OUTSIDE THE BOX THINKING, DELIVERING CUTTING EDGE SOLUTIONS!

by

After the release of the “Visa Bulletin for October 2014” by the Department of State (DOS) the American Immigration Lawyers Association’s (AILA) DOS Liaison Committee had a “check-in” with Charles (“Charlie”) Oppenheim, Chief of the Visa Control and Reporting Division, DOS. They communicate with Mr. Oppenheim monthly to obtain his trend analysis and projections of the immigrant preference categories which are detailed in the monthly DOS visa bulletins.

Mr. Oppenheim states that retrogression (moving backwards) of the EB-2 India priority date appears to be imminent, and could happen as early as this November 2014. The October 2014 priority date for EB-2 India is currently at May 1, 2009. He feels given current demand, the priority date will retrogress, possibly to a date in early 2005. If you are an eligible EB-2 India client (eligible = your priority date is current according to the October 2014 visa bulletin) you should file your adjustment of status applications by the end of October. He warns that the window of opportunity may be closing.

The main reason he anticipates this EB-2 India retrogression is the large number of EB-3 to EB-2 upgrades by Indian-born applicants and this will most likely continue to increase the EB-2 India demand in the coming months.

Continue reading

by

The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will be holding a stakeholder teleconference on Thursday, October 9, 2014 between 11:00am to 12:30 pm (EST). The subject of the event will be a discussion of H-1B filing tips and eligibility requirements for Religious Workers and will include Q&A sessions.

This teleconference will be broken into two 45-minute sessions. The first session will be from 11:00am – 11:45 am and will cover H-1B filing tips. The second session will be from 11:45 am – 12:30 pm and will cover eligibility requirements for religious workers. For more information on this teleconference please review the Meeting Invitation.

Note: This event was previously scheduled for 9/25/14.

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

Continue reading

by

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*)

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 “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.

Continue reading

by

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:

Continue reading

by

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.”

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 – Conditional Permanent Resident

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

Continue reading

by

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).

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