler
with a valid, machine-readable passport with a digital photograph where the
photograph was issued prior to October 26 and a VWP traveler with a valid,
machine-readable passport without a digital photograph where the passport was
issued prior to October 26. The guide is available at http://www.dhs.gov/interweb/assetlibrary/vwp_travelerguide.pdf
DHS AND DOS ADVISE THAT ALL VWP TRAVELERS TO THE U.S. MUST POSSESS MACHINE READABLE PASSPORTS The Department of Homeland Security reminded travelers from 27 Visa Waiver Program (VWP) countries that as of June 26, 2005, they
must have a machine-readable passport to enter the
United States without a visa. Transportation
carriers will be fined for transporting any VWP
traveler to the United States without a
machine-readable passport. Similarly, VWP
travelers arriving in the United States on that
date without a machine-readable passport should
not anticipate being granted one-time entry into
the country. As an alternative for persons with
immediate travel plans who are unable to obtain a
machine-readable passport in time, the individual
may apply for a U.S. visa at a U.S. Consulate or
Embassy abroad. Change of Address
Notification The
USCIS requires all foreign nationals over the age
of fourteen who remain in the U.S. for more than
thirty days to notify the USCIS of any change in
their address, and provide the new address within
ten days of moving. Applicants can
now change their address online at: https://egov.immigration.gov/crisgwi/go?action=coa
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