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, September 26, 2014. Act now and submit your questions!

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

The link to each program factsheet is listed below:

Permanent Labor Certification Program – Select Statistics, FY 2014 (fourth quarter*)

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 “Multi-Media Artists & Animators.”

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 multiple reasons. First and foremost, the position advertised did not match the one listed on the Employer’s ETA Form 9089 in violation of PERM Regulations 20 C.F.R. § 656.10 and § 656.17 (f)(3). These regulations require that an advertisement “provide a description of the vacancy specific enough to apprise a US worker of the job opportunity for which certification is sought.” The CO revealed that the employer’s web advertising specified the position required a minimum of a high school diploma. On the Employer’s ETA Form 9089, it listed a Bachelor’s degree plus 24 months, or 4 years of work experience as an alternative to the degree.

The Employer sent a reconsideration request to the CO. In its argument, the Employer stated the government made a clear error in denying the labor application. The CO delivered a second denial and forwarded the case to BALCA for review.

Constitution Day and Citizenship Day are observed on the same day each year, September 17th. This day is set aside to celebrate the signing of the U.S. Constitution in 1787 and also to observe and recognize the responsibilities of all U.S. citizens!

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will mark this occasion by holding special naturalization ceremonies across the country starting on September 17th and ending on September 23rd. For a full list of 2014 Constitution Day and Citizenship Day naturalization ceremonies, review the USCIS news release, “Celebrating Constitution Day and Citizenship Day with Naturalization Ceremonies“. You can also follow the actives on @USCIS on Twitter and Facebook.com/USCIS.

Source of Information:

On Saturday, September 6, 2014, President Obama made the announcement that he would delay executive action on Immigration Reform until after the midterm congressional elections.

In a pre-recorded Interview for NBC’s “Meet the Press,” on Sunday, September 7, 2014 President Obama told NBC’s Chuck Todd, that the immigration debate was affected by the large number of unaccompanied children from Latin America coming to the U.S. border.

President Obama stated, “What I’m saying is that I’m going to act because it’s the right thing for the country.” The President also said, “… it’s going to be more sustainable and more effective if the public understands what the facts are on immigration, what we’ve done on unaccompanied children and why it’s necessary.”

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 – Conditional Permanent Resident

How do I get the conditions removed from my Green Card?

The Department of State has released its latest Visa Bulletin.

Click here to view the October 2014 Visa Bulletin

As projected by the U.S. Department of State, the October 2014 Visa Bulletin shows the EB2 date for nationals from India remains at 5/1/09; the EB3 date for nationals from India made a small movement from 11/8/03 to 11/15/03; the EB2 for Chinese Nationals moved from 10/8/09 to 11/15/09; the EB3 for Chinese Nationals moved from 11/1/08 to 4/1/09; and EB3 for WW moved from 4/1/11 to 10/1/11; and the F2A category moved from 1/1/13 to 2/1/13, except Mexico which moved from 4/22/12 to 7/22/12. The F2A category is reserved exclusively for Spouses and unmarried children (under the age of 21) of green card holders (LPRs).

The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will be holding a stakeholder teleconference on Wednesday, September 10, 2014 between 2:30 to 4pm (EST). The subject of the event will be to discuss the EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program and will include a Q&A session. For more information on this teleconference please review the Meeting Invitation

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Event Information:

Processing Time reports for all of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) Service Centers were released on 9/4/14 with processing dates as of 7/31/14.

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)

Contact Information