United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued a reminder that its new application and petition fees go into effect November 23, 2010.
The new fees increase application and petition fees by approximately 10 percent but naturalization fees will remain the same.
To review the increased USCIS filing fees, please click here.
MVP “Q & A Forum” – This Friday, November 19th, 2010
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, AZ SB1070, priority dates, or the debate focused on Ending Birthright Citizenship, please contact us by submitting your question/comment/viewpoint in our comment box provided on our H-1B Visa Lawyer Blog.
The Administrative Appeals Office (AAO) Processing Times were released with processing dates as of November 1, 2010.
If you filed an appeal, please review the links below to determine the applicable processing time associated with your particular case.
The United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) has updated the count of H-1B petitions received and counted towards the 65,000 cap.
As of November 5, 2010, 46,800 H-1B Regular CAP subject non-immigrant visa petitions have been filed with the USCIS towards the 65,000 cap.
As of November 5, 2010, 17,200 H-1B Masters Degree CAP subject non-immigrant visa petitions have been filed with the USCIS towards the 20,000 cap.
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Question #1 – Temporary Work Visa – H-1B Nonimmigrant Visa
Is the H-1B quota still open?
The United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) has updated the count of H-1B petitions received and counted towards the 65,000 cap.
As of October 29, 2010, 45,600 H-1B Regular CAP subject non-immigrant visa petitions have been filed with the USCIS towards the 65,000 cap.
As of October 29, 2010, 16,700 H-1B Masters Degree CAP subject non-immigrant visa petitions have been filed with the USCIS towards the 20,000 cap.
After statements made by immigration officers were released, that claimed there is an increasing amount of pressure on employees of US Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) to approve more visas even when there is suspicion of fraud, Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA ) asked the Secretary of Homeland Security and the Inspector General on October 15 to investigate. Agency insiders have continued to come forward and provide evidence that suggests USCIS Director Alejandro Mayorkas is responsible for the encouragement to approve as many visas as possible in the California Service Center. Senator Grassley first began looking into USCIS’s practices when accusations arose that supervisors told employees “to find a way” to approve applications. Grassley says his main concern and reason behind brining this issue to attention is to ensure that, “the rule of law isn’t being undermined by political leaders.”
The American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) writer David Leopold posted an article on AILA’s blog October 18th in response to Senator Grassley’s proposal for investigation into UCIS’s practices. Leopold argues against the legitimacy of Grassley’s information, citing the fact that the allegations have only been brought by a small group of insiders. Leopold offers a solution to Grassley’s upset, suggesting he submit his own petition to USCIS in order to get a better picture of USCIS’s visa approval procedures. According to Leopold, what Grassley fails to understand about USCIS’s policy of “finding a way” is that the USCIS officers must find the applicant eligible by a “preponderance of evidence.” The applicants must be able to prove the warranting of a visa. He goes on further to say USCIS is in reality far stricter on applicants than Grassley is aware of, he mentions the denial of many visa applicants as a result of flawed assessment by USCIS officers.
MVP “Q & A Forum” – This Friday, November 5th, 2010
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, AZ SB1070, priority dates, or the debate focused on Ending Birthright Citizenship, please contact us by submitting your question/comment/viewpoint in our comment box provided on our H-1B Visa Lawyer Blog.
The United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) has updated the count of H-1B petitions received and counted towards the 65,000 cap.
As of October 22, 2010, 44,300 H-1B Regular CAP subject non-immigrant visa petitions have been filed with the USCIS towards the 65,000 cap.
As of October 22, 2010, 16,200 H-1B Masters Degree CAP subject non-immigrant visa petitions have been filed with the USCIS towards the 20,000 cap.
Senators Robert Menendez (D-NJ) and Patrick Leahy (D-VT) introduced The Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2010 into the Senate on September 29. This bill is the first comprehensive immigration bill that has been introduce in the Senate since 2007. It also combines key Democratic and Republic viewpoints and elements. Menendez and Leahy’s legislation proposes enhanced border security, mandatory employee verification, revisions to visa systems, a legalization plan for undocumented individuals in the US, and harsher penalties for illegal immigration.
To improve the security at our borders it specifically calls for improved training and more accountability for border/immigration officers, further cooperation with Canada and Mexico to improve border security, and reiterates that immigration power solely resides with the federal government. If passed, visa waiver privileges would be denied to certain countries, the waiting period would stop for refugees/asylees trying to obtain a green card, as well as increased penalties for immigration and visa fraud. Social Security cards would become “tamper-resistant” under the new bill to prevent fraud and the Social Security Administration (SSA) would be required to design a new more secure way of verifying social security numbers. Labor protections would also be expanded under H-2A, H-2B, H-1B, and L-1 visas in addition to preventing the expiration of green cards due to processing delays and establishment of certain exemptions from the quotas. A Lawful Prospective Immigrant (LPI) status for undocumented immigrants with no criminal background would be put into effect and it entails submission of data, security checks, and a $500 application fee for the LPI status of four years. Additionally, the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2010 would include the DREAM Act and institute programs to help immigrants learn English and US civics. Click here to read the full text of the bill or to find out more information.
H1B Visa Lawyer Blog