The Business Immigration Monthly is Hammond Law Group’s 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. News items will be of particular interest to those in the Healthcare, IT and staffing industries.
July Visa Bulletin
The Department of State has released the July Visa Bulletin. In line with last month’s retrogression of India EB2 numbers, the Department of State announced that "[i]t has been necessary to retrogress the Mexico Family First and Third preference cut-off dates, as well as the China Employment Second preference cut-off date for July to keep visa issuances within those annual category numerical limits." EB2 China has been moved back five years to January 2000.
http://travel.state.gov/visa/frvi/bulletin/bulletin_4512.html
H-1b Cap Not Reached Yet!!!
As of June 19th, USCIS announced that it has received 44,500 H-1B petitions counting toward the Congressionally-mandated 65,000 cap; ironically this is less than was previously received from the count taken on May 29th that noted the receipt of 45,800 petitions. USCIS continues to accept regular cap-subject H-1B cases.
The Masters cap has received the full subscription of 20,000 petitions. USCIS continues to accept Masters cases since their experience is that not all accepted cases will be approvable.
http://www.uscis.gov/
USCIS Reinstates Premium Processing for I-140's
The USCIS announced today that effective June 29th it will resume Premium Processing Service for the Form I-140. The USCIS will accept Premium Processing requests for Form I-140 Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker, involving EB-1 Aliens with Extraordinary Ability, 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. Premium Processing Service is still not available for Form I-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker, involving EB-1 Multinational Executives and Managers and EB-2 Members of Professions with Advanced Degrees or Exceptional Ability seeking a National Interest Waiver. Under premium processing, for an additional $1000 filing the USCIS will process the case (i.e. approve, deny, issue an RFE) within 10-15 days after filing. For more information, please contact your HLG attorney.
http://www.uscis.gov/
USCIS Announces Green Card Production Delays
USCIS has announced that applicants may experience up to an eight week delay in the delivery of their permanent resident card (Green Cards) while the Service is in the process of upgrading their card production equipment. USCIS Field Offices will be issuing temporary evidence of permanent residence in the form of an I-551 stamp to applicants approved for permanent residence at the time of their interview. It is highly recommended that applicants take their passports to their appointments. If you do not have a passport, you must bring a passport style photo and government issued photo identification to receive temporary evidence of permanent residence.
If the application is approved subsequent to your interview or by a Service Center or the National Benefit Center, the applicant should bring the above documents to an INFOPASS appointment to be issued temporary evidence of permanent residence in the form of an I-551 stamp.
http://www.uscis.gov/
USCIS and FBI Eliminate National Name Check Backlog
The USCIS, in partnership with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), has met all milestones set forth in a joint business plan announced April 2, 2008, resulting in the elimination of the FBI National Name Check Program (NNCP) backlog. “Our close partnership with the FBI has resulted in the accomplishment of this significant achievement with national security as its foundation,” said USCIS Acting Deputy Director Michael Aytes. “This continued working relationship will help to ensure that name check processing is accomplished as quickly as possible without compromising security concerns.”
In the majority of cases, the completion of a backlogged FBI name check has resulted in a “no record response” which has enabled the USCIS to resume normal processing of most cases. Next steps in the adjudication of cases that were previously delayed as a result a pending FBI name check request may now include updating fingerprint results, scheduling interviews, requesting additional evidence and other reviews to determine whether the applicant is eligible for the requested immigration benefit. For more information see USCIS press release here:
http://www.uscis.gov/files/article/NNCP_backlog_elim_22jun09.pdf
eVerify Rule for Federal Contractors Delayed
Implementation of the final rule requiring federal contractors and subcontractors to begin using the E-Verify system to verify the eligibility of their employees has been delayed until Sept. 8, 2009. An amendment was published in the Federal Register on June 5, 2009, postponing the applicability of the final rule until Sept. 8, 2009.
http://www.uscis.gov/
Old LCA Operational Until June 30, 2009
The Department of Labor has informed AILA liaison that they will keep the old LCA system operational through June 30, 2009. The DOL has implemented fixes to many of the issues brought to their attention by AILA and other stakeholders thus far. The decision to keep the old LCA system operational will allow the DOL to continue to evaluate issues brought to their attention and to give users additional time to become familiar with the system. The new LCA system became operational on April 15, 2009.
http://icert.doleta.gov/
Brain Drain Results from Rigid Immigration Rules
In an article from David Lawsky entitled “U.S. immigration rules blamed for tech brain drain,” Lawsky looks at the recent “brain drain” facing the headquarters of the tech industry, Silicon Valley. He writes, “Silicon Valley is facing a brain drain of high-achieving foreign-born students, more of whom are leaving in the face of a chilly local immigration environment in a trend experts say will hurt U.S. high-tech industry competitiveness in the long run.” Increasing wait times for permanent residence in conjunction with a bad US economy and attractive overseas employment options have lead many foreign-born students to depart the US following completion of their studies. This exodus have lead many to wonder about the future of Silicon Valley; as Lawsky comments, “This is depriving the Valley—often called the cradle of global tech innovation—the fresh blood it needs to remain at the vanguard of hot new industries such as clean technology.” For full article see:
http://www.reuters.com/article/marketsNews/idUSN237877620090623
Favorable Result for OT's and PT's
The USCIS released a memorandum to adjudicators regarding processing of H-1b's for healthcare workers. The memorandum instructs officers to not look past the license and "the beneficiary will be considered to meet the qualifications to perform services in a specialty occupation”.
http://www.uscis.gov/files/nativedocuments/health_care_occupations_20may09.pdf
Action for OT' and PT' Denials
The USCIS has said they will accept motions to re-open for denied OT and PT cases on the "Master's degree" issue even if it is beyond the 30 day filing deadline for a motion to re-open. Unfortunately, the USCIS has not yet agreed to waive the filing fee for a motion to re-open.
www.USCIS.gov
DOL Releases PERM Statistics
The Department of Labor has released statistics this month regarding PERM Processing. About 58,000 applications are currently pending. Of these, 54% are under final review, 38% are in audits, 6% on appeal, and the remainder are awaiting business existence checks or other information.
http://www.plc.doleta.gov
HLG's Sherry Neal to Publish Healthcare Article
AILA is publishing an article by Sherry Neal in its upcoming book, Nurses and Allied Healthcare Workers. The book is expected to be released later this year and sold through www.aila.org. |
