As we start the processing for the new US Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) fiscal year (“FY 2023”), US Citizen and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) has confirmed that it has received a sufficient number of petitions needed to reach the H-1B cap limit for fiscal year 2022 (“FY 2022”). This applies to both the 65,000 regular H-1B cap limit as well as the 20,000 advanced degree (masters) cap exemptions. FY2022 runs from Oct. 1, 2021 and ends Sept. 30, 2022. USCIS conducted three rounds of selections from the registrations submitted in March 2021 to reach the FY2022 annual limit and the Service has “completed sending non-selection notifications to registrants’ online accounts.”
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USCIS Urges Eligible Adjustment of Status Applicants to Interfile
After the release of the March 2022 Adjustment of Status Filing Charts from the Visa Bulletin, US Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) issued an alert urging eligible adjustment of status (“AOS”) applicants to consider filing a request to transfer the underlying basis of their adjustment of status application. According to USCIS, eligible applicants should request to transfer to “the first (priority workers) or second (noncitizens in professions with advanced degrees or with exceptional ability) employment-based preference categories, because there is an exceptionally high number of employment-based immigrant visas available in these categories during this fiscal year (October 2021 through September 2022).” USCIS noted that the overall number of visas available for the first and second preference employment-based categories is almost “twice as high as usual, because that limit includes all unused family-sponsored visa numbers from fiscal year 2021, which was approximately 140,000.”
Read moreNYC Parks Renaming Project: Celebrating Black Leaders
In June 2020, in the wake of the murder of George Floyd and the subsequent national dialogue about race and justice, NYC Parks “pledged to demonstrate how it stands in solidarity with the Black community in its fight to combat systemic racism.” Since making this pledge, the Parks agency has named twenty-eight parks spaces to honor the Black community. Many of them are named after prominent Black Americans, including civil rights leaders, artists, activists, educators, athletes, local community leaders, and more. The project aims to “encourage discourse about their contributions, and work to make the park system more diverse and reflective of the people it serves.” For this year’s Black History Month, NYC Parks put together an exhibition at the Arsenal Gallery in Central Park featuring highlights from this expansive project. Historical photos sourced from the Municipal and National Archives, the New York Public Library, the NYC Parks Photo Archive, and several other sources are on display in the gallery alongside contemporary photos. These photos are contextualized by wall plaques giving information on the park locations and the Black leaders for whom the spaces are named.
70% of Americans Think Undocumented Immigrants Should Have a Path to Citizenship
EL DORADO – The New Forty Niners by Cecile Chong
New York City is “the most linguistically diverse urban center in the world, probably in the history of the world.” The New York Metropolitan area is home to nearly twenty million people, who speak a total of over 800 languages. Forty-nine percent of households in New York City speak a language other than English. Artist Cecile Chong, originally from Ecuador and now living and working in New York, is interested in how and where world cultures overlap and interact. She created this installation, “EL DORADO – The New Forty Niners,” as a tribute to that forty-nine percent of households. The installation consists of one hundred “colored “guagua” (Quechua for baby) sculptures,” forty-nine of which are painted gold. It is a visual representation of the linguistic diversity of the city, and an endorsement of immigration and community.
Children of Chinese Immigrants at the Beijing Olympic Games
USCIS Opens New Lockbox Facility
US Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) opened a new lockbox facility in Elgin, Illinois to expand its lockbox capability. On February 1, 2022, Elgin was added as a filing location for residents of certain states filing Form I-751, Petition to Remove Conditions on Residence. The agency plans to move additional filings to the Elgin lockbox in the coming weeks, including Form N-400, Application for Naturalization, and Form I-130, Petition for Alien Relative. The transition is expected to be completed by late summer of this year. Additionally, in the fall of 2022, USCIS is planning to move the lockbox facility in Arizona from Phoenix to Tempe.
Read moreChinese Ribbon Dance for Lunar New Year
Lunar New Year celebrations are in full swing in New York City! At Hudson Yards in Manhattan, public performances are taking place each weekend to bring people together for the holiday. These performances, put on by the New York Chinese Cultural Center, include traditional lion dances and ribbon twirling performances. Ribbon, silk, or scarf dancing can be traced back to the Han Dynasty in China, over 2000 years ago. The art form requires incredible strength and grace to perform the captivating, fluid motions of the dance.
H-1B Cap Registration Period for Fiscal Year 2023 Begins March 1, 2022 (Plus FAQ on the H-1B Cap)
It’s that time of year again! No, not Valentine’s Day; its H-1B Cap Season! US Citizenship & Immigration Services (“USCIS”) recently announced that the initial registration period for the fiscal year (FY) 2023 H-1B cap will begin at 12pm ET on March 1, 2022, and run through 12pm ET on March 18, 2022. During this registration period, prospective petitioners and their representatives will be able to submit their registrations using their myUSCIS online account and pay the required $10 fee for each registration submitted on behalf of each beneficiary.
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