| | The Business Immigration Monthly is Hammond Law Group’s latest news eZine, directed at international workers and employers seeking the most up-to-date news on U.S. immigration issues, specifically those that impact workers on H, L, E, and O visas and workers seeking permanent residency.
NOVEMBER FEATURED ARTICLE
Hammond Law
Group, LLC Attorneys
DECEMBER VISA
BULLETIN RELEASED
The Department of State has released the December Visa Bulletin.
Unfortunately, the Bulletin shows little movement in any of the
categories.
See:
http://travel.state.gov/visa/frvi/bulletin/bulletin_3086.html
USCIS ALLOWS PREMIUM PROCESSING FOR EB-1 I-140
PETITIONS
Starting November 13, 2006, the USCIS has begun to accept premium
processing requests for Form I-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker,
involving EB-1 Aliens with Extraordinary Ability. Premium processing
allows a Petitioner to pay an extra $1000 filing fee in exchange for a
15-calendar-day processing time for their case.
Recently, the USCIS also opened up the premium processing option for other Form
I-140 categories including, EB-1 Outstanding Professors and Researchers,
EB-2 Members of Professions with Advanced Degrees or Exceptional Ability
not seeking a National Interest Waiver, EB-3 Professionals, EB-3 Skilled
Workers, and EB-3 Workers other than Skilled Workers and Professionals.
See:
http://www.uscis.gov/files/pressrelease/PremiumProcessingRelease_08No06.pdf
NONIMMIGRANT VISA ISSUANCE FEE ELIMINATED FOR
ALL INDIAN APPLICANTS
On
November 9th, the US Ambassador to India, David C. Mulford, announced
that the US has eliminated the $50 reciprocal issuance fee for all
immigrant visas for Indian citizens. This basically means a 33%
reduction in the cost of a visa. Visa applicants must still pay the $100
application fee at a designated HDFC bank branch prior to scheduling a
visa interview. “I hope it encourages more Indian business people and
tourists to travel to America,” comments Ambassador Mulford.
See:
http://mumbai.usconsulate.gov/pr110906.html
DOL ISSUES UPDATE ON REINSTATEMENT OF
ERRONEOUSLY WITHDRAWN BEC CASES
The DOL has announced that due to a technical glitch, a number of cases
which were inadvertently identified as pending PERM re-file applications
were withdrawn from the backlog centers. The DOL is working to
correct this error and reinstate these cases by the end of November
2006. The DOL further states that the reset cases will be returned to
their places in the processing queue and that original priority dates
will be retained. Although the affected employers will not be receiving
any additional notification of reinstatement, they can check the status
of their cases via the Public Disclosure System (PDS), starting December
1, 2006. The DOL encourages employers, employees, and attorneys not to
contact the BRCs regarding these cases until after December, and then
only if PDS is not accurately reflecting the status of the case.
See:
http://www.foreignlaborcert.doleta.gov/times.cfm
DOL IMPLEMENTS CHANGE TO PERM SYSTEM
In a recent posting on the PERM system, the DOL implemented a change to
the PERM system now displaying a “Warning” message when one or more
errors are triggered, thereby allowing customers the opportunity to
correct typographical errors or inadvertent omissions in the application
prior to submission for processing. This improvement will hopefully cut
down on the number of PERM denials resulting from inadvertent or
clerical errors.
See:
http://www.plc.doleta.gov/alert_message1.htm
USCIS LAUNCHES NEW WEBSITE
On November 1, 2006, the USCIS announced that they had replaced their
old website with a new, more efficient redesigned Web Portal available
at the same website address: www.uscis.gov. The improved website will
serve as a “one stop shop” for all information about the USCIS,
including forms, processing times, online Infopass appointments for
local offices, and recent USCIS news releases. The USCIS has
approximately 135,000 daily visits to their website, and a total of
nearly six million visits per month.
See:
http://www.uscis.gov/files/pressrelease/WebRelease_110106.pdf
HLG WOULD LIKE TO EXTEND ITS WARMEST WISHES TO YOU AND YOURS DURING
THIS HOLIDAY SEASON!!! | |
