On October 1, 2009, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) updated the count of H-1B petitions received and counted towards the 65,000 cap. As of September 25, 2009, 46,700 H-1B cap subject nonimmigrant visa petitions have been accepted by USCIS. The Service has advised that they will continue…
H1B Visa Lawyer Blog
USCIS Office of Fraud Detection & National Security Commence H-1B Assessment Program: Site Visits
In an effort to detect, deter and combat immigration benefit fraud and strengthen efforts in ensuring benefits are not granted to those who threaten national security or public safety, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services’ (USCIS) Office of Fraud Detection and National Security (FDNS) have commenced an assessment of…
Updated Administrative Appeals Office Processing Times
The Administrative Appeals Office (AAO) Processing Times were released on October 1, 2009 with processing dates as of October 1, 2009 If you filed an appeal, please review the links below to determine the applicable processing time associated with your particular case. Administrative Appeals Office The current processing time for…
BALCA upholds denial of Labor Certification – Job Order Placement Period Insufficient
The Board of Alien Labor Certification Appeals (BALCA) recently affirmed the final determination of a Certifying Officer (CO) denying labor certification (LC) for an alien worker for the position of “Financial Manager.” The employer filed an application for LC which was accepted for processing on April 12, 2007. Form 9089…
Q&A with USCIS regarding Pending Employment Based I-485 Petitions
Do you have questions about the status of your pending Employment Based I-485 Petition? Hopefully the Q&A created by the USCIS will help ease your frustration and answer some of your questions. Following the Q&A are I-485 Employment Based Inventory Statistics, which provide an explanation as to how to interpret…
BALCA upholds denial of Labor Certification – Notice of Posting Inadequate
The Board of Alien Labor Certification Appeals (BALCA) recently affirmed the final determination of a Certifying Officer (CO) denying labor certification (LC) for an alien worker for the position of “Specialty Cook/Italian.” The employer filed a LC which was accepted for processing on June 13, 2006. Thereafter, the CO issued…
LATEST UPDATE – FY 2010 H-1B Cap Count
On September 24, 2009, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) updated the count of H-1B petitions received and counted towards the 65,000 cap. As of September 18, 2009, 46,000 H-1B cap subject nonimmigrant visa petitions have been accepted by USCIS. The Service has advised that they will continue…
ICE Investigation results in fine of $450,000 for hiring illegal aliens
After an investigation conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the Social Security Administration’s Office of Inspector General, the Missouri State Highway Patrol, the U.S. Marshals Service and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, a Missouri poultry processing plant paid $450,000 in fines as part of a settlement agreement for…
Updated Service Centers Processing Times
Processing Time reports for all of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) Centers were released on September 14, 2009 with processing dates as of July 31, 2009. If you filed a petition with one of the Service Centers, please review the links below to determine the applicable processing time…
October 2009 Visa Bulletin
The Department of State has released its latest Visa Bulletin. The October 2009 visa bulletin still shows employment based third preference (EB-3) visas as oversubscribed while the employment based second preference (EB-2) is current for all areas of chargeability except for China and India. Click here to view the October…