WASHINGTON—El Servicio de Ciudadanía e Inmigración de Estados Unidos (USCIS, por sus siglas en inglés) celebrará el aniversario número 239 de nuestra nación dándoles la bienvenida a más de 4 mil nuevos ciudadanos estadounidenses en más de 50 ceremonias de naturalización en todo el país entre el 1 al 4 de julio.

“Al celebrar el Día de la Independencia damos la bienvenida a más de 4 mil nuevos estadounidenses que podrán disfrutar todos los derechos, privilegios y responsabilidades de la ciudadanía estadounidense”, dijo León Rodríguez, director de USCIS. “Desde Los Ángeles hasta Nueva York, de Miami hasta Seattle, de Indianápolis a Los Álamos, estas personas demuestran su gran compromiso con las libertades, valores e ideales que han inspirado a los Estadounidenses desde la Declaración de la Independencia en 1776”.

Los candidatos a la Ciudadanía prestarán su Juramento de Lealtad en localidades como la Biblioteca Pública de Nueva York, el Seattle Center, el Museo Nacional de la Segunda Guerra Mundial en Nueva Orleans y el Teatro Tower en Miami. La celebración de este año también tendrá lugar en sitios históricos tales como Mount Vernon, la mansión de George Washington en Virginia; Monticello, la mansión de Thomas Jefferson en Charlottesville, Virginia; y el USS Midway en San Diego, California.

Vea nuestra lista de las ceremonias de naturalización del Día de la Independencia de este año.

USCIS exhorta a los nuevos ciudadanos y a sus familiares y amigos a compartir sus experiencias y fotos de las ceremonias a través de Twitter y otras redes sociales, utilizando el hashtag #newUScitizen.

WASHINGTON—U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will celebrate the nation’s 239th birthday by welcoming more than 4,000 new U.S. citizens at over 50 naturalization ceremonies across the country July 1-4.

“As we celebrate Independence Day, we welcome over 4,000 new Americans who will be able to enjoy all the rights, privileges and responsibilities of U.S. citizenship,” said USCIS Director León Rodríguez. “From Los Angeles to New York, Miami to Seattle, Indianapolis to Los Alamos, these individuals are showing their full commitment to the freedoms, values and ideals that have inspired Americans since the Declaration of Independence in 1776.”

Citizenship candidates will take the Oath of Allegiance at locations including the New York Public Library, Harold Washington Library Center in Chicago, Seattle Center, the National WWII Museum in New Orleans and the Tower Theater in Miami. This year’s celebration also will feature ceremonies at historic sites such as George Washington’s Mount Vernon in Virginia; Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello in Charlottesville, Virginia; and the USS Midway in San Diego, California.

To view a list of 2015 Independence Day naturalization ceremonies, visit uscis.gov/news.

USCIS encourages new citizens and their families and friends to share their ceremony experiences and photos afterward on Twitter and other social media, using the hashtag #newUScitizen.

If you are a Temporary Protected Status (TPS) beneficiary who is eligible to re-register for TPS but did not file your application before the deadline for your re-registration period, USCIS reminds you to follow the guidance on our TPS web page under “Filing Late.”

If you file your TPS re-registration application late, you must submit a letter that explains your reason for filing late with your application. USCIS may accept the late re-registration TPS application if you have good cause for filing after the re-registration period for your country ends. Even if USCIS accepts your late re-registration, processing may be delayed and can lead to gaps in your work authorization.

The law requires USCIS to withdraw TPS for failure to re-register without good cause. Therefore, if you fail to re-register, you may lose your TPS, work authorization, and protection from removal from the United States.

Additional information on TPS—including guidance on eligibility, the application process, where to file, and filing late—is available online at uscis.gov/tps.

A recipient of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) who had entered the U.S. without inspection was eligible to adjust to lawful permanent resident status because his receipt of TPS satisfied the “admission” requirement of the adjustment of status statute.

Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson announced his decision to designate Nepal for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for 18 months based on the conditions resulting from the devastating magnitude 7.8 earthquake that struck Nepal on April 25, 2015, and the subsequent aftershocks. As a result, eligible nationals of Nepal residing in the United States may apply for TPS with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). The Federal Register notice published today provides details and procedures for applying for TPS.

The TPS designation for Nepal is effective today, June 24, 2015, and will be in effect through December 24, 2016. The designation means that, during the designated period, eligible nationals of Nepal (and people without nationality who last habitually resided in Nepal) will not be removed from the United States and may receive an Employment Authorization Document (EAD). The 180-day TPS registration period begins June 24, 2015 and runs through December 21, 2015.

To be eligible for TPS, applicants must demonstrate that they satisfy all eligibility criteria, including that they have been both “continuously physically present” and “continuously residing” in the United States since June 24, 2015. Applicants also undergo thorough security checks. Individuals with certain criminal records or who pose a threat to national security are not eligible for TPS. The eligibility requirements are fully described in the Federal Register notices and on the TPS Web page at www.uscis.gov/tps.

Applicants may request that USCIS waive any or all TPS-related fees based on inability to pay by filing Form I-912, Request for Fee Waiver, or by submitting a written request. Fee-waiver requests must be accompanied by supporting documentation. USCIS will reject any TPS application that does not include the required filing fee or a properly documented fee-waiver request. All USCIS forms are free.

Due to the outbreak of Ebola virus disease in West Africa, Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson designated Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone for TPS for 18 months, effective November 21, 2014, through May 21, 2016. As a result, eligible nationals of Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone (and people without nationality who last habitually resided in one of those three countries) may apply for TPS if they have continuously resided in the United States since November 20, 2014, and meet other eligibility requirements.

The 180-day registration period to apply began on November 21, 2014, and ends on May 20, 2015. Individuals granted TPS will not be removed from the United States, as long as their TPS remains in effect, and they may obtain an Employment Authorization Document (EAD). You can find more information in the Federal Register notices published Nov. 21, 2014, and at uscis.gov/tps.

Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson has extended Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for eligible nationals of Somalia (and eligible individuals without nationality who last habitually resided in Somalia) for an additional 18 months, effective Sept. 18, 2015, through March 17, 2017.

Current TPS Somalia beneficiaries seeking to extend their TPS must re-register during the 60-day re-registration period that runs from June 1, 2015, through July 31, 2015. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) encourages beneficiaries to re-register as soon as possible once the 60-day re-registration period begins. USCIS will not accept applications before June 1, 2015.

The 18-month extension also allows TPS re-registrants to apply for a new Employment Authorization Document (EAD). Eligible TPS Somalia beneficiaries who re-register during the 60-day period and request a new EAD will receive one with an expiration date of March, 17, 2017.

To re-register, current TPS beneficiaries must submit:

• Form I-821, Application for Temporary Protected Status (Re-registrants do not need to pay the Form I-821 application fee).
• The biometrics services fee (or a fee waiver request) if they are 14 years old or older.
• Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization, regardless of whether they want an EAD.
• The Form I-765 application fee or a fee waiver request, but only if they want an EAD. If the re-registrant does not want an EAD, no application fee is required.

Applicants may request that USCIS waive the Form I-765 application fee and/or biometrics fee based on an inability to pay. To do so, applicants must file a Form I-912, Request for Fee Waiver, or submit a written request. Fee waiver requests must be accompanied by supporting documentation. USCIS will reject the TPS application of any applicant who fails to submit the required filing fees or a properly documented fee waiver request.

All USCIS forms are free.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) invites you to participate in a listening session on Thursday, June 25, from 2:30 to 4 p.m. (Eastern) to provide feedback on a proposed “significant public benefit” parole program for entrepreneurs. This is one of the executive actions on immigration announced by President Obama on November 20, 2014.

Under this proposed initiative, and based on the Secretary’s existing statutory parole authority, Department of Homeland Security may extend parole, on a case-by-case basis, to eligible founders of start-up enterprises who may not yet qualify for a national interest waiver, but who:

• Have been awarded substantial U.S. investor financing; or
• Otherwise hold the promise of innovation and job creation through the development of new technologies or the pursuit of cutting-edge research.

During the listening session, USCIS officials will seek your input on this initiative. We also encourage you to submit answers to the attached questions, either before or after the engagement. Send your responses to Public.Engagement@uscis.dhs.gov.

Washington D.C. - Today, Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson released a statement on plans to make “substantial changes” to the agency’s family detention policies. The following is a statement, in response, from Ben Johnson, Executive Director of the American Immigration Council.

“The United States has a long, proud history of being a beacon of hope and refuge to people fleeing violence and persecution in their home countries. The act of coming to the United States to seek protection is not illegal or criminal. Not only do our laws ensure that those fleeing persecution may apply for asylum, but the United States has entered into treaties with other countries to ensure the protection of refugees. Offering protections to those who arrive here seeking asylum is who we are as a nation. Yet, for the past year, the Obama Administration has treated thousands of women and children asylum seekers arriving at our borders as criminals. They have been locked up in remote detention facilities run by private prison corporations, at great financial and human cost. Through our legal work on the ground, we have witnessed first-hand how little due process and compassion is being afforded to the women and children in our care.

“Today, Secretary Johnson announced a new family detention policy that we hope represents a major step toward ensuring a fair process for those families seeking protection in the United States. According to the Secretary, the agency will work toward ending long-term detention of families by implementing a plan to quickly process families seeking asylum and then to release them on ‘appropriate’ bonds or other conditions while they await their hearings in immigration court. We look forward to seeing the details of this plan and will watch closely to see how the plan is implemented.

“Unfortunately, the Secretary continues to express the Administration’s belief that family detention can be justified and reformed. It cannot. Family detention is unjust, inhumane and incompatible with our nation’s values and our international obligations. While we welcome today’s announcement, we will continue to advocate for ending the practice of jailing asylum seekers.”

El Secretario del Departamento de Seguridad Nacional, Jeh Johnson, anunció su decisión de designar a Nepal al Estatus de Protección Temporal (TPS) durante 18 meses, a base de las condiciones resultantes del devastador terremoto de magnitud 7.8 y posteriores réplicas que afectaron a Nepal el pasado 25 de abril. Como resultado, los nacionales elegibles de Nepal que están en los Estados Unidos pueden solicitar TPS ante el Servicio de Ciudadanía e Inmigración de Estados Unidos (USCIS, por sus siglas en inglés). La notificación del Registro Federal publicada hoy proporciona detalles y procedimientos para solicitar TPS.

La designación de TPS para Nepal es efectiva hoy, el 24 de junio de 2015, y estará vigente hasta el 24 de diciembre de 2016. La designación significa que nacionales elegibles de Nepal (y personas sin nacionalidad cuya última residencia habitual era en Nepal) no serán removidos de los Estados Unidos y podrían recibir un Documento de Autorización de Empleo (EAD, por sus siglas en inglés). El período de 180 días de registro al TPS comienza hoy y se extenderá hasta el 21 de diciembre de 2015.

Para ser elegibles al TPS, los solicitantes deben demostrar que cumplen todos los criterios de admisibilidad, incluyendo haber estado “continuamente presentes físicamente” y “continuamente residiendo” en los Estados Unidos desde el 24 de junio de 2015. Los solicitantes también deben someterse a una verificación de antecedentes. Las personas con antecedentes penales o aquellos que representen una amenaza a la seguridad nacional no son elegibles al TPS. Los requisitos de admisibilidad están completamente descritos en la notificación del Registro Federal y en la página web de TPS en www.uscis.gov/es/tps.

Los solicitantes pueden pedir que USCIS les exima del pago de una o todas las tarifa de presentación relacionadas con TPS, basándose en su incapacidad de pago, presentando el Formulario I-912, Petición de Exención de Tarifas o por medio de una petición por escrito. Las peticiones de exención de tarifas deben estar acompañadas de documentación de evidencia. USCIS rechazará cualquier solicitud a TPS que no incluya el pago de tarifa requerido o una petición de exención de tarifas previamente documentada.

• Parole does not guarantee return
• CBP officers can revoke parole
• Parole is not an admission
• Other grounds of inadmissibility may bar return