OUTSIDE THE BOX THINKING, DELIVERING CUTTING EDGE SOLUTIONS!

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, October 24, 2014. Act now and submit your questions!

On October 2, 2014, the Immigration Policy Center (IPC) published the article, “Executive Grants of Temporary Immigration Relief, 1956-Present”. The publication points out that since 1956, every United States President has used their executive power to grant temporary immigration relief of some form. This article includes an easy to read chart listing thirty-nine (39) different examples, some big, some small, of Immigration related Executive Decisions. These Presidential decisions were made for a variety of reasons; legislation was pending, in response to humanitarian emergencies or to address situations that existing laws couldn’t handle. Please review the article listed below for more detailed information and to view the chart.

Source of Information:

immigrationpolicy.org, 10/2/14, Just the Facts – Article:

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; Alabama, Alaska, Arizona and Arkansas.

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 Vice President, Mergers & Acquisitions.”

After receiving & reviewing an Employer’s Application for Permanent Labor Certification, the CO informed the Employer that he would need to oversee their PERM recruitment. As part of the process, the CO sent the employer separate instructions for its advertisement and recruitment report. In the instructions for the recruitment report, he requested the Employer to “state the names, addresses and provide resumes (other than those sent to the employer by the CO) of the U.S. workers who applied for the job opportunity.

A few months later, the Employer presented the outcomes of its PERM recruitment in its recruitment report. The Employer indicated they had received 70 applications from U.S. Workers; and 7 applications from non-U.S. workers. Out of the 70 U.S. candidates, only three of the candidates were interviewed for the position. Based on the interviews, the Employer decided none of the applicants were qualified because they lacked the required critical experience and skills. In the recruitment report, the Employer identified the name of each applicant and provided the reason each candidate was disqualified. However, in the actual report, the Employer did not state the addresses of the applicants. In the report, they wrote a note to the CO that specified the following, “The resumes of the applicants who responded directly to JP Morgan Chase are attached to this report. Please note that the resumes, which are part of this recruitment report, include the name and address of each applicant.”

Processing Time reports for all of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) Service Centers were released on 10/7/14 with processing dates as of 8/31/14.

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)

The Department of State has released its latest Visa Bulletin.

Click here to view the November 2014 Visa Bulletin

As projected by the U.S. Department of State, the November 2014 Visa Bulletin shows the EB2 date for nationals from India retrogressed (moved backwards) from 5/1/09 to 2/15/05; the EB3 date for nationals from India made a small movement from 11/15/03 to 11/22/03; the EB2 for Chinese Nationals moved from 11/15/09 to 12/8/09; the EB3 for Chinese Nationals moved from 4/1/09 to 1/1/10; and EB3 for WW moved from 10/1/11 to 6/1/12; and the F2A category moved from 2/1/13 to 3/1/13, except Mexico which moved from 7/22/12 to 9/22/12. The F2A category is reserved exclusively for Spouses and unmarried children (under the age of 21) of green card holders (LPRs).

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 – H-1B Nonimmigrant Visa

I have an I-129 petition (Approved from Oct 1, 2010) which was never used and I never traveled to USA. Can an employer file my H1B under cap exemption category?

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 the second half of FY 2014 (April 1 – September 30) is 33,000. As of the last count (9/30/14); 26,286 beneficiaries have been approved and 315 are pending for a total of 26,601.

The H-2B cap limit for first half of FY 2015 (October 1 – March 31) is 33,000. As of the last count (10/3/14); 7,222 beneficiaries have been approved and 1,635 are pending for a total of 8,857.

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) released a news alert (10/3/14) advising that some of their customers have received more than one biometrics (fingerprints) appointment notice.

*Please note that we are not discussing a duplicate appointment notice as that happens as well, but an actual second fingerprint appointment notice requesting that the applicant appear for a second time at a different date and time.

They advise that if you have already shown up and completed a biometrics appointment and you receive a second appointment notice to please call the National Customer Service Center at 1-800-375-5283. They also stated if you have already received two appointments and have not attended the first, to bring the notices for both appointments with you and they will let you know if the second appointment is needed.

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 “Software Engineer.”

After obtaining & examining an Employer’s Application for Permanent Labor Certification, the CO issued an Audit notification ordering the Employer to submit its Prevailing Wage Determination (PWD) and other requested documentation. The Employer replied to the Audit by providing the PWD as well as the other documents.

The CO denied the labor certification stating the prevailing wage on the ETA form 9089 did not match the one listed on the PWD. He cited a violation of PERM Regulations 656.10(c) (1), 656.40 AND 656.41. In addition, the Employer’s Notice of Filing did not contain the job requirements or duties as listed on the ETA Form 9089. The Employer requested a reconsideration of the denial stating the prevailing wage inconsistency was an unintentional harmless error. The Employer also believed all of its audit response materials were compliant with PERM regulations.

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