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 – Employment Authorization for Certain H4 Spouses

What forms do I need to file an H4/EAD visa for my wife? What are the USCIS filing fees for this visa?

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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 “Software Quality Engineer.”

After receiving & reviewing an Employer’s Application for Permanent Labor Certification, the CO issued an Audit notification. After the Employer responded, the CO denied certification of the application for violating PERM Regulation 20 CFR 656.17 (f)(4) among other grounds. PERM regulation 656.17 (f)(4) requires that newspaper ads “must indicate the geographic area of employment with enough specificity to apprise applicants of any travel requirements and where applicants will likely have to reside to perform the job opportunity.” The Employer’s Notice of Filing and recruitment efforts listed Santa Clara, California ONLY; however, the ETA Form 9089 mentioned Santa Clara, California, and “various unanticipated locations throughout the U.S.”

Even though the Employer sent a reconsideration request to the CO, he delivered a second denial and forwarded the case to BALCA for review. The Employer argued that the position did not necessitate travel and only listed it on the ETA Form to “allow for participation in events outside of the employer’s offices.” They insisted that the travel requirement was optional.

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On Friday, July 8, 2016, Secretary of Homeland Security, Jeh Johnson announced that the country of El Salvador will be designated for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for an18 month extension. This decision was based on the overall conditions within El Salvador. This status will allow eligible Salvadoran nationals (or those who last resided in El Salvador) residing in the United States to apply for TPS with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). The additional 18 months are effective from September 10, 2016, through March 9, 2018.

Current TPS El Salvador beneficiaries who want to extend their TPS must re-register during the 60-day re-registration period that runs from July 8, 2016 through September 6, 2016. USCIS encourages beneficiaries to re-register as soon as possible once the 60-day re-registration period begins. This designation means that, during the designated period, eligible nationals of El Salvador and people without nationality who last habitually resided in El Salvador will not be removed from the United States and may receive an Employment Authorization Document (EAD), which will allow them to work within the United States.

For further details please review the USCIS News Release, “Temporary Protected Status Extended for El Salvador“.

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On Monday, August 1, 2016, USCIS announced that if you currently have a 17-month STEM OPT extension, you may apply to add 7 month to your extension. To apply for this 7-month extension you must file Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization (with the required fee and signature) on or before August 8, 2016. USCIS will deny your application if you filed after August 8, 2016.

You may apply to add 7 months to your 17-month STEM OPT period if:

• You are currently participating in STEM OPT based on a 17-month extension;

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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, August 5, 2016. Act now and submit your questions!

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Immigration Policy Center Releases Updated State-by-State Fact Sheets (2015)

The Immigration Policy Center (IPC) has released all fifty states, the District of Columbia and the United States (Overall), for a total of fifty-two updated fact sheets with accompanying info graphics and other details. These fact sheets highlight the demographic and economic impact of Immigrants, Asians and Latinos in each state. The Immigration Policy Center (IPC) is the research and policy division of the American Immigration Council (AIC).

As Washington D.C. continues the discussion of Comprehensive Immigration Reform, 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 IPC research. Once a week we will be posting a blog with information on three states at a time. This week we will highlight; New Mexico, New York & North Carolina.

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The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will be holding a stakeholder teleconference on Thursday, August 11, 2016 between 4:00 to 5:00pm (Eastern). The subject of the event will be a “Dialogue with USCIS Director León Rodríguez” and will include his introduction and a Q&A session. Director Rodríguez will highlight his agency’s initiatives then listen and respond to the stakeholder community.

Event Information:

DATE: Thursday, August 11, 2016 TIME: 4:00 – 5:00 pm (Eastern)

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Processing Time reports for all of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) Service Centers were released on 7/14/16 with processing dates as of 5/31/16.

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.

California Service Center (CSC)

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The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will be holding an EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program Teleconference from Miami, Florida on Thursday, July 28th, between 1:00pm to 2:30pm (Eastern). The event will start with an update of the EB-5 program followed by a question and answer session. USCIS is inviting participants to ask non-case specific questions or provide feedback on the EB-5 program.

Event Information:

DATE: Thursday, July 28, 2016 TIME: 1:00pm to 2:30pm (Eastern)

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