OUTSIDE THE BOX THINKING, DELIVERING CUTTING EDGE SOLUTIONS!

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MVP Law Group, P.A. makes available the information and materials in this forum for informational purposes only. The information is general in nature and does not constitute legal advice or any contractual obligations. Further, the use of this site, and the sending or receipt of this information, does not create an attorney-client relationship between us. Therefore, your communication with us through this forum will not be considered as privileged or confidential.

Question #1 – Business Visitor Visa

How long can someone stay in US on a Business Visa (B1/B2)?

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The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will be holding a Teleconference on Monday, November 19, 2018 from 1 to 2 p.m. (Eastern). This event is entitled “EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program: Public Engagement”. The first half of the Teleconference will include a discussion of updates to the EB-5 Program and the second half will include a question and answer session.

Event Information:

DATE: Monday, November 19, 2018

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The Department of State has released its latest Visa Bulletin.

Click the link to view the December 2018 Visa Bulletin

The monthly Visa Bulletin has changed. The bulletin now summarizes the availability of immigrant numbers during the reported month for: “Application Final Action Dates” (consistent with prior Visa Bulletins) and “Dates for Filing Applications,” indicating when immigrant visa applicants should be notified to assemble and submit required documentation to the National Visa Center using Consular Processing (outside of the US) or file on their own with USCIS Form I-485 (within the US).

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We wanted to find a new way to engage our reader base. Every other Friday, we will post the ten (10) best/most frequently asked questions received during the week from our h1bvisalawyerblog, Facebook, and Twitter readers. We will answer those questions and provide the Q&A on our H-1B Visa Lawyer Blog.

If you have a burning question, are seeking assistance with a difficult immigration related case, wish to discuss your views on Comprehensive Immigration Reform, DREAMers, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, priority dates, the monthly visa bulletin, adjustment applications, etc., please contact us by submitting your question/comment/viewpoint in our comment box provided on our H-1B Visa Lawyer Blog.

Our next “Q & A Forum” will take place this Friday, November 16, 2018. Act now and submit your questions!

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The Board of Alien Labor Certification Appeals (BALCA) recently affirmed the decision of a Certifying Officer (CO) to deny labor certification for the position of “Instructional Coordinator: Computer Cluster.”

After receiving & reviewing an Employer’s Application for Permanent Labor Certification, the CO issued an Audit notification. Once the Employer responded, the CO denied certification of the application. He stated the position communicated in its recruitment efforts did not match the one listed on the Employer’s ETA Form 9089 in violation of PERM Regulation 20 CFR 656.17(f)(7). This regulation requires that an advertisement “must not contain wages or terms and conditions of employment which are less favorable than those offered to the alien.”

The employer’s ETA form 9089 contained the following language, not listed in any of its recruitment efforts – “occasional day travel within San Antonio Metropolitan area and/or to Corpus Christi, Texas. No Overnights.” The Employer sent a reconsideration request to the CO. In its argument, the Employer argued that it did not violate 656.17(f)(7) because it did not mention any travel in its recruitment advertising. They also stated by “not listing a travel requirement it makes the terms and conditions of employment offered to US workers more favorable.” The CO affirmed its initial denial and forwarded the case to BALCA for review.

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The USCIS web site has a Virtual Assistant to help you with USCIS site specific searches. “Emma” is the name of the Virtual Assistant and she is located in the upper right corner of the USCIS website, right beside the normal search function.

Emma can answer your questions and even take you right to what you are looking for. Just click, “Ask a Question” or Emma’s picture and a text box will appear. Next, type in your question and hit the “Send” button to get your results.

Try it, it’s easy and the more everyone uses it – the smarter and more helpful it becomes!

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The American Immigration Council (AIC) has released all fifty states and the District of Columbia, for a total of fifty-one updated state-by-state fact sheets highlighting immigration data and facts. These fact sheets highlight the demographic and economic impact of Immigrants in each state.

With national immigration policy being discussed, we thought that it would be a good time to provide some statistics on the Immigrant population in the United States as provided by this AIC research. Once a week we will be posting a blog with information on three states at a time. This week we will highlight; Arkansas, California and Colorado!

The AIC has compiled research which shows that Immigrants are an essential part of each of these states’ economy, labor force and tax base. As our economy continues to grow, Immigrants and their children are a growing economic and political force as consumers, taxpayers and entrepreneurs. As United States economic continues to grow, immigrants and their children will continue to play a key role in shaping the economic and political future of each of these states.

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USCIS will start using their new Information Services Modernization Program in some of their field offices, beginning with the Detroit Field Office and five other offices in the Los Angeles District on November 1, 2018. Field offices in the Newark, Great Lakes, and the San Francisco areas will start using the program during the first quarter of FY2019 (Oct. 1, 2018 to Dec. 31, 2018) with all remaining field offices using the new Information Services Modernization Program by the end of FY2019 (Sept. 30, 2019).

“The Information Services Modernization Program ends self-scheduling of InfoPass appointments and instead encourages applicants to use USCIS online information resources to view general how-to information and check case statuses through the USCIS Contact Center. Recent improvements to online tools provide applicants the ability to obtain their case status and other immigration information without having to visit a local field office.” *USCIS

For further details please review the USCIS News Release, “USCIS to Expand Information Services Modernization Program to Key Locations“.

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You can now check USCIS processing times online at the USCIS web site. All you need to enter is your form number, and the office processing your case. USCIS has made processing times easier to understand and provide a more realistic date range.

 

Check Case Processing Times

 

The processing time range is how long it is taking for USCIS to process your type of case from the date they received it. USCIS processes cases in the order they receive them, and they normally update this information monthly. The estimated time range displayed is based on data captured over the last two months.