From the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services
Starting Sept. 13, 2023, Affirmative asylum applicants, must bring an interpreter to your asylum interview if you are not fluent in English or wish to proceed with your interview in a language other than English.
If you need an interpreter and do not bring one, or if your interpreter is not fluent in English and a language you speak, and you do not establish good cause, we may consider this a failure to appear for your interview and we may dismiss your asylum application or refer your asylum application to an immigration judge. We will determine good cause on a case-by-case-basis.
The interpreter must be fluent in English and a language you speak fluently and must be at least 18 years old. The interpreter must not be:
Your attorney or accredited representative;
A witness testifying on your behalf;
A representative or employee of the government of your country of nationality (or, if you are stateless, your country of last habitual residence); or
An individual with a pending asylum application who has not yet been interviewed.
On Sept. 23, 2020, we published a temporary final rule (TFR) requiring affirmative asylum applicants to use our contracted telephonic interpreters for their asylum interviews, instead of bringing an interpreter to the interview. We published this TFR to reduce the spread of COVID-19 during asylum interviews with USCIS asylum officers while the COVID-19 national emergency and public health emergency were in effect. We published four subsequent TFRs extending the requirement, with the current extension effective through Sept. 12, 2023. This fourth extension provided additional time after the national and public health emergencies expired to allow us to prepare to return to the prior regulatory requirement. With the expiration of the TFR, we will be reverting back to the long-standing regulatory requirement for an affirmative asylum applicant to provide an interpreter under 8 CFR 208.9(g).
Temporary Protected Status Extension and Redesignation for Ukraine
Tuesday, Oct. 3 | 2-3 p.m. Eastern
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) invites you to participate in an engagement on Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Ukraine on
Tuesday,Oct. 3 from 2 to 3 p.m. Eastern.
On Aug. 18, 2023, Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas announced the extension and redesignation of Ukraine for TPS for 18 months. The extension of TPS for Ukraine allows current beneficiaries to retain TPS through April 19, 2025, if they meet eligibility requirements. Existing beneficiaries of TPS for Ukraine seeking to avoid gaps in their employment authorization documentation may re-register during the 60-day re-registration period which runs from Aug. 21, 2023, through Oct. 20, 2023. The redesignation allows Ukrainian nationals (and individuals having no nationality who last habitually resided in Ukraine) who have continuously resided in the United States since Aug. 16, 2022, and have been continuously physically present in the United States since Oct. 20, 2023, to file initial applications for TPS, if they are otherwise eligible.
During this engagement, USCIS will provide an overview of the extension and redesignation of Ukraine for TPS. We will then hold a question-and-answer session. We will not address case-specific questions, questions outside the scope of the engagement, or issues under active litigation.
To Register:1. Visit our registration page.2. You will be asked to provide your email address and select “Submit.”3. On the next screen, you will see a notification that you successfully subscribed to this event.Once we process your registration, you will receive a confirmation email with additional details.If you have any questions, or if you have not received a confirmation email within three business days, please email us at public.engagement@uscis.dhs.gov.We encourage you to submit one or two questions on this topic to public.engagement@uscis.dhs.gov by 4 p.m. Eastern on Monday, Sept. 18. Put “TPS Ukraine” in the subject line of your email.To request a disability accommodation to participate in this engagement, email us at public.engagement@uscis.dhs.gov by 4 p.m. Eastern on Thursday, Sept. 21.Note to media:This webinar is not for press purposes. Please contact the USCIS Press Office at media@uscis.dhs.gov for any media inquiries. We look forward to your participation!
Upcoming Engagements To view a list of upcoming local and national engagements, please visit uscis.gov/outreach.
Information For more information on USCIS and its programs, please visit uscis.gov.
USCIS Launches Online Form to Request a Field Office Appointment
On Aug. 21, USCIS launched a new online form for individuals, attorneys, and accredited representatives to request an in-person appointment for certain customer service-related appointment requests, such as ADIT stamp or emergency advanced parole, at their local field office without having to call the USCIS Contact Center.
This is an important step in our efforts to improve the experience of the people we serve and to reduce USCIS Contact Center wait times.
With this new tool, individuals can visit my.uscis.gov/appointment to submit a request for a specific date, time, and type of appointment with their local field office. This online appointment request form is not a self-scheduling tool and does not guarantee an appointment for the preferred date or time requested. The Contact Center will review and validate each request before confirming the appointment date and time.
Individuals, attorneys, and accredited representatives will still have the option to call the USCIS Contact Center to request an appointment. However, USCIS strongly encourages users to use the new online appointment request form to improve their overall customer experience. Using the online appointment request form will save time, increase efficiency, and reduce call volume to the USCIS Contact Center.
Visit my.uscis.gov/appointment for more information on the online appointment request form. We will hold outreach activities to ensure individuals, legal representatives, and other interested parties are familiar with the online appointment request form.
Manchester Community College, Workforce Development Center together with the ApprenticeshipNH initiative partnership with Elliot Hospital and Catholic Medical Center works to provide healthcare career pathways through paid apprenticeships for the greater Manchester community.
They have sponsored many cohorts of new medical assistants, licensed nursing assistants, patient service representatives and pharmacy technicians to help solve their workplace staffing issues. Working together with the Community College System and NH Works partners, the hospitals can recruit, hire, educate and train new healthcare workers while allowing people to enter a new career without educational debt and by providing the experience that people need to have successful opportunities for advancement.
Both hospitals support a diverse and inclusive workplace and welcome all people who are interested in these apprenticeship programs and other roles to apply directly through their hospital’s career portal.
