“July Fourth marks the birth of our country, and for 15,000 people, it marks the birth of a new chapter as American citizens,” USCIS Acting Director James McCament said. “These new members of our community will add to the diverse fabric of our nation and will now be able to enjoy the rights, privileges, and responsibilities of U.S. citizenship.”
Monday’s ruling effectively allows part of Trump’s executive order to go into effect, including a 90-day ban on people entering the United States from six mostly-Muslim countries who “lack any bona fide relationship with a person or entity in the United States,” such as a spouse, close relative, employer or enrollment in an American university. It also allows a 120-day ban on all refugees entering the United States to go into effect. - Fox News
The Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) is part of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) within the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS). SEVP manages the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS), the web-based system DHS uses to maintain and manage information on nonimmigrants whose primary purpose for coming to the United States is to study.
SEVIS by the Numbers is a biannual report that highlights key SEVIS data to illustrate trends, values and information on international students studying in the United States. The report includes the following sections:
USCIS releases summary of performance data, including forms received and approved, for the first and second quarter of FY2017.
The Department of Homeland Security on Thursday rescinded an Obama-era immigration policy that had allowed for deferred action for parents of Americans and lawful permanent residents, which was known as DAPA. DHS Secretary John Kelly signed a memo on Thursday directing his employees not to carry out an instruction his predecessor, Jeh Johnson, had put in writing in November 2014 that sought to extend a 2012 program aimed at the illegal immigrant community. - Washington Examiner
The Department of State has released the Visa Bulletin for July 2017. The table below shows "Final Action (Approval)" cut-off dates and movement from the previous month, for all major employment-based categories. To see filing cut-off dates or family-sponsored categories please go to the Visa Bulletin page linked above. For historical data, predictions and more information please refer to our Visa Bulletin Toolbox.
| Chargeability | Preference | Cut-off Date (Y-M-D) | Movement (Days) |
|---|---|---|---|
| China | First (EB1) | 2012-01-01 | 0 |
| Inida | First (EB1) | 2012-01-01 | 0 |
| China | Second (EB2) | 2013-03-22 | 21 |
| India | Second (EB2) | 2008-07-22 | 21 |
| ROW | Third (EB3) | 2017-06-08 | 54 |
| China | Third (EB3) | 2012-01-01 | -1004 |
| India | Third (EB3) | 2006-02-15 | 276 |
| Mexico | Third (EB3) | 2017-06-08 | 54 |
| Philippines | Third (EB3) | 2014-05-15 | 379 |
CHINA Employment-based Third (E3) preference category: Readers were advised in item F of the June Visa Bulletin number 6, that it would be necessary to impose a date no later than August. The continued high level of demand for E3 numbers for USCIS adjustment of status applicants has required the establishment of a date for July. This has been done in an attempt to hold number use within the China E3 annual limit. The China E3 date will return to October 1, 2014 for October, the first month of fiscal year 2018.
U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) released today the Fiscal Year (FY) 2016 Entry/Exit Overstay Report. The report provides data on departures and overstays, by country, for foreign visitors to the United States who entered as nonimmigrant visitors through an air or sea Port of Entry (POE) and were expected to depart in FY16. - DHS
After years of surging immigration from Central America, law enforcement in Texas’ Rio Grande Valley are finally seeing some relief, thanks in part to President Trump’s strong rhetoric.
That fear prompted a dramatic change in behavior among illegal immigrants that few predicted. For three years, a flood of unaccompanied children, women and families made the hazardous trek north from Hondurans, El Salvador and Guatemala, through Mexico to the U.S. Border. Now they are not coming. - Fox
The Department of State has released the Visa Bulletin for June 2017. The table below shows "Final Action (Approval)" cut-off dates and movement from the previous month, for all major employment-based categories. To see filing cut-off dates or family-sponsored categories please go to the Visa Bulletin page linked above. For historical data, predictions and more information please refer to our Visa Bulletin Toolbox.
China and India EB-1 categories are no longer current. DOS explains why:
"Readers were advised in item D of the May Visa Bulletin number 5, that it would be necessary to impose a date for these two countries in the near future. The continued high level of demand for E1 numbers for USCIS adjustment of status applicants has required the establishment of a date for June. This has been done in an attempt to hold number use within the Worldwide E1 annual limit. The E1 date for these two countries will once again become CURRENT for October, the first month of fiscal year 2018."
| Chargeability | Preference | Cut-off Date (Y-M-D) | Movement (Days) |
|---|---|---|---|
| China | First (EB1) | 2012-01-01 | -1978 |
| Inida | First (EB1) | 2012-01-01 | -1978 |
| China | Second (EB2) | 2013-03-01 | 21 |
| India | Second (EB2) | 2008-07-01 | 9 |
| ROW | Third (EB3) | 2017-04-15 | 31 |
| China | Third (EB3) | 2014-10-01 | 0 |
| India | Third (EB3) | 2005-05-15 | 51 |
| Mexico | Third (EB3) | 2017-04-15 | 31 |
| Philippines | Third (EB3) | 2013-05-01 | 120 |
Today USCIS published the pending I-485 inventory with data as of April 2017. We have now updated the green card tracker with the latest information. The I-485 tracker includes data from USCIS' pending I-485 inventory as well as DOS' pending consular processing cases.
The Texas Legislature on Wednesday passed a ban on so-called “sanctuary cities” that allows police officers to ask about a person’s immigration status and threatens sheriffs and police chiefs with jail time if they don’t work with federal authorities. Republican Gov. Greg Abbott has pledged to sign the bill into law, which could now come quickly. - USA Today
USCIS announced on May 3, 2017, that it has completed data entry of all fiscal year 2018 H-1B cap-subject petitions selected in our computer-generated random process. USCIS will now begin returning all H-1B cap-subject petitions that were not selected. Due to the high volume of filings, USCIS is unable to provide a definite time frame for returning these petitions. USCIS asks petitioners not to inquire about the status of submitted cap-subject petitions until they receive a receipt notice or an unselected petition is returned. USCIS will issue an announcement once all the unselected petitions have been returned.
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