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, April 25, 2014. Act now and submit your questions!

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 “Account Manager.”

After receiving & reviewing an Employer’s Application for Permanent Labor Certification, the CO issued an Audit notification. It required the Employer to present all of its recruitment materials. The Employer responded with the documentation requested.

The CO denied the application based on PERM regulation 20 C.F.R. 656.17 (e) (1) (ii) (E). He stated “the employer failed to provide adequate documentation of the additional recruitment steps for professional occupations.” The Employer placed the ad for the Account Manager position on the website Dice.com, which the Employer argued was a trade or professional organization. The CO maintained that this website did not qualify as a trade or professional organization.

The U.S. Department of State (DOS) has released the Statistical Table, “Immigrant and Nonimmigrant Visa Ineligibilities” for FY2013 as part of the VISA Office 2013 Report. The table lists two statistics for both the Immigrant and Nonimmigrant classifications, “Ineligibility Findings” and “Ineligibility Overcome”. Basically this table lists the most common grounds for refusal under the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) and if the grounds where overcome. Please review the link to Table XX listed below for the details.

Note: FY2013 data is preliminary and is subject to change. Any changes would not be statistically significant.

Source of Information:

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 first half of FY 2014 (October 1 – March 31) is 33,000. As of March 14, 2014, the cap for the 1st half of FY 2014 was reached.

The H-2B cap limit for second half of FY 2014 (April 1 – September 30) is 33,000. As of the last count (4/4/14); 15,824 beneficiaries have been approved and 4,502 are pending for a total of 20,326.

Processing Time reports for all of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) Service Centers were released on 4/3/14 with processing dates as of 2/28/14.

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

WASHINGTON, DC – On Saturday, April 26, 2014, from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., the Washington, DC Chapter of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA-DC) will take part in the eighth annual AILA Citizenship Day, hosting events at nine locations throughout D.C., Maryland, and Virginia.

Each year in April, at sites across the country, AILA attorneys and other stakeholders provide assistance to lawful permanent residents eligible for naturalization. Last year, AILA and its partner “ya es hora ¡Ciudadanía!” held 40 naturalization clinics in 23 states and the District of Columbia serving thousands of immigrants who aspired to become citizens.

The sites below have been confirmed for Citizenship Day 2014 :

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

Can your firm sponsor my H-1B or find a company to sponsor me? I am ready to come to the U.S. and work; I have a BS in Computer Science

The Department of State has released its latest Visa Bulletin.

Click here to view the May 2014 Visa Bulletin

As projected by the U.S. Department of State, the May 2014 Visa Bulletin shows the EB2 date for nationals from India remains at 11/15/04; movement in EB3 date for nationals from India at 10/1/03; movement in EB2 for Chinese Nationals at 4/15/09; EB3 for Chinese Nationals remains at 10/1/12; and EB3 for WW remains at 10/1/12; and the F2A category remains at 9/8/13,except Mexico at 4/15/12. The F2A category is reserved exclusively for Spouses and unmarried children (under the age of 21) of green card holders (LPRs).

Contact Information