U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) announced today the launch of the Electronic Visa Update System (EVUS) website for early enrollments. All individuals with a People’s Republic of China issued passport bearing a 10-year B1/B2, B1 or B2 (visitor) visa will be required to have a valid EVUS enrollment when traveling to the United States beginning on November 29. EVUS is the online system used by nationals of the People’s Republic of China holding a 10-year B1/B2, B1 or B2 (visitor) visa to update basic biographic information to facilitate their travel to the United States. EVUS enrollments are valid for two years or until the traveler obtains a new passport or visa, whichever comes first. - CBP
See also: EVUS FAQ in Simplified Chinese
In this final rule, DHS will adjust fees by a weighted average increase of 21 percent to ensure that fees for each benefit type are adequate to cover USCIS’ costs associated with processing applications and petitions, as well as providing similar benefits to asylum and refugee applicants and certain other immigrants at no charge. - DHS
Through this notice, the Secretary of Homeland Security, after consultation with the Secretary of State, identifies the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as an EVUS country and designates B-1, B-2, and B-1/B-2 visas issued without restriction for the maximum validity period, which is generally 10 years, as designated visa categories when the visas are contained in a passport issued by the PRC.
Please refer to our EVUS FAQ page (in Simplified Chinese) for more information.
USCIS has published their I-485 filing chart and it will match the November 2016 Visa Bulletin filing dates, for both employment-based and family-sponsored categories.
The Department of State has released the Visa Bulletin for November 2016. 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 | Second (EB2) | 2012-07-15 | 1570 |
| India | Second (EB2) | 2007-11-01 | 290 |
| ROW | Third (EB3) | 2016-07-01 | 30 |
| China | Third (EB3) | 2013-04-15 | 83 |
| India | Third (EB3) | 2005-03-08 | 7 |
| Mexico | Third (EB3) | 2016-07-01 | 30 |
| Philippines | Third (EB3) | 2011-04-01 | 121 |
An extension of both the Employment Fourth Preference Certain Religious Workers (SR) and Employment Fifth Preference Pilot (I5 and R5) Categories was signed into law in late September. As indicated in item D of the Visa Bulletin which announced the October final action dates, the extension has resulted in the immediate application of the following final action dates for the month of October:
SR: “Current” for all countries except El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras which are subject to a June 15, 2015 final action date for October.
I5 and R5: “Current” for all countries except China-mainland born for October. China-mainland born applicants are subject to a February 22, 2014 final action date for October.
The admission of up to 110,000 refugees to the United States during Fiscal Year (FY) 2017 is justified by humanitarian concerns or is otherwise in the national interest:
Among today’s denials was the federal government’s petition for rehearing in United States v. Texas, the challenge to an Obama administration policy that would have permitted as many as four million undocumented immigrants to apply for a program that would have allowed them to remain in the country and work here legally. The justices heard arguments in the case in April of this year, but in June they announced that they had deadlocked 4-4, an outcome that left in place the lower court’s decision striking down the policy. In July, the Obama administration asked the court to reconsider that ruling when it has all nine justices. The petition for rehearing was, as the federal government acknowledged in its filing, a long shot, and today the justices rejected it without comment. - SCOTUSBlog
On April 13, 2016, USCIS published a revised version of Form N-400, Application for Naturalization. We recognize many organizations may need time to transition to using the revised form. Until December 1, 2016:
USCIS has published the I-485 Filing Visa Bulletin for October and most cutoff dates are actually DOS' filing dates, instead of final action dates as in the past.
The report from the department’s Office of Inspector General found that nearly 900 individuals were granted citizenship because neither the agency nor the F.B.I. databases contained all of the fingerprint records of people who had previously been ordered to be deported. - NYT
DV-2018 Program: Online registration for the DV-2018 Program begins on Tuesday, October 4, 2016 at 12:00 noon, Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) (GMT-4), and concludes on Monday, November 7, 2016 at 12:00 noon, Eastern Standard Time (EST) (GMT-4). - DOS
DOS Visa Office published their prediction of cutoff date movement for the coming months.
The Department of State has released the Visa Bulletin for October 2016. 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 | Second (EB2) | 2012-02-15 | 775 |
| India | Second (EB2) | 2007-01-15 | 692 |
| ROW | Third (EB3) | 2016-06-01 | 31 |
| China | Third (EB3) | 2013-01-22 | 1117 |
| India | Third (EB3) | 2005-03-01 | 14 |
| Mexico | Third (EB3) | 2016-06-01 | 31 |
| Philippines | Third (EB3) | 2010-12-01 | 153 |
The final action date for the Employment Fourth Preference Certain Religious Workers (SR) category has been listed as “Unavailable” for October. If there is legislative action extending this category for FY-2017, the final action date would immediately become “Current” for October for all countries except El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras which would be subject to a June 15, 2015 final action date.
The final action dates for the I5 and R5 categories have been listed as “Unavailable” for October. If there is legislative action extending them for FY-2017, the final action dates would immediately become “Current” for October for all countries except China-mainland born I5 and R5 which would be subject to a February 22, 2014 final action date.
USCIS invites you to a webinar on Wednesday, September 21, 2016, from 2 to 3:30 p.m. (Eastern) on T and U visas and the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), immigration relief for victims for human trafficking, domestic violence and other serious crimes. This webinar is intended for community-based organizations, social service agencies and advocates. Visit our registration page to confirm your participation
The figures include people who come legally and illegally, but don’t distinguish between the two. While Chinese and Indian immigrants are far more likely to be in the U.S. legally than those from Mexico, Asians represent one of the fastest-growing segments of undocumented immigrants in the country, researchers say. People from Mexico and other Central American countries account for about 71% of the U.S. unauthorized immigrant population, while Asians account for the second-largest share at 13%, according to the Migration Policy Institute. - WSJ
Return to Immigration News
