U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has announced that beginning February 18, 2015, it will accept applications for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) under the new extension of the program announced in November 2014.

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The Department of State issued the February 2015 Visa Bulletin. EB-3 has advanced in all categories, particularly EB-3 Rest-of-World, China, Mexico and the Philippines. EB-2 China and EB-2 India have also advanced.

The House passed a bill today that would fund the Department of Homeland Security through September 2015, but will block funding for the Executive Action programs announced by President Obama in November 2014, including the Deferred Action for Parental Accountability (DAPA) program, and the extension of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program that reaches more individuals than the original 2012 DACA program. As the bill makes its way to the Senate, Democrats have vowed to stop these contested parts of the DHS Appropriations bill to ensure that they do not survive.

On Friday, House Republicans introduced legislation to fund the Department of Homeland Security but stop the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program implemented in 2012, and the new executive actions announced by President Obama in November 2014, including the Deferred Action for Parental Accountability (DAPA) program. The legislation is not expected to pass the Senate and is intended to be a symbolic gesture to show how far Republicans are willing to go to contest actions taken by President Obama, according to the New York Times.

The Department of Homeland Security has announced that Temporary Protected Status (TPS) has been redesignated and the TPS period has been extended for 18 months for Syrians.