WASHINGTON - U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Director Alejandro Mayorkas and Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa announced today a new partnership to strengthen immigrant integration efforts in Los Angeles through proactive citizenship awareness, education, and outreach activities. The initiative kicks off with a free citizenship information session and naturalization workshop on Saturday, Jan. 30, 2010, at Felicitas and Gonzalo Mendez Learning Center in Northeast Los Angeles. USCIS Los Angeles District Director Jane Arellano will be on hand to answer questions.

WASHINGTON - U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) today announced revisions to Form I-601, Application for Waiver of Ground of Inadmissibility. As of January 4, 2010, infection with the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) is no longer a ground of inadmissibility. If you have the HIV infection, you are no longer inadmissible to the United States, and are no longer required to file Form I-601 because of your HIV infection. As part of the revisions to Form I-601, any reference to HIV infection in the form and the instructions were removed. In addition, USCIS today announced that there are revised filing instructions and addresses for applicants filing Form I-601, Application for Waiver of Ground of Inadmissibility. The change of filing location is part of an overall effort to transition the intake of benefit forms from USCIS local offices and Service Centers to USCIS Lockbox facilities. By centralizing form and fee intake to a Lockbox environment, USCIS can provide customers with more efficient and effective initial processing of applications and fees.

WASHINGTON - U.S. Citizenship and Immigrations Services (USCIS) announced today that it will reissue Advance Parole documents (Form I-512) in response to documents that were mailed to applicants with an incorrect issue date of January 5, 1990. All affected documents have been identified and USCIS will automatically reissue documents to individuals who have received a document with the incorrect issue date.

Background U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is funded by application and petition fees. Waiving a fee for certain individuals transfers the cost of processing applications and petitions to other applicants and petitioners and often necessitates increasing fees for everyone. However, we recognize that some individuals may not be able to pay the filing or biometrics fees. If you wish for us to consider waiving the fees for your application, please follow the instructions provided on requesting a fee waiver at http://www.uscis.gov/feewaiver and in these Questions and Answers. When you request a fee waiver, you must clearly demonstrate that you are unable to pay the application fees and biometrics fee that are applicable in your case.

WASHINGTON—U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has announced that eligible Haitian nationals in the United States may file for Temporary Protected Status (TPS). Details and procedures for applying for TPS are available in the Federal Register notice published on January 21, 2010.

USCIS warns Haitians applying for temporary protected status to be aware of immigration scams. USCIS has a dedicated website providing guidance on its response to Haiti at www.uscis.gov/haitianearthquake. Representation You do not need to have an attorney or a representative to apply for temporary protected status. If you choose to have a representative when filing an application or petition with USCIS, you may be represented by an attorney or an accredited representative of a recognized organization. Your representative must file a “Notice of Entry of Appearance as Attorney or Representative” form (Form G-28) with your TPS application. Please visit the “Finding Legal Advice” page on the USCIS website for more important information on this topic. A list of free or low-cost legal service providers and a list of BIA accredited representatives are available on our website at the above link.

On Jan. 12, 2010, Haiti experienced an earthquake of devastating proportions. This set of questions and answers provides information for United States citizens in the process of adopting a child from Haiti.

The Form I-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker, is used to petition U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to classify an alien beneficiary as eligible for an immigrant visa based on employment. The employer generally files the Form I-140 on behalf of the alien.

WASHINGTON - U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced today that eligible Haitian nationals in the United States may begin the application process for Temporary Protected Status. Details and procedures for applying for TPS are provided in the Federal Register notice published today.

WASHINGTON — Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Janet Napolitano today announced the publication of a rule formalizing DHS' longstanding policy to expedite and streamline the citizenship process for men and women bravely serving in America's armed forces.

On Jan. 18, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Janet Napolitano, in coordination with the U.S. Department of State (DOS), today announced a humanitarian parole policy allowing orphaned children from Haiti to enter the United States temporarily on an individual basis to ensure that they receive the care they need—as part of the U.S. government’s ongoing support of international recovery efforts after last week’s earthquake.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will commemorate the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. by holding special citizenship ceremonies across the country from January 15 to January 22, 2010. During this week, more than 6,000 candidates for citizenship will take the Oath of Allegiance and become citizens of the United States. Each ceremony will embrace the theme, “Enriching the American Dream: The Celebration of a Legacy.“ Highlighted events include ceremonies at The King Center in Atlanta, Ga.; the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Library in Washington, D.C.; and the Iowa State Capitol Building in Des Moines, Ia. This year marks the 81st birthday of Dr. King.

USCIS will commemorate the 81st birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. by welcoming new citizens at special citizenship ceremonies throughout the United States and overseas from January 15 to January 22, 2010.

WASHINGTON — U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will commemorate the 81st birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. by welcoming more than 6,000 new citizens at citizenship ceremonies throughout the United States and overseas for the week of Jan.15 through 22. Special ceremonies will embrace the theme, “Enriching the American Dream: The Celebration of a Legacy.“

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued updated guidance to adjudication officers to clarify what constitutes a valid employer-employee relationship to qualify for the H-1B ‘specialty occupation’ classification. The memorandum clarifies such relationships, particularly as it pertains to independent contractors, self-employed beneficiaries, and beneficiaries placed at third-party worksites. The memorandum is titled: “Determining Employer-Employee Relationship for Adjudication of H-1B Petitions, Including Third-Party Site Placements: Additions to Officer’s Field Manual (AFM) Chapter 31.3(g)(15)(AFM Update AD 10-24).” In addition to clarifying the requirements for a valid employer-employee relationship, the memorandum also discusses the types of evidence petitioners may provide to establish that an employer-employee relationship exists and will continue to exist with the beneficiary throughout the duration of the requested H-1B validity period.

With upwards of 12 million “undocumented” U.S. residents, illegal immigration remains a mammoth problem. Bush administration reforms foundered amid resistance from the president’s own Republican Party and a coalition of nativists, business interests and regional activists. Thorny issues include “amnesty,” easing the path to citizenship, homeland security, employer exploitation and fairness to those going the legal route.

We at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services have realigned our organizational structure to achieve greater efficiency and to more ably accomplish our mission. The realignment reflects the prioritization of certain critical Agency responsibilities. The three most significant changes are: * The creation of a Fraud Detection and National Security Directorate. This change reflects our prioritization of our anti-fraud and national security responsibilities and will bring greater focus to them. * The creation of a new Customer Service Directorate. This change reflects our prioritization of customer service and recognizes the significant efforts that will be needed to ensure that we are at the cutting edge of service modeling. * The division of the existing Domestic Operations Directorate into two separate directorates, Service Center Operations and Field Operations. This change will foster greater innovation and achieve greater efficiency in our delivery of immigration services.