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DOL Releases its Foreign Labor Certification Annual Report for FY 2012

The 2012 Annual Report presents information on the Prevailing Wage Determination Process, Permanent Labor Certification, and Temporary Nonimmigrant Labor Certification for FY 2012. The report also contains State Employment-Based Labor Certification Profiles, information on STEM-related occupations in the labor certification programs, H-2A Agricultural Certification Statistics, and top Country Employment-Based Immigration Profiles. Click here to view the 2012 Annual Report.

USCIS Introduces Form I-910 and Centralizes the Civil Surgeon Application Process

Starting on March 11, 2014, USCIS will implement a new process to receive and adjudicate applications for civil surgeon designation centrally at the National Benefits Center. This process change requires physicians seeking civil surgeon designation to file a formal application at a USCIS Lockbox. Centralizing the civil surgeon application process will:

Guidance Pertaining to Applicants for Provisional Unlawful Presence Waivers

On March 4, 2013, USCIS began a new provisional unlawful presence waiver program for certain relatives of U.S. citizens whose only ground of inadmissibility is unlawful presence in the United States under section 212(a)(9)(B)(i)(I) and (II) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). See 78 FR 536-01 (January 3, 2013). The provisional unlawful presence waiver process allows immediate relatives of U.S.

USCIS Announces 63 Countries Eligible to Participate in the H-2A and H-2B Visa Programs

USCIS announced the Department of Homeland Security, in consultation with the Department of State, has added Austria, Italy, Panama, and Thailand to the list of countries whose nationals are eligible to participate in the H-2A and H-2B Visa programs for the coming year.

Click here for the list of 63 countries

Readout of the President’s Meeting with Members of the Senate Democratic Caucus

The President met with members of the Senate Democratic Caucus. The group discussed their shared goals for 2014, and the President expressed his desire to continue to work together to advance a number of our priorities for the year to strengthen our economy, create jobs and build the middle class.

USCIS Extends Relief Measures for Filipino Typhoon Victims

WASHINGTON – U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) reminds those affected by Typhoon Haiyan, which struck the Philippines on Nov. 8, 2013, of agency efforts to provide relief to victims of the typhoon.

Filipino nationals in the United States should visit www.uscis.gov to learn about a series of existing relief measures that may be available to them if requested. These relief measures include:

New 2014 H-2A Adverse Effect Wage Rates

The Department has published a notice in the Federal Register announcing new Adverse Effect Wage Rates (AEWRs) for each state, based on the Farm Labor Survey conducted by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The AEWRs are the minimum hourly wage rates the Department has determined must be offered and paid by employers to H-2A workers and workers in corresponding employment for a particular agricultural job and area, so that the wages of similarly employed U.S. workers will not be adversely affected.