WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced today the addition of three new categories to the Premium Processing Service, which allows U.S. businesses to pay a $1,000 Premium Processing fee in exchange for 15-calendar-day processing of their case.
Starting on September 25, 2006, USCIS will begin accepting Premium Processing requests for Form I-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker, involving the following immigrant visa categories:

Financial aid

Tuition fee

I-20 & Visa

Documentation

Visa Guidance

Resources

Under the Premium Processing Service, USCIS guarantees petitioners that, for a $1,000 processing fee, it will issue either an approval notice, or where appropriate, a notice of intent to deny, a request for evidence or open an investigation for fraud or misrepresentation, within 15 calendar days of receipt. If
the petition is not processed within 15 calendar days, USCIS will refund the $1,000 fee and continue to process the request as part of the Premium Processing Service. In addition to faster processing,
petitioners who participate in the program may use a dedicated phone number and e-mail address to check on the status of their petition or ask any other questions they may have concerning their petition. Premium Processing Service continues to be available for previously designated classifications within Form I-140 and Form I-129, Petition for Nonimmigrant Worker.

Since 2001, Premium Processing Service has been available for several classifications within Form I-129, including E Treaty Traders and Investors, H-1B Specialty Occupation Workers, H-2B Temporary Workers performing non-agricultural services, H-3 Trainees, L Intracompany Transferees, O Aliens of Extraordinary Ability and those performing essential support services, P Performers and Athletes and those performing essential support services, and Q international Cultural Exchange Visitors, R Religious Workers and NAFTA Professionals from Canada and Mexico. Form I-129 petitions for those nonimmigrant worker classifications will continue to be eligible for Premium Processing Service unless the filing period has closed (for example, when the annual cap for a specific visa has been reached.)

Information about the expanded Premium Processing Service is available on the USCIS website at http://www.uscis.gov/graphics/howdoi/prem_process.htm or by calling the USCIS National Customer Service Center toll free at 1-800-375-5283.

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..NEW IMMIGRATION PHOTO REQUIREMENTS :

The US Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) announced new immigration photo requirements. Beginning September 1, 2004, immigration photos must be size 2 inches by 2 inches or 50 mm by 50 mm, showing full-face view, no head covering, white background, and on thin photo paper. The new photo specifications are the same as US passport photo requirements. The old three quarter profile photos will no longer be accepted starting September 1, 2004. Applications previously submitted with the old photo specifications will not be affected by this change.

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..EXPEDITED REMOVAL FOR ILLEGAL ALIENS CAUGHT INSIDE THE UNITED STATES :

The US Customs and Border Protection (“CBP”) announced the expansion of its expedited removal program. For the first time, CBP will apply expedited removal to certain foreign citizens apprehended within the United States.

Expedited removal is a procedure that allows an Immigration Officer to deport foreign citizens summarily, without a hearing or review by an Immigration Judge. Prior to this expansion, the CBP only applied expedited removal to “arriving aliens” seeking entry at a port of entry and to a limited class of individuals who arrive in the United States by sea.

Under the expanded policy, Immigration Officers are now authorized to place in expedited removal any foreign citizen who: (1) is encountered within 100 miles of the US/Mexico or US/Canada border; (2) is inadmissible to the United States due to misrepresentation or failure to have appropriate documentation; and (3) cannot establish that he or she has been continuously present in the US for 14 days or longer.

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