USCIS to Extend Certain Programs Until Sept. 30, 2015

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) advises the public that Public Law 112-176, signed by the President on Sept. 28, 2012, extends the following USCIS programs until Sept. 30, 2015:

·         E-Verify

·         Immigrant Investor (EB-5) Pilot Program

·         Special immigrant visa category for non-minister special immigrant religious workers

·         The date by which J-1 nonimmigrant exchange visitors must obtain that status in order to qualify for the Conrad 30 program.

Program Details

E-Verify: E-Verify, an Internet-based system operated by USCIS in partnership with the Social Security Administration (SSA), allows participating employers to electronically verify the employment eligibility of their newly hired employees.  More than 402,000 participating employers at nearly 1.2 million worksites nationwide currently use the program.  Since Oct. 1, 2011, more than 20 million employment verification queries have been run through the system and approximately 98.3 percent of all queries are now automatically confirmed without any need for employee action.

Immigrant Investor (EB-5) Pilot Program:  Under the Immigrant Investor Pilot Program, USCIS will continue to receive, process, and adjudicate all Regional Center Proposals, Forms I-526, Immigrant Petition by Alien Entrepreneur, and Forms I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status, affiliated with Regional Centers relying on “indirect” job creation analysis. Currently, there are more than 70 regional centers throughout the United States.

Religious Worker Visa:  The special immigrant visa category for non-minister religious workers covers individuals within a religious vocation or occupation and also applies to accompanying or “following-to-join” spouses and children of these religious workers. USCIS will continue to receive and process Forms 1-360,  Petition for Amerasian, Widow(er), or Special Immigrant, Forms I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status,  and Forms I-824, Application for Action on an Approved Application or Petition, that relate to religious workers and their families covered by Public Law 112-176.

Conrad 30:  USCIS will continue to adjudicate immigration benefits covered by the Conrad 30 program.  The Conrad 30 program allows each state health department to submit a request directly to the Department of State to initiate the waiver process for a foreign medical graduate who obtained J-1 status to change to another status without the required two-year foreign residence.  The law previously required the foreign medical graduate to have acquired J-1 status before Sept. 30, 2012; the law now extends the program to cover J-1 admissions before Sept. 30, 2015.

Green Card for an Asylee: Part I

If USCIS granted you asylum status, you are eligible to apply for a green card (permanent residence) 1 year after receiving your grant of asylum. Your spouse and children are also eligible to apply for a green card if they were admitted to the United States as asylees or were included in your grant of asylum.

You are not required to apply for a green card; however, it may be in your best interest to do so. You may no longer qualify for asylum status with the right to remain permanently in the United States if:

• country conditions change in your home country or
• you no longer meet the definition of an asylee due to changed circumstances.

Eligibility Criteria

If you are an asylee, you may apply for a green card 1 year after being granted asylum if you:

Have been physically present in the United States for at least 1 year after being granted asylum

               Continue to meet the definition of a asylee (or continue to be the spouse or child of such asylee)

               Have not abandoned your asylee status

               Are not firmly resettled in any foreign country

               Continue to be admissible to the United States (A waiver may be available to you if you are now inadmissible)

Application Process

To apply for a green card, you must file the Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or to Adjust Status.

Note: When your green card is granted, you (and your derivative family members) will have your date of adjustment of status rolled back 1 year from the date your green card is granted.

Supporting Evidence For Form I-485

If your asylum status is granted, you should file a Form I-485 with the following supporting documentation (in this order):

               Completed and signed Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status

               Completed and signed Form I-693, Report of Medical Exam and Vaccination Record, if required.

               Applicable fees

                       Asylees must pay the Form I-485 application fee and the fingerprint fee

                       Applicants under the age of 14 do not need to submit a fingerprint fee

               Completed and signed Form I-602, Application by Refugee for Waiver of Grounds of Excludability (if applicable)

               Copy of your I-94 card

             Asylees may also submit a copy of their approval notice granting asylum or a copy of the immigration judge’s orders showing that you were granted asylum

               A completed Form G-325A, Biographic Information Sheet, if you are between 14 and 79 years of age

               Certified copies of court records (if you have been arrested)

               Two passport-style photos

Note: You must submit any foreign language documents with a certified English translation. The translator must certify that he/she is competent to perform the translation and that the translation is accurate. Note that translations submitted without a legible copy of the foreign document are not sufficient.

Green Cards for a Refugee

If you were admitted as a refugee, you are required by law to apply for a green card (permanent residence) in the United States 1 year after being admitted as a refugee.

Eligibility Criteria

You must apply for a green card 1 year after you are admitted to the United States as a refugee if you:

               Have been physically present in the United States for at least 1 year after being admitted as a refugee

               Have not had your refugee admission terminated

               Have not already acquired permanent resident (green card) status

Application Process
To apply for a green card as a refugee, you need to file Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status.

Note: When permanent residency is granted, you will have your adjustment of status date recorded as the day you entered into the United States as a refugee.

Supporting Evidence For Form I-485
To apply for a green card, refugees should submit the following documents and information (in this order):

               Form I-485, signed (Box "h" of Part 2 should be marked with the word "refugee" printed on the accompanying line)

               Two photos in an envelope stapled to lower left corner

                       Your name and A-number, if known, should be lightly written in pencil on the back of each photo

                       Details on photo size, etc., may be found on the Form I-485 instructions

               Form G-28, if applicable, signed by you and the attorney (or authorized representative)

                       Facsimile signature stamps are acceptable for the signature of the representatives

                       However, you must sign the initial Form G-28 submitted with the application in the original

               Form G-325A

               Form I-693, signed by you and the civil surgeon, with only the vaccination portion completed

       You may have the vaccination portion of the Form I-693 completed at any state or local health department or may choose to make an appointment with a civil surgeon designated by the USCIS to conduct medical examinations

       Call the National Customer Service Center at 1-800-375-5283 to locate USCIS-designated civil surgeons (doctors) where you live

               A complete Form I-693 is required only if:

       There were medical grounds of inadmissibility noted at the time of arrival in the United States

       If the refugee status was granted to the individual in the United States by an approved Form I-730, Refugee/Asylee Relative Petition

       If neither of these conditions apply, all that is required is the vaccination portion

               Evidence of refugee status (This might include a clear, readable photocopy of Form I-94 or a copy of your Employment Authorization Document)

               Proof of any legal name change you have obtained since you were granted refugee status

Family Application Process
You must prepare a separate Form I-485 application packet for each member of your family who wishes to obtain a green card. All family members’ application packets should be mailed together in the same mailing envelope. To hold each application packet together, please use a single staple or a paper clip.

Change of Address
If your address changes, you must inform USCIS in writing within 10 days of moving. This must be done for each family member. Submitting a change of address for the head of household or a single member of the household only will not change the address for the other family members. You may meet this requirement by:

               Mailing Form AR-11, Alien's Change of Address Card, to the address on the form

               Completing "Step 1" on the form