Chike Law Group, LLC

USCIS Announces Open Application Period for the Citizenship and Integration Grant Program WASHINGTON – U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services today announced the application period for the Citizenship and Integration Grant Program, which provides funding for citizenship preparation programs in communities across the country. The 16-year-old program, specifically Citizenship Instruction and Naturalization Application Services, will provide up to $10 million in grants to prepare legal immigrants for naturalization and promote civic integration through increased knowledge of English, U.S. history, and civics. “The announcement of the Citizenship and Integration Grant Program application period is always an exciting time for USCIS,” said USCIS Director Ur M. Jaddou. “Through this program, we empower organizations to help legal immigrants pursue citizenship. Our outreach efforts this year seek to ensure eligible organizations that focus on remote, underserved, or isolated communities are aware of USCIS funding opportunities and that grant funds are assisting more historically underserved communities.” USCIS expects to award up to 40 organizations up to $300,000 each for two years to expand availability of high-quality citizenship and integration services. This grant opportunity will fund public or nonprofit organizations that offer both citizenship instruction and naturalization application services to lawful permanent residents. Applications are due by June 21. To apply for this funding opportunity, visit www.grants.gov. USCIS encourages applicants to visit www.grants.gov before the application deadline to obtain registration information needed to complete the application process.

USCIS to Open International Field Offices in Qatar and Turkey WASHINGTON—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. “Opening these field offices establishes a USCIS presence and expertise in critical locations in the Middle East and is part of our commitment to the Biden-Harris administration’s efforts to facilitate safe, lawful, and orderly migration and family reunification,” said USCIS Director Ur M. Jaddou. “Our presence in Qatar and Turkey expands USCIS’ footprint outside the United States, supports our humanitarian mission, and strengthens the integrity of the U.S. immigration system.” The Biden-Harris administration set the refugee admissions ceiling for fiscal year 2024 at 125,000 refugees. Establishing USCIS field offices in Qatar and Turkey will support the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program’s infrastructure in the region. It also will directly support long-established and increasing USCIS refugee processing circuit rides.

USCIS Increases Automatic Extension of Certain Employment Authorization Documents to Improve Access to Work Permits.

USCIS Issues Final Rule to Adjust Certain Immigration and Naturalization Fees WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) published a final rule to adjust certain immigration and naturalization benefit request fees for the first time since 2016. The final rule will allow USCIS to recover a greater share of its operating costs and support more timely processing of new applications. The final rule is the result of a comprehensive fee review, as required by law, and follows the January 2023 publication of a notice of proposed rulemaking. The review concluded that the current fee schedule falls far short in recovering the full cost of agency operations, including the necessary expansion of humanitarian programs, federally mandated pay raises, additional staffing requirements, and other essential investments.

National Interest Waiver (NIW). Investment Visa For an applicant to qualify for an NIW classification, the individual must prove their endeavor is of both substantial merit and national importance. While real estate ventures can show substantial merit in their positive impacts on the economy, they are inherently localized, making it difficult to prove nationwide importance. However, if the endeavor focused on creating affordable housing, this could be a key factor that enabled the drafting of a successful EB-2/NIW business plan. Real estate developers who plan affordable housing can save American families about $500 each month, as well as bring jobs, revenue, and other positive benefits to their area. In addition, investigations showed that those living in affordable housing often invest the money saved on rent into the local economy, stimulating sectors including retail, healthcare, education, and restaurants. This benefit communities by allowing those in affordable housing to invest more in college education and retirement. In this way, the endeavor could have far-reaching impacts on American education and help to address the $1.3 trillion retirement crisis facing the United States. (Visa Business Plans).

USCIS to Launch Organizational Accounts, Enabling Online Collaboration and Submission of H-1B Registrations Will Also Introduce Online Filing for I-129 H-1B Petitions and H-1B I-907 Premium Processing Service WASHINGTON—U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services today announced the upcoming launch of a package of customer experience improvements for H-1B cap season. The measures are expected to increase efficiency and ease collaboration for organizations and their legal representatives. USCIS will launch organizational accounts for non-cap filings and the fiscal year (FY) 2025 H-1B cap season. The introduction of organizational accounts will allow multiple individuals within an organization, such as a company or other business entity, and their legal representatives to collaborate on and prepare H-1B registrations, Form I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker, and associated Form I-907, Request for Premium Processing Service. “USCIS is always striving to improve and streamline our processes, and this is a big step forward,” said USCIS Director Ur M. Jaddou. “Once we launch the organizational accounts and online filing of I-129 H-1B petitions, the entire H-1B lifecycle becomes fully electronic -- from registration, if applicable, to our final decision and transmission to the Department of State.” USCIS expects to launch the organizational accounts in February 2024, with online filing of Forms I-129 and I-907 following shortly thereafter. In addition to streamlining the Form I-129 H-1B petition process, these changes should help reduce duplicate H-1B registrations and other common errors. USCIS will also transition the paper filing location for Forms I-129 and I-907 from service centers to the USCIS lockbox as part of our efforts to increase efficiency by standardizing processes and reducing costs. USCIS will host two national engagements on organizational accounts on Jan. 23 and 24 as well as several smaller sessions leading up to the H-1B registration period to help guide organizations and legal representatives through the process. During these sessions individuals will have the opportunity to ask questions about the organizational accounts in preparation for the FY 2025 H-1B electronic registration process and launch of online filing of Form I-129 for H-1B petitions. USCIS encourages all individuals involved in the H-1B registration and petition filing process to attend these engagements. Invitations to these engagements will be sent later this month. Visit our Contact Public Engagement page to subscribe to notifications about upcoming engagements. Additional details regarding organizational accounts will be available on the H-1B Electronic Registration Process page.

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