Newsletter Week of August 28

USCIS Updates Voter Registration Guidance for Naturalization Ceremonies 

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services is updating guidance in the Policy Manual to provide clarification on voter registration access at our administrative naturalization ceremonies. The guidance affirms that USCIS provides access to voter registration services at each administrative naturalization ceremony, including information regarding points-of-contact for voting and voter registration and affirms that USCIS offices coordinate with non-partisan, non-governmental organizations for voter registration services when state and local government election officials are not available. 

USCIS Updates Policy Guidance for the “Sought to Acquire” Requirement Under the Child Status Protection Act 

USCIS updated the Policy Manual to clarify how they will apply the extraordinary circumstances exception to the “sought to acquire” requirement. The CSPA protects certain beneficiaries from losing their eligibility for immigrant visas and adjustment of status because they age during the immigration process and no longer qualify as a child for immigration purposes. To benefit from the CSPA, noncitizens must seek to acquire lawful permanent resident status within 1 year of when an immigrant visa becomes available. On Feb. 14 USCIS issued policy guidance updating when an immigrant visa becomes available for the purpose of calculating an applicant’s CSPA age. 

H-1B Visa Applications Reach Record High in 2023 

Applications for the H-1B work visa, popular among tech companies looking to hire foreign talent, more than doubled in 2023, according to a new Boundless report. U.S. Citizen and Immigration Services (USCIS) received 780,884 applications for the temporary work visa aimed at highly-skilled workers, a 61% increase from the previous year and nearly 700,000 above the 85,000-annual cap. 

USCIS Reopens Havana Office to Reduce Visa Backlog 

After a five-year break, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)will reopen its office in Havana, Cuba to reduce the visa backlog. The Havana office will expedite family-based immigration petitions and manage refugee and asylum-related petitions, along with providing limited services for bringing close relatives to the U.S