Skip to main content
U.S. flag
An official website of the United States government    Here's how you know
Official Government Website

Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

Secure Website

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock ( A locked padlock ) or https:// means you've safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Español
Multilingual Resources
U.S. Department of Homeland Security Seal, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services
 
Sign In  
Access USCIS online services.
  • Sign In
  • Create Account
Sign In
Create Account
  • Topics

    • Family

      • Family of Green Card Holders (Permanent Residents)
      • Family of Refugees and Asylees
      • Family of U.S. Citizens
    • Adoption

      • Before You Start
      • Immigration through Adoption
    • Military

      • Citizenship for Military Family Members
      • Naturalization Through Military Service
    • Humanitarian

      • Humanitarian Parole
      • Refugees and Asylum
      • Temporary Protected Status
    • Visit the U.S.

      • Change My Nonimmigrant Status
      • Extend Your Stay
    • Working in the United States

      • Permanent Workers
      • Temporary (Nonimmigrant) Workers
      • E-Verify
      • I-9 Central
    • Avoid Scams

      • Common Scams
      • Find Legal Services
      • Report Immigration Scams
    • Careers at USCIS

      • Career Opportunities
      • Special Hiring Programs
  • Forms

    • Most Accessed Forms

      • I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification
      • I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status
      • I-765, Application for Employment Authorization
      • I-90, Application to Replace Permanent Resident Card (Green Card)
      • N-400, Application for Naturalization
    • Family Based Forms

      • I-129F, Petition for Alien Fiancé(e)
      • I-130, Petition for Alien Relative
      • I-360, Petition for Amerasian, Widow(er), or Special Immigrant
      • I-600, Petition to Classify Orphan as an Immediate Relative
      • I-751, Petition to Remove Conditions on Residence
    • All Forms

    • File Online

    • Employment Based Forms

      • I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker
      • I-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Workers
      • I-526, Immigrant Petition by Standalone Investor
      • I-539, Application to Extend/Change Nonimmigrant Status
    • Humanitarian Based Forms

      • I-589, Application for Asylum and for Withholding of Removal
      • I-730, Refugee/Asylee Relative Petition
      • I-821, Application for Temporary Protected Status
  • Newsroom

    • All News

      • Alerts
      • Fact Sheets
      • News Releases
    • Media Contacts

    • Multimedia Gallery

    • Social Media Directory

    • Speeches, Statements, Testimony

  • Citizenship

    • Learners

      • Apply for Citizenship
      • Learn About Citizenship
      • Naturalization Test and Study Resources
    • Educators

      • Educational Products for Educators
      • Resources for Educational Programs
      • Teacher Training Sessions
    • Organizations

      • Outreach Tools
      • Naturalization-Related Data and Statistics
    • Grants

      • Success Stories from Grant Recipients
  • Green Card

    • Green Card Processes and Procedures

      • Adjustment of Status
      • After We Grant Your Green Card
      • Employment Authorization Document
      • Visa Availability and Priority Dates
    • Green Card Eligibility Categories

    • How to Apply for a Green Card

    • Replace Your Green Card

    • While Your Green Card Application Is Pending with USCIS

  • Laws

    • Legislation

      • Immigration and Nationality Act
    • Class Action, Settlement Notices and Agreements

    • Unlawful Presence and Inadmissibility

    • Policy Manual

    • Regulations

    • Administrative Appeals

  • Tools

    • Alien Registration Requirement

    • Self-Help Tools

      • Check Case Processing Times
      • Case Status Online
      • Change of Address
      • E-Request
      • Password Resets and Technical Support
    • Website Resources

      • Archive
      • A-Z Index
      • Website Policies
    • Additional Resources

      • Explore my Options
      • Immigration and Citizenship Data
      • Multilingual Resource Center
      • USCIS Tools and Resources
  • Contact us
  • Multilingual Resources
Main navigation
Skip to main content
  • Records
    • Electronic Reading Room
    • Freedom of Information and Privacy Act (FOIA)
    • Genealogy
      • Historical Record Series
      • Searching the Index
      • Requesting Records
      • Genealogy Notebook
      • Genealogical Records Help
Breadcrumb
  1. Home
  2. Records
  3. Electronic Reading Room

Electronic Reading Room

The USCIS Electronic Reading Room provides access to information identified under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). We will update the Electronic Reading Room when documents are requested 3 or more times, or when we proactively identify documents likely requested for release.

Related Links:

  • Video: FOIA Online Services
  • Immigration Policy and Procedural Memoranda
  • Immigration and Citizenship Data
  • Department of Homeland Security FOIA
  • AAO Decisions

Accessibility Note:
The PDFs from this section of our website may not be fully accessible under Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act. If you need assistance, call 800-375-5283 or send a request to FOIAPAQuestions@uscis.dhs.gov with the subject line "FOIA Disability Accommodations." Please include your name, phone number and the document you need to access. A representative from our office will contact you to address your needs.

Use double quotation marks to search for a specific phrase, e.g. "green card"
Temporary (Nonimmigrant) Workers
April 24, 2025
In order for you to come to the United States lawfully as a nonimmigrant to work temporarily, your prospective employer must generally file a nonimmigrant petition on your behalf with USCIS.
Administrative Hold on All USCIS Benefit Requests Filed by Parolees Under U4U, CHNV or FRP (PDF, 227.91 KB)
February 14, 2025
This memorandum authorizes an immediate USCIS-wide administrative hold on all pending benefit requests filed by aliens who are or were paroled into the United States under the U4U, CHNV, or FRP processes pending the completion of additional vetting flags in ELIS to identity any fraud, public safety, or national security concerns.
Firm Resettlement LP (RAIO) (PDF, 620.96 KB)
February 05, 2025
This module provides an overview of the firm resettlement bars for asylum and refugee resettlement. The module addresses the similarities and differences between these two bars and their exceptions. This module also includes an explanation of the BIA’s four-step framework for analyzing evidence under the firm resettlement bar.
IRFA (International Religious Freedom Act) and Religious Persecution LP (RAIO) (PDF, 643.04 KB)
February 05, 2025
This module introduces you to the International Religious Freedom Act (IRFA) and the responsibilities that the Act creates for adjudicating protection claims. The training you receive will also be useful in adjudicating immigration benefits, petitions, and other immigration-related requests. Through reading and discussing country conditions information, you will increase your awareness of religious freedom issues around the world. Through discussion and practical exercises, you will learn how to conduct an interview and adjudicate a claim with a religious freedom issue.
Interviewing - Eliciting Testimony LP (RAIO) (PDF, 609.43 KB)
February 05, 2025
Through discussion and practical exercises, this training module instructs students on how to elicit information from an interviewee in a non-adversarial manner: how to probe appropriately to elicit necessary information, the types of questions to ask, and questioning techniques to use.
Reading and Using Case Law LP (RAIO) (PDF, 564.12 KB)
February 05, 2025
Refugee Definition LP (RAIO) (PDF, 462.72 KB)
January 30, 2025
This module discusses the definition of a refugee as codified in the Immigration and Nationality Act and its interpretation in administrative and judicial case law.
Overview of UNHCR and Concepts of Refugee Protection LP (RAIO) (PDF, 585.57 KB)
January 30, 2025
This module describes the development of international protection of refugees and other individuals over the course of the 20th century and explains the role of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and other international actors in providing this protection. The module describes the elements of international protection, who is in need of international protection, and who provides international protection. Lastly, this module explains the role UNHCR plays in relation to the United States regarding U.S. refugee resettlement, asylum, and other protection issues.
Core Values and Guiding Principles for RAIO Employees LP (RAIO) (PDF, 510.4 KB)
January 30, 2025
This module provides an overview of the RAIO Directorate, its structure, mission, core values, and guiding principles.
Trafficking LP (RAIO) (PDF, 732.49 KB)
January 30, 2025
This module provides guidelines for adjudicating requests for benefits by victims of trafficking. Issues addressed include indicators that may demonstrate an individual is a victim of trafficking, specific assistance and benefits available to victims of trafficking as well as guidelines for sensitive interview techniques.
Well-Founded Fear LP (RAIO) (PDF, 576.16 KB)
January 30, 2025
This module discusses the definition of a refugee as codified in the Immigration and Nationality Act and its interpretation in administrative and judicial case law. The primary focus of this module is the determination as to whether an applicant has established a reasonable possibility of suffering future harm in the country of nationality or last habitual residence.
COI LP (RAIO) (PDF, 615.08 KB)
January 30, 2025
This module provides guidelines on the use of Country of Origin Information (COI) in adjudicating immigration benefits, petitions, protection determinations, and other immigration-related requests. Through demonstrations and computer-based practical exercises, you will gain experience in conducting COI research on the Intranet and Internet for use in adjudications.
Cross-Cultural Communications LP (RAIO) (PDF, 430.24 KB)
January 30, 2025
Through interactive communication exercises, this module describes how cultural differences may create barriers to effective communication and provides techniques for recognizing and overcoming those barriers.
Persecution LP (RAIO) (PDF, 698.18 KB)
January 30, 2025
This module discusses the definition of persecution and the determination as to whether an act constitutes persecution.
Nexus and the Protected Grounds (minus PSG) LP (RAIO) (PDF, 763.17 KB)
January 30, 2025
Discretion LP (RAIO) (PDF, 455.31 KB)
January 27, 2025
This module provides guidelines for adjudicating immigration benefits or other immigration-related requests that are subject to the discretion of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The module addresses the basis for determining when discretion is warranted and for performing the legal analysis of claims that involve discretion.
Permanent Workers
January 24, 2025
Employment-Based VisasApproximately 140,000 immigrant visas are available each fiscal year for aliens (and their spouses and children) who seek to immigrate based on their job skills. These employment-based immigrant visas are allocated among 5 preference categories that are summarized in the chart below. If you have the right combination of skills, education, and/or work experience and are otherwise eligible, you may be able to live permanently in the United States.Some immigrant visa preference categories require you to have a permanent job offer from a U.S. employer. This employer will be considered your sponsor/petitioner and will file an immigrant petition with USCIS on your behalf. If no job offer is required, you may file a petition on your own behalf.For more information, see Employment-Based Adjustment of Status FAQs.Labor CertificationFor the second and third preference categories (see chart below), before the U.S. employer can file an immigrant petition with USCIS, the employer must generally obtain a labor certification from the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL). The labor certification verifies the following:
H-2B Visas - Senator King (PDF, 1.27 MB)
January 15, 2025
Correspondence requesting the maximum allowable number of additional H-2B visas for Fiscal Year 2025.
CNMI-Only Nonimmigrant Transitional Workers (CW-1) - Congressman Sablan (PDF, 627.05 KB)
January 15, 2025
Correspondence requesting a grace period for Marianas employers whose timely-filed applications remain pending.
Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Lebanon - Senator Cotton (PDF, 1.63 MB)
January 15, 2025
Correspondence requesting TPS be rescinded for Lebanese nationals.
H-2B Visas - Representative Harris (PDF, 789.17 KB)
January 15, 2025
Correspondence requesting supplemental H-2B visas for Fiscal Year 2025.
Temporary Protected Status (TPS) and Deferred Enforced Departure (DED) for Lebanon - Chairman Peters (PDF, 903.46 KB)
January 15, 2025
Correspondence requesting designation of Lebanon for TPS and guidance on implementation of DED. 
Temporary Protected Status (TPS) and Deferred Enforced Departure (DED) for Guatemala - Representative Correa (PDF, 1.65 MB)
January 15, 2025
Correspondence requesting designation of Guatemala for TPS or the authorization of DED for Guatemalan nationals in the United States. 
Temporary Protected Status (TPS) and Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) - Senator Cortez Masto (PDF, 347.57 KB)
January 14, 2025
Correspondence regarding TPS, DACA, and H-1B visas. 
Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Nicaragua and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) - Bishop Seitz (PDF, 464.96 KB)
January 13, 2025
Correspondence requesting the extension and redesignation of Nicaragua for TPS, the initial TPS designation of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), and the extension and redesignation of other TPS countries. 
1 - 25 of 2063 total rows
Pagination
  • Previous
  • Next

RSS Feed
Was this page helpful?
0 / 2000
To protect your privacy, please do not include any personal information in your feedback. Review our Privacy Policy.
Return to top
  • Topics
  • Forms
  • Newsroom
  • Citizenship
  • Green Card
  • Laws
  • Tools
U.S. Department of Homeland Security Seal, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services
Facebook
X, formerly known as Twitter
YouTube
Instagram
LinkedIn
Email
Contact USCIS
U.S. Department of Homeland Security Seal
Agency description

USCIS.gov

An official website of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security

Important links
  • About USCIS
  • Accessibility
  • Budget and Performance
  • DHS Components
  • Freedom of Information Act
  • No FEAR Act Data
  • Privacy and Legal Disclaimers
  • Site Map
  • Office of the Inspector General
  • The White House
  • USA.gov
Looking for U.S. government information and services?
Visit USA.gov