OUTSIDE THE BOX THINKING, DELIVERING CUTTING EDGE SOLUTIONS!

by

The Board of Alien Labor Certification Appeals (BALCA) recently overturned the decision of a Certifying Officer (CO) to deny labor certification for the position of “Battery Engineer.”

The CO denied the application stating that the Employer’s web posting did not identify the job location. He cited it was in violation of PERM regulation 20 C.F.R. 656.17(f). PERM regulation 20 C.F.R. 656.17 (f) requires that an advertisement 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 requested a review of the CO’s denial stating that the company conducted four additional recruitment steps rather than just the three that are required. In the recruitment process, they posted the position on a job search website, advertised in a local newspaper, advertised through their employee referral program, and posted the job position on their company website.

Continue reading

by

On Monday, May 16, 2016, Secretary of Homeland Security, Jeh Johnson announced that the country of Honduras will be designated for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for an18 month extension. This decision was based on the overall conditions within Honduras. This status will allow eligible Honduran nationals (or those who last resided in Honduras) residing in the United States to apply for TPS with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). The additional 18 months are effective from July 6, 2016, through Jan. 5, 2018.

Current TPS Honduras beneficiaries who want to extend their TPS must re-register during the 60-day re-registration period that runs from May 16, 2016 through July 15, 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 Honduras and people without nationality who last habitually resided in Honduras 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 Honduras“.

Continue reading

by

On Thursday, May 12, 2016, USCIS announced that it has received a sufficient number of H-2B petitions to reach the congressionally mandated cap (66,000) for Fiscal Year (FY) 2016. May 12, 2016 is now the “final receipt date” for cap-subject H-2B worker requesting employment start dates before October 1, 2016. The “final receipt date” is the date on which USCIS determined that it has received enough cap-subject petitions to reach the limit of H-2B workers for FY2016.

USCIS will reject new H-2B petitions that were received after May 12, 2016 and that request an employment start date before October 1, 2016, but there are some exceptions!

The exceptions are listed below:

Continue reading

by

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, May 29, 2016. Act now and submit your questions!

Continue reading

by

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; Michigan, Minnesota & Mississippi.

Continue reading

by

On Monday, May 16, 2016, Secretary of Homeland Security, Jeh Johnson announced that the country of Nicaragua will be designated for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for an18 month extension. This decision was based on the overall conditions within Nicaragua. This status will allow eligible Nicaraguan nationals (or those who last resided in Nicaragua) residing in the United States to apply for TPS with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). The additional 18 months are effective from July 6, 2016, through Jan. 5, 2018.

Current TPS Nicaragua beneficiaries who want to extend their TPS must re-register during the 60-day re-registration period that runs from May 16, 2016 through July 15, 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 Nicaragua and people without nationality who last habitually resided in Nicaragua 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 Nicaragua“.

Continue reading

by

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 “Senior Commissioning Engineer.”

After obtaining & examining an Employer’s Application for Permanent Labor Certification, the CO issued an Audit notification ordering the Employer to submit “a copy of the Prevailing Wage Determination received from the State Workforce Agency (SWA), along with a copy of the request for the determination submitted to the SWA.” The Employer responded to the Audit but did not include the SWA prevailing wage determination or a copy of the request.

The CO denied labor certification citing the Employer’s failure to provide the prevailing wage determination as issued by the SWA. He cited PERM regulation 20 CFR 656.20(b) as the source of his denial. PERM regulation 20 CFR 656.20(b) provides “a substantial failure by the employer to provide required documentation will result in that application being denied…”

Continue reading

by

Processing Time reports for all of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) Service Centers were released on 5/12/16 with processing dates as of 3/31/16.

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)

Continue reading

by

The H-2B non-agricultural temporary worker program allows U.S. employers to bring foreign nationals to the United States to fill temporary non-agricultural jobs. There is a cap limit of 33,000 for the first half of the fiscal year and 33,000 for the second half for a total of 66,000 per year. If the cap is not reached during the first half of the fiscal year, the extra numbers are then made available for the second half.

The H-2B cap limit for first half of FY 2016 (October 1 – March 31) is 33,000. As of the last count (3/15/16) this first half cap count has been reached. Please read USCIS update below!

The H-2B cap limit for second half of FY 2016 (April 1 – September 30) is 33,000. As of the last count (5/9/16); 31,637 beneficiaries have been approved and 4,513 are pending for a total of 36,150.

Continue reading

by

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

Is there a grace period for applying for an H-1B transfer after termination from a previous sponsoring employer?

Continue reading
Contact Information
1177 Annapolis Rd #70
Odenton, MD 21113
Toll Free: 1-800-447-0796Local: 240-390-0600Fax: 240-390-0603

Please do not include any confidential or sensitive information in a contact form, text message, or voicemail. The contact form sends information by non-encrypted email, which is not secure. Submitting a contact form, sending a text message, making a phone call, or leaving a voicemail does not create an attorney-client relationship.

Copyright © 2026, MVP Law Group, P.A.
JUSTIA Law Firm Blog Design