Secretary Napolitano announced the designation of Syria for Temporary Protected Status (TPS), based on deteriorating security conditions in Syria. The effective dates for the designation, as well as dates and procedures for the TPS registration process, will be detailed in a Federal Register notice that publishes next week. Applications should not be submitted until the designation becomes effective. 

Source: www.uscis.gov 

I-601 Provisional Waiver Is Not in Effect, Yet.

USCIS is considering changes that would allow certain immediate relatives (the spouse, children or parents of a U.S. citizen) who can demonstrate extreme hardship to a U.S. citizen spouse or parent to receive a provisional waiver of the unlawful presence bars before leaving the United States.

These procedures are not in effect and will not be available to potential applicants until USCIS publishes a final rule in the Federal Register specifying the effective date. USCIS plans to publish a notice of proposed rulemaking in the coming months and will consider all comments received as part of that process before publishing a final rule.

·         Do not send an application requesting a provisional waiver at this time. USCIS will reject any application requesting this new process and we will return the application package and any related fees to the applicant. USCIS cannot accept applications until a final rule is issued and the process change becomes effective. 

·         Be aware that some unauthorized practitioners of immigration law may wrongly claim they can currently file a provisional waiver application (Form I-601) for you. These same individuals may ask you to pay them to file such forms although the process is not yet in place. Please avoid such scams. USCIS wants you to learn the facts about protecting yourself and your family against scammers by visiting uscis.gov/avoidscams.

If you already have an immigrant visa interview with the U.S. Department of State, we strongly encourage you to attend. The Department of State may cancel your immigrant visa registration if you fail to appear at this interview.

Source: www.uscis.gov 

The new Queens Field Office.

USCIS FIELD OFFICE IN QUEENS, NEW YORK

QUEENS FIELD OFFICE

27-35 JACKSON AVENUE

QUEENS, NEW YORK 11101

The new Queens Field Office is a full-service USCIS facility with the capacity of approximately 500 customers a day. The office will serve residents of Queens and Brooklyn.

The new facility is the result of a national effort by USCIS to create a more accessible, efficient, and customer-friendly office spaces. The new Queens office is easily accessible by subway or bus.

Business hours are 7:00 AM to 3:30 PM, Monday through Friday. The office is closed on Federal holidays.

Daily, the 100 USCIS federal and contract employees of the Queens Field Office have the capacity to:

·      Interview 120 naturalization applications

·      Provide face-to-face assistance through INFOPASS appointments to 50 members of the public

·      Interview 50 adjustment of status (greencard) applicants

·      Process 100 Biometrics appointments (to capture fingerprints, ID photos, and signatures as part of application process)

The Queens facility features innovative customer service tools such as Infopass (a convenient, internet-based system that allows customers to schedule general customer service appointments at a kiosk in the office or on-line at www.infopass.uscis.gov), a spacious waiting area, private offices for conducting interviews, and a naturalization ceremony room.

The office is co-located with an Application Support Center, meaning that customers can complete the Biometric capture portion of their application (ID photo, fingerprint, and signature capture) at the Queens office.

The office occupies 48,328 square feet of space on two floors of a four-story building. The office space was formerly a warehouse, and all new systems were installed including electrical, plumbing, and heating and air conditioning. In additional a new elevator was installed for public access on the second floor.