Immigration

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration and Services is issuing guidance regarding the legal and physical custody requirements for purposes of acquisition of U.S. citizenship under section 320 and naturalization under section 322 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). We are also expanding guidance on derivation of citizenship before the Child Citizenship Act of 2000, under […]

We are updating guidance in the USCIS Policy Manual, Volume 8, Part B, Chapter 3, to reflect that immigration medical examination documentation for certain Afghan nationals who arrived in the United States during Operation Allies Welcome (OAW) is valid indefinitely. This means that Afghan nationals who arrived in the United States during OAW and meet certain […]

We have updated guidance on the International Entrepreneur Rule in our Policy Manual to clarify the required triennial increase in investment, revenue, and other thresholds, and to clarify how we arrange biometrics appointments for certain applicants. The updated guidance reflects the International Entrepreneur Program: Fiscal Year 2025 Automatic Increase of Investment and Revenue Amount Requirements Final Rule published in […]

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services is issuing policy guidance in our Policy Manual to further clarify the types of evidence that we may evaluate to determine eligibility for extraordinary ability (E11) EB-1 immigrant visa classifications. This policy guidance: Confirms that we consider a person’s receipt of team awards under the criterion for lesser nationally or […]

WASHINGTON—The Department of Homeland Security today announced a Federal Register notice to implement Keeping Families Together, a process for certain noncitizen spouses and stepchildren of U.S. citizens. This is part of an effort to promote the unity and stability of families, increase the economic prosperity of American communities, strengthen diplomatic relationships with partner countries in the region, […]

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) today announced the upcoming opening of international field offices in Doha, Qatar, and Ankara, Turkey, to increase capacity for refugee processing, strengthen strategic partnerships, and facilitate interagency cooperation. To learn more, follow the link: https://www.uscis.gov/newsroom/news-releases/uscis-to-open-international-field-offices-in-qatar-and-turkey

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced actions to promote family unity in the immigration process, consistent with the Biden-Harris Administration’s commitment to keeping families together. This announcement utilizes existing authorities to promote family unity, but only Congress can fix our broken immigration system. Under current law, noncitizens married to a U.S. citizen may apply […]

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services is issuing guidance in the USCIS Policy Manual on family-based immigrant visa petitions (including Form I-130, Petition for Alien Relative and, in limited situations, family-based Form I-360, Petition for Amerasian, Widow(er), or Special Immigrant). This includes explaining how we handle correcting approval notice errors and requests for consular processing or adjustment of status, as well as routing procedures for approved petitions.   A petitioner submitting Form I-130 must inform USCIS of the […]

USCIS has begun implementing a streamlined process for Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization, to provide Employment Authorization Documents (EADs) more efficiently to eligible refugees after they are admitted into the United States. This streamlined process shortens the wait time for an EAD to approximately 30 days instead of several months. All individuals admitted into the United States […]