H1B Visa Lawyer Blog

January 13, 2014

MVP “Immigration Q & A Forum” – This Friday, January 17, 2014

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, January 17, 2014. Act now and submit your questions!

January 10, 2014

Visa Bulletin – February 2014

by Kellie N. Lego

The Department of State has released its latest Visa Bulletin.

Click here to view the February 2014 Visa Bulletin

As projected by the U.S. Department of State, the February 2014 Visa Bulletin shows the EB2 date for nationals from India remains at 11/15/04; EB3 date for nationals from India remains at 9/1/03; movement in EB2 for Chinese Nationals at 1/8/09; movement in EB3 for Chinese Nationals at 6/1/12; and movement in EB3 for WW at 6/1/12; and the F2A category remains at 9/8/13 (except Mexico at 9/1/13), this category is reserved exclusively for Spouses and unmarried children (under the age of 21) of green card holders (LPRs).

January 9, 2014

H-2B Cap Count UPDATE – 12/30/13

by Kellie N. Lego

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 the last count (12/30/13); 12,313 beneficiaries have been approved and 3,518 are pending for a total of 15,831.

The H-2B cap limit for second half of FY 2014 (April 1 – September 30) is 33,000. As of the last count (12/30/13); 0 beneficiaries have been approved and 0 are pending for a total of 0.

January 8, 2014

BALCA Says Laid-Off U.S. Worker was Rejected for a Lawful, Job-Related Reason

by Kellie N. Lego

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.”

The CO denied the labor certification stating “the Employer did not notify potentially qualified laid-off US workers of the job opportunity.” In response, the Employer requested reconsideration of the denial. The Employer argued they did not have a US worker who met the qualifications of the position. The CO sent an Audit Notification requesting documentation of all of the laid-off US workers and how they were advised of the available position and the results of such notification and consideration. A month later, the Employer presented a recruitment report that summarized its “lay-off review.”

Once again, the CO denied the labor application because he believed “a US worker was rejected for non-job related reasons.” The Employer did not re-hire the US worker because he did not have the required specific skill sets. While the CO was aware that the US worker lacked the qualifications, he believed the worker could gain through reasonable on the job training the skills necessary to perform the job duties of the position.

January 7, 2014

Updated Service Center Processing Times

by Kellie N. Lego

Processing Time reports for all of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) Service Centers were released on 12/19/13 with processing dates as of 10/31/13.

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

January 6, 2014

Immigration Q&A Forum – Originally posted 4/12/13

by Kellie N. Lego

This blog entry was originally posted on 4/12/13. We here at the MVP Law Group would like to wish every one of our blog readers, Happy Holidays!

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 Work Visa

January 3, 2014

MVP LAW GROUP – Immigration Q&A Forum, Friday, January 3, 2014

by Kellie N. Lego

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 – Family Based Immigration

I am an US Citizen and I applied for an Immediate Relative Petition (I-130) for my husband. How long does the process take to adjust his status?

January 2, 2014

Immigration Q&A Forum – Originally posted 6/21/13

by Kellie N. Lego

This blog entry was originally posted on 6/21/13. We here at the MVP Law Group would like to wish every one of our blog readers, Happy Holidays!

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 – Employment Based Green Card

January 1, 2014

Happy New Year!

by Kellie N. Lego

We will open the book. Its pages are blank. We are going to put words on them ourselves. The book is called Opportunity and its first chapter is New Year’s Day.

– Edith Lovejoy Pierce

Happy New Year, from our family to yours!

December 31, 2013

Immigration Q&A Forum – Originally posted 5/10/13

by Kellie N. Lego

This blog entry was originally posted on 5/10/13. We here at the MVP Law Group would like to wish every one of our blog readers, Happy Holidays!

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