The Administrative Appeals Office (AAO) Processing Times were released on March 2, 2010 with processing dates as of March 1, 2010.
If you filed an appeal, please review the links below to determine the applicable processing time associated with your particular case.
Effective January 21, 2010, the Department of Labor’s iCERT online system was updated to allow the submission of electronic prevailing wage determination requests. This electronic process was intended to allow Employers and/or their Designated Representatives to submit and obtain prevailing wage determinations (PWD) for use in the H-1B, H-1B1 (Chile/Singapore), H-1C, H-2B, E-3 (Australia), and permanent labor certification programs through the iCERT portal. However, at this time, this federalized electronic process has caused delays in the issuance of prevailing wage determinations.
Prior to January 1, 2010, the date of enactment of the Federalized Process, employers and/or their designated representative were able to obtain PWDs from their State Workforce Agencies (SWAs), which normally took between two (2) to fourteen (14) days or even a months time. Currently, requestors are waiting between thirty (30) to sixty (60) days to obtain a response from the DOL further delaying the commencement of a new PERM case, or the filing of an AC-21 Portability Case.
Requestors who have submitted PWD requests to the NPWHC by U.S. Mail between January 1, 2010 and January 21, 2010, the launch date of the iCERT PWD System have received a response in regards to their PWD requests. However, at this time, there appear to be delays in the issuance of PWDs through the national DOL office with both hard copy and electronically submitted requests since January 21, 2010.
The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has issued information collection for Form I-129, Petition for Nonimmigrant Worker until April 9, 2010.
During this period, USCIS will be evaluating whether to revise Form I-129.
The purpose of this form is for employers to petition for an alien to come to the United States temporarily to perform services or labor, or to receive training, as an H-1B, H-1C, H-2A, H-2B, H-3, L-1, O-1, O-2, P-1, P-1S, P-2, P-2S, P-3, P-3S, Q-1 or R-1 nonimmigrant worker. Employers may also use this form to request an extension of stay or change of status for an alien as an E-1, E-2, or TN nonimmigrant.
Processing Time reports for all of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) Service Centers were released on February 17, 2010 with processing dates as of December 31, 2009.
If you filed a petition with one of the Service Centers, please review the links below to determine the applicable processing time associated with your particular case.
The Administrative Appeals Office (AAO) Processing Times were released on February 17, 2010 with processing dates as of February 1, 2010.
If you filed an appeal, please review the links below to determine the applicable processing time associated with your particular case.
The American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Liaison Committee received reports from AILA members that CBP inspectors at the Newark, New Jersey airport port of entry were apparently assisting in an investigation involving certain H-1B nonimmigrants from India and certain H-1B petitioner companies.
The CBP inspector’s questions focused on (1) who the individuals worked for, (2) how their pay was computed, (3) who paid their salary, (4) their job duties, and (5) what they were paid. According to the reports, some individuals were subjected to expedited removal and visa cancellation.
After inquiring with CBP headquarters about these alleged incidents, the CBP Liaison Committee was advised that many of the cases involved in the allegations involved companies currently under investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and/or U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) for ongoing fraud. The CBP provided that upon an inadmissibility finding, the determination to either allow the applicant to withdraw his or her application for admission or to subject the applicant to expedited removal was based on “the totality of the circumstances” and was reviewed on a “case-by-case” basis. The CBP also confirmed that they screen ALL employment-based visa holders to determine admissibility and ensure compliance with entry requirements.
Due to the passage of the Employ American Worker Act (EAWA), the USCIS is required to collect Troubled Assets Relief Program (TARP) information on each H-1B petitioning employer. Under the EAWA legislation, any company that has received TARP funding and seeks to hire new H-1B workers is considered an “H-1B dependent employer.” An H-1B dependent employer must make additional statements to the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) regarding the recruitment and non-displacement of U.S. workers when filing a Labor Condition Application (LCA).
After enactment of EAWA, USCIS revised its Form I-129, Petition for Non-immigrant Worker, to include a question asking whether the employer has received TARP funding.
It has come to the attention of the USCIS that some businesses who have received TARP funds may have repaid their obligations and may not know how to proceed with completing Form I-129 when filing for new H-1B hires.
The Director of the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS), Alejandro Mayorkas has recently issued a response to the recommendations of the Citizenship and Immigration Services Ombudsman regarding the temporary acceptance of Labor Condition Applications (LCAs) for certain H-1B filings.
Until March 9, 2010, the USCIS Service Centers will continue to accept H-1B petitions filed without certified LCAs. However, the only H-1B petitions that will be accepted are those that have been filed at least seven (7) calendar days after the LCAs were filed with the Department of Labor (DOL). The only acceptable proof of the submission of the LCA for certification with the DOL is a copy of the DOL’s email giving notice of receipt of the LCA.
Those that do take advantage of the temporary acceptance of these certain H-1B filings must wait until they receive a Request for Evidence (RFE) before submitting the certified LCA to USCIS. The LCA submitted in response to receiving an RFE must be the same LCA filed with the original petition and it must be submitted within 30 calendar days of receipt of the RFE requesting such documentation.
The Administrative Appeals Office (AAO) Processing Times were released on January 28, 2010 with processing dates as of January 4, 2010.
If you filed an appeal, please review the links below to determine the applicable processing time associated with your particular case.
In support of an H-1B petition, a petitioner must not only establish that the beneficiary is coming to the United States temporarily to work in a specialty occupation but the petitioner must also satisfy the requirement of being a U.S. employer by establishing that a valid employer-employee relationship exists between the U.S. employer and the beneficiary throughout the requested H-1B validity period. The Petitioner must also file an LCA specific to EACH location where the beneficiary will be working.
“United States employer,” is defined at C.F.R. 214.2(h)(4)(ii) as follows:
United States employer means a person, firm, corporation, contractor, or other association, or organization in the United States which:
H1B Visa Lawyer Blog