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On August 6, 2009, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) reopened the fiscal year (FY) 2009 H-2B petition filing period and announced that it will immediately accept new H-2B petitions. The H-2B program allows U.S. employers to bring foreign nationals to the U.S. to fill temporary nonagricultural jobs for which there is a shortage of… Read More

The Department of State (DOS) recently posted a cable sent to the field in May 2009 introducing the new DS-160 Web-based nonimmigrant visa application form, which is part of the Visa Office’s effort to automate the visa process to the extent possible. DOS noted that at least 12 posts currently require applicants to use the… Read More

The Department of State (DOS) recently released a cable sent to the field in June 2009 announcing the revised 2009 J-1 Exchange Visitor Skills List. Exchange visitors who entered the U.S. on a J-1 visa before June 28, 2009, will continue to be governed by the 1997 Exchange Visitor Skills List, as amended, only if… Read More

All Visa Waiver Program (VWP) emergency or temporary passports now must be electronic passports (e-Passports) to be eligible for travel to the U.S. without a visa. This includes VWP applicants who present emergency or temporary passports to transit the U.S. An e-Passport contains an integrated chip that stores biographic data, a digitized photograph, and other… Read More

  U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has extended the designation of Somalia for temporary protected status (TPS) for 18 months, from its current expiration date of September 17, 2009, through March 17, 2011. USCIS also automatically extended the validity of employment authorization documents (EADs) issued under the TPS designation of Somalia for six months,… Read More