The Department of State announces the opening of the registration period for the DV-2011 Diversity Visa lottery. Entries for the DV-2011 Diversity Visa lottery must be submitted electronically between noon, Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) (GMT-4), Friday, October 2, 2009, and noon, Eastern Standard Time (EST) (GMT-5), Monday, November 30, 2009. Applicants may access the electronic Diversity Visa entry form (E-DV) at www.dvlottery.state.gov during the registration period. Paper entries will not be accepted. Applicants are strongly encouraged not to wait until the last week of the registration period to enter. Heavy demand may result in website delays. No entries will be accepted after noon EST on November 30, 2009.

The congressionally mandated Diversity Immigrant Visa Program is administered on an annual basis by the Department of State and conducted under the terms of Section 203(c) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). Section 131 of the Immigration Act of 1990 (Pub. L. 101-649) amended INA 203 and provides for a class of immigrants known as “diversity immigrants.” Section 203(c) of the INA provides a maximum of 55,000 Diversity Visas (DVs) each fiscal year to be made available to persons from countries with low rates of immigration to the United States. Check more detail at http://www.dvlottery.state.gov  Diversity Visa Program

 For immigrants, Kennedy remained tireless advocate

BOSTON – Before 1965, Leticia Hermosa had little chance of crossing the Pacific to the U.S. from the Philippines. Hermosa, a nurse, and others like her just couldn’t get through the strict U.S., which favored Western Europeans and essentially excluded those from Asia and Latin America. But after Sen. Edward Kennedy pushed through the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965, the door opened for her to immigrate in 1973 to Boston, where she eventually finished school, got a law degree and became a U.S. citizen…, read more on immigration and nationality act of 1965 Many people felt the lose of Senator Kennedy. May his spirit live in the hearts of those he touched and left behind.

This is an excellent idea that USCIS has introduced.  It will make many foreigners have an idea of what is going on with the process of their papers.

USCIS Update: Case Status Inquiries with the Service Centers

WASHINGTON - U. S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has issued instructions on making inquiries with the agency’s four Service Centers. Customers, community-based organizations and liaison groups should follow this guidance when inquiring about case related issues. This new process standardizes customer service and streamlines processing of customer inquiries at USCIS Service Centers. The step-by-step instructions are as follows:

Step 1: Contact the National Customer Service Center (NCSC) at 1-800-375-5283. The NCSC can assist customers, community-based organizations and liaison groups with case related inquiries. Before calling the NCSC please have available your receipt number, alien registration number, type of application filed and date filed. During your call we recommend that you take note of the following information:

• The name and/or id number of the NCSC representative
• The date and time of the call
• Any service request referral number, if a service referral on a pending case is taken

Step 2: If more than 30 days have passed since you contacted the NCSC and the issue has not been resolved or explained you can email the proper USCIS Service Center to check the status of your case.

• California Service Center: csc-ncsc-followup@dhs.gov
• Vermont Service Center: vsc.ncscfollowup@dhs.gov
• Nebraska Service Center: ncscfollowup.nsc@dhs.gov
• Texas Service Center: tsc.ncscfollowup@dhs.gov

Please note: Emails should be sent to the Service Center that has jurisdiction over your case. The receipt notice will indicate EAC for the Vermont Service Center, SRC for the Texas Service Center, LIN for the Nebraska Service Center, and WAC for the California Service Center.

When contacting the Service Centers by email you will need to provide the information outlined in Step 1. If the NCSC did not issue a service request after your call, please indicate the reason the NCSC representative did not issue the request.

Step 3: In the event you do not receive a response within 21 days of contacting the appropriate Service Center, you may email the USCIS Headquarters Office of Service Center Operations by email at: SCOPSSCATA@dhs.gov. You will receive a response from this email address within ten days.

For more information on USCIS and its programs, please visit our homepage – www.uscis.gov

New Naturalization Test:

In the interest of creating a more standardized, fair, and meaningful naturalization process, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) recently completed a multi-year redesign of the naturalization test. The revised test, with an emphasis on the fundamental concepts of American democracy and the rights and responsibilities of citizenship, will help encourage citizenship applicants to learn and identify with the basic values we all share as Americans.

Redesign Process
The major aim of the redesign process was to ensure that naturalization applicants have uniform, consistent testing experiences nationwide, and that the civics test can effectively assess whether applicants have a meaningful understanding of U.S. government and history. Following a basic U.S. history and civics curriculum, the new test now serves as an important instrument to encourage civic learning and patriotism among prospective citizens.

To accomplish these goals, USCIS initially piloted a new test–with an overhauled English reading and writing section, as well as new history and government questions–in ten sites across the country. The feedback from this pilot was then used to finalize testing procedures, English reading and writing prompts, and a list of 100 new history and government questions. To ensure the pilot accounted for a representative sample of candidates with a variety of education levels, the test was also piloted at adult education sites nationwide. 

Which Test Do I Take?

An applicant who:

·        Files* the Application for Naturalization, Form N-400, BEFORE October 1, 2008, and is scheduled for his or her naturalization interview ON or AFTER October 1, 2008 up until October 1, 2009, can choose to take the old test or the new test.

·        Files* the Application for Naturalization, Form N-400, ON or AFTER October 1, 2008, will take the new test.

·        Is scheduled for his or her naturalization interview ON or AFTER October 1, 2009, regardless of when he or she filed* the Application for Naturalization, Form N-400, will take the new test.

*The Application for Naturalization, Form N-400, is properly filed with USCIS on the date it is received by the appropriate USCIS location with signature, correct fee, and the form is completed according to instructions.

Note: If an applicant fails the English and/or civics test during the first examination, the applicant will be required to take the same version of the test, old or new, when the applicant is retested, even if the retest is scheduled on or after October 1, 2009.

New Naturalization Test: Vocabulary List for the English Reading Test 

New Naturalization Test: Reading Vocabulary Flash Cards

New Naturalization Test: Vocabulary List for the English Writing Test

New Naturalization Test: Writing Vocabulary Flash Cards

New Naturalization Test: Civics (History and Government) Questions with MP3 Audio

New Naturalization Test: Civics (History and Government) Questions (English Version)

New Naturalization Test: Civics (History and Government) Questions (Spanish Version

New Naturalization Test: Civics (History and Government) Questions (Chinese Version) 

New Naturalization Test: Civics (History and Government) Questions (Tagalog Version) For more info click here: http://www.uscis.gov/newtest or go to www.uscis.gov