USCIS Expands myProgress to Form I-485 and Form I-821
On Nov. 21, we announced the availability of myProgress (formerly known as personalized processing times) for Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status, and Form I-821, Application for Temporary Protected Status. myProgress will initially only be available for family-based or Afghan special immigrant Form I-485 applicants.
Applicants with a pending Form I-485 or Form I-821 can now log in to their USCIS online account to view confirmation of completed steps and estimated wait times until the next step in their case processing is completed, including:
Confirmation that the application was received;
Movement of the application through preprocessing and adjudicative steps; and
The case decision.
This is an important step in our efforts to improve the experience of the people we serve, increase transparency in adjudications, and reduce Contact Center wait times.
myProgress updates will be available for applications filed online or for paper-filed cases later linked to a USCIS online account using an online access code. Visit our How to Create a USCIS Online Account webpage for instructions on linking a paper-filed form to a USCIS online account.
All applicants and petitioners must still use the Check Case Processing Times webpage to determine eligibility to file an Outside of Normal Processing Times service request.
For more information on myProgress, see the full announcement. We will hold outreach activities to ensure applicants, petitioners, and interested parties are familiar with myProgress.
The BEAD Plan is for the physical extension of Broadband into every house, we heard from Dr McLaughlin regarding the Digital Equity Plan which is focused on 8 marginalized communities’ in NH and on Language, Culture, Wealth etc.
You can find the draft BEAD Plan here along with how to submit your comments:
You are subscribed to the announcements from the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Foreign Labor Certification (OFLC). See the latest updates here: https://www.dol.gov/agencies/eta/foreign-labor
November 17, 2023. The Departments of Labor and Homeland Security Publish Rule Increasing the Number of H-2B Visas Available in Fiscal Year 2024
The U.S. Departments of Labor and Homeland Security (DHS) have published a temporary final rule (TFR) increasing the numerical limitation on H-2B nonimmigrant visas to authorize the issuance of no more than 64,716 additional visas for Fiscal Year (FY) 2024 positions to employers that are suffering irreparable harm or will suffer impending irreparable harm without the ability to employ all of the H-2B workers requested under the cap increase. Of the 64,716 visas available, up to 44,716 are limited to H-2B returning workers, and up to 20,000 are reserved for nationals of Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Haiti, Colombia, Ecuador, or Costa Rica. The TFR provides additional protections for U.S. workers, flexibility for foreign workers, and additional recruitment requirements for certain employers.
In support of this rule, the Office of Foreign Labor Certification (OFLC) has posted the new Form ETA-9142-B-CAA-8 and the accompanying instructions. The TFR requires an employer to attest, among other things, to the fact that it is suffering irreparable harm or will suffer impending irreparable harm without the ability to employ all of the H-2B workers requested under the cap increase. This attestation must be submitted to the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) along with Form I-129, in support of an H-2B application subject to the H-2B cap. DHS will not accept any H-2B petitions under provisions related to the FY 2024 supplemental numerical allocations after September 16, 2024, and will not approve any such H-2B petitions after September 30, 2024. The attestation is also available on the Forms page of the OFLC website at: https://www.dol.gov/agencies/eta/foreign-labor/forms.
PLEASE NOTE: The TFR requires employers with a certified start date which is 30 or more days prior to the submission of their visa petition to USCIS to engage in additional recruitment of U.S. workers. Employers required to conduct additional recruitment must provide OFLC with the case number for each temporary certification which will be used in support of a visa petition to USCIS concurrently with their placement of new job orders with the State Workforce Agency. Employers who must conduct this concurrent notification requirement are encouraged to notify OFLC National Processing Center by sending an email to H2Bsupplementalvisas@dol.gov, and including the words “H-2B TFR 2024 Recruitment” followed by the unique temporary labor certification case number in the subject line of the email.
Enter to Win a Gift Basket Supporting Local Vendors – Spread the Word!
Dear Community Partners,
As we work to complete our 2023 Greater Nashua Community Health Assessment (CHA), we continue to promote a community survey to gather data from the Greater Nashua Region. The goal of this survey is to gauge people’s perception of health in their communities. All of the data collected from this survey will be used in the 2023 Greater Nashua CHA that will be published in the winter on our Interactive Data Dashboard.
The overarching goal for the CHA is to engage community members, identify emerging issues, and set the foundation for future programming in the Region. Conducting a CHA allows us to gain a better understanding of the health concerns and needs of our community by identifying, collecting, analyzing, and disseminating information on the community’s assets, strengths, resources, and needs.
We are encouraging all members of our community to participate in this survey. We would like to continue to invite you as community partners to both take the survey and share on your social media platforms and website. Please help us to spread the word!
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced today a change in the filing location for Form I-907, Request for Premium Processing, when filed with Form I-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Workers, as part of efforts to increase efficiency by reducing USCIS’ footprint at the service centers, digitizing the process, and reducing costs.
Important Information On Nov. 13, 2023, the filing location for newly filed Forms I-140 filed at the same time with Form I-907 will change from USCIS service centers to USCIS lockboxes.
This change in filing location does not apply if you are filing Form I-907 for a currently pending Form I-140, or if you are filing Form I-140 with an associated application (such as Form I-765, Form I-131, or Form I-485). We will soon announce filing location changes for these forms, but at this time, they should be filed with the service centers, as listed on the Direct Filing Addresses for Form I-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker page.
At this time, the lockboxes will reject any Form I-907 filed with a Form I-140 that has an associated Form I-131, Form I-485, or Form I-765. These types of Form I-907 requests should continue to be filed with service centers as listed on the Direct Filing Addresses for Form I-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker page.
Where to File Starting Nov. 13, 2023, please use the following addresses when mailing Form I-140 and Form I-907 together to USCIS. Starting Dec. 13, USCIS will reject any Form I-907 filed with Form I-140 that is received at the previous service center address.
USCIS Elgin Lockbox
U.S. Postal Service (USPS): USCISAttn: Premium I-140 P.O. Box 4008 Carol Stream, IL 60197-4008
FedEx, UPS, and DHL deliveries: USCIS Attn: Premium I-140 (Box 4008) 2500 Westfield Drive Elgin, IL 60124-7836
