OUTSIDE THE BOX THINKING, DELIVERING CUTTING EDGE SOLUTIONS!

On Friday, April 5th, USCIS announced that it had reached what they feel is enough H-1B petitions to fill the 65,000 H-1B regular cap for fiscal year (FY) 2020. They will next start to make sure they have enough H-1B petitions to fill the 20,000 H-1B visa U.S. advanced degree exemption (master’s cap). USCIS will reject and return filing fees for all unselected cap-subject petitions that are not prohibited multiple filings. Remember, USCIS will continue to accept and process H-1B petitions that are otherwise exempt from the cap.

Please review USCIS News Alert, “USCIS Reaches FY 2020 H-1B Regular Cap” for more details.

Source of Information:

On Sunday night, April 7th, Kirstjen M. Nielsen announced that she had resigned as Secretary of Homeland Security! Nielsen has enforced some of President Trump’s most controversial border policies; a proposed wall at the Mexican Border and the separation of migrant families at the Mexican Border. It is being reported that she resigned or was forced out because she did not want to start separating migrant families again and the President is considering re-starting his  policy.

President Trump has appointed the Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Kevin K. McAleenan as Acting Secretary of Homeland Security!

Please review DHS News Release, “Message from Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen M. Nielsen” for more details.

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), Office of Foreign Labor Certification (OFLC) has provided FY2018 statistics (Fourth Quarter) in the form of program factsheets for each of the major immigration programs. These updated FY2018 statistics (Fourth Quarter) covers July 2018 through September 2018.

The link to each FY2018 (Fourth Quarter) program factsheet is listed below:

Permanent Labor Certification Program – Select Statistics

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 – H1B Nonimmigrant Work Visa

I have vacation plans to go out of the country the first week of July. Can I file my H-1B extension petition prior to leaving?

USCIS has launched a new searchable H-1B Employer database, entitled “H-1B Employer Data Hub” and a new Web Page, entitled “Understanding Our H-1B Employer Data Hub” to explain the new Data Hub’s capabilities. The H-1B Employer Data Hub will allow the public to search H-1B petitioners by different important parameters such as fiscal year, employer name and others. USCIS will be updating the data used by the H-1B Employer Data Hub on a quarterly basis.

Please review USCIS News Alert, “USCIS Launches H-1B Employer Data Hub” for more details.

Source of Information:

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), Office of Foreign Labor Certification (OFLC) has provided FY2018 statistics (Third Quarter) in the form of program factsheets for each of the major immigration programs. These updated FY2018 statistics (Third Quarter) covers April 2018 through June 2018.

The link to each FY 2018 (Third Quarter) program factsheet is listed below:

Permanent Labor Certification Program – Select Statistics

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, April 5, 2019. Act now and submit your questions!

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Acting Director Ronald Vitiello announced that ICE has trained more than 1,500 local and state (Police) authorities to help enforce federal immigration law. ICE is using the 287(g) program which is named for Section 287(g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). This program allows state and local police officers to work together with federal law enforcement to implement federal immigration laws.

Acting Director Vitiello stated, “We’re establishing new, stronger partnerships between [Enforcement and Removal Operations] and many state and local law enforcement agencies through 287(g) agreements that will train and empower them to enforce federal immigration laws…”

Please review The Hill (thehill.com) News Article, “ICE trained 1,500 local authorities to help enforce immigration law” for more details.

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), Office of Foreign Labor Certification (OFLC) has provided FY2018 statistics (Second Quarter) in the form of program factsheets for each of the major immigration programs. These updated FY2018 statistics (Second Quarter) covers January 2018 through March 2018.

The link to each FY 2018 (Second Quarter) program factsheet is listed below:

Permanent Labor Certification Program – Select Statistics

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