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The Fiscal Year 2016 H-1B season is quickly approaching and has been projected to be another short season. The H1B CAP for FY2015 was reached on April 7, 2014.

Each Fiscal Year (FY), which starts on October 1, 65,000 H-1B visas become available for what is referred to as the “General Cap,” and 20,000 H-1B visas become available for what is referred to as the “Master’s Cap.” Those individuals holding a U.S. Master’s degree or higher may fall within the Master’s Cap; all others fall within the General Cap. The FY H-1B filing season opens six months before each FY, i.e., during the first week in April.

The FY 2016 H-1B Cap season will open on April 1, 2015 with employment beginning October 1, 2015.

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The Department of State has released its latest Visa Bulletin.

Click here to view the January 2015 Visa Bulletin

As projected by the U.S. Department of State, the January 2015 Visa Bulletin shows the EB2 date for nationals from India remains at 2/15/05; the EB3 date for nationals from India made a small movement from 12/1/03 to 12/15/03; the EB2 for Chinese Nationals moved from 1/1/10 to 2/1/10; the EB3 for Chinese Nationals moved from 6/1/10 to 3/1/11; and EB3 for WW moved from 11/1/12 to 6/1/13; and the F2A category moved from 3/22/13 to 4/15/13, except Mexico which moved from 1/1/13 to 2/22/13. The F2A category is reserved exclusively for Spouses and unmarried children (under the age of 21) of green card holders (LPRs).

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Processing Time reports for all of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) Service Centers were released on 12/5/14 with processing dates as of 10/31/14.

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 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.

The H-2B cap limit for first half of FY 2015 (October 1 – March 31) is 33,000. As of the last count (11/28/14); 12,786 beneficiaries have been approved and 2,344 are pending for a total of 15,130.

The H-2B cap limit for second half of FY 2015 (April 1 – September 30) is 33,000. As of the last count (11/28/14); 0 beneficiaries have been approved and 0 are pending for a total of 0.

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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 – National Interest Waiver (NIW)

I filed concurrent I-140 and I-485 petitions under the National Interest Waiver (NIW) immigration category several months ago, as a self-petitioner without employer sponsorship. I have received a Request for more Evidence from the USCIS. What will happen to my 485 application if my NIW Form I-140 is rejected after the RFE response? Does the President’s Actions taken in November help my case in any way?

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The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), Office of Foreign Labor Certification (OFLC) has provided FY2014 statistics in the form of program factsheets for each of the major immigration programs. These updated FY2014 statistics cover October 1, 2013 through September 30, 2014.

The link to each program factsheet is listed below:

• Permanent Labor Certification Program – Select Statistics, FY 2014

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Immigration Policy Center Releases Updated State-by-State Fact Sheets (2014)

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 four states at a time. This week we will highlight; New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico & New York.

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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 “AMI Montessori Elementary Teacher.”

After reviewing an Employer’s Application for Permanent Labor Certification, the CO denied certification of the application. He believed the Alien Worker did not meet either the “primary or alternative educational requirements” that were listed on the labor application. In Section J.11, the Employer checked ‘OTHER’ on the application under Highest Level of Education and later clarified in Section J.11.A that ‘OTHER’ classification was AMI Certification.

The Employer sent a reconsideration request to the CO. In its argument, the Employer stated the AMI Certification is “higher than a Bachelor’s but lower than a Master’s or Doctorate.” In addition, they submitted a letter from the Montessori Training Center that one of its admission requirements for their program is a Bachelor’s Degree. The Employer also sent an Educational Assessment document which determined the Alien Worker had “the equivalent of a US Bachelor’s Degree based on work experience and postsecondary education.”

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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, December 5, 2014. Act now and submit your questions!

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