Processing Time reports for all of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) Service Centers were released on 8/2/13 with processing dates as of 5/31/13.
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.
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 2013 (April 1 – September 30) is 33,000. As of the last count (8/2/13); 26,860 beneficiaries have been approved and 1,191 are pending for a total of 28,051.
The H-2B cap limit for first half of FY 2014 (October 1 – March 31) is 33,000. As of the last count (8/2/13); 397 beneficiaries have been approved and 513 are pending for a total of 910.
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.
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) have contracted with IdeaScale.com to allow online USCIS stakeholders to submit interactive feedback and new ideas to improve USCIS customer service. USCIS has setup the “USCIS Idea Community”, an online site that allows registered users to: submit feedback and ideas, to vote on ideas and to comment on ideas. The “USCIS Idea Community” is structured to accept feedback and ideas about USCIS’s services and the way in which those services are provided. It is NOT a place to ask questions about or comment on specific immigration cases. They have stated that, “Any questions or comments regarding a case will be deleted.”
IdeaScale is an easy-to-use web-based (cloud) solution for the collection of feedback and ideas. In its first year (2008), IdeaScale brought in high-profile government contracts with many prestigious clients like the VA, FCC, and the Office of the President of the United States. IdeaScale has quickly expanded into the private and Enterprise sectors, where this online solution is now being used by many of the world’s most recognizable brands such as Xerox, Intel, Subaru and many others.
Source of Information:
Immigration Policy Center Releases Updated State-by-State Fact Sheets!
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. 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. debates Comprehensive Immigration Reform, we thought that it would be an appropriate 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; Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Virginia and Washington.
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 Green Card
Can same-sex marriages, like opposite-sex marriages, reduce the residence period required for naturalization?
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) have added more Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) on the subject of Same-Sex Marriages and immigration benefits. There are now a total of (9) answered questions on the following subjects: “Petitioning for my Spouse”, “Applying for Benefits”, “Changes in Eligibility Based on Same-Sex Marriage”, “Residency Requirements”, and “Inadmissibility Waivers”. This updated information is now available on the USCIS web page, “Same-Sex Marriages”.
Source of Information:
USCIS.gov, 7/26/13, News Alert
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 “Software Quality Engineer.”
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 violating PERM Regulation 20 CFR 656.17 (f)(4) among other grounds. PERM regulation 656.17 (f)(4) requires that newspaper ads “must indicate the geographic area of employment with enough specificity to apprise applicants of any travel requirements and where applicants will likely have to reside to perform the job opportunity.” The Employer’s Notice of Filing and recruitment efforts listed Santa Clara, California ONLY; however, the ETA Form 9089 mentioned Santa Clara, California, and “various unanticipated locations throughout the U.S.”
Even though the Employer sent a reconsideration request to the CO, he delivered a second denial and forwarded the case to BALCA for review. The Employer argued that the position did not necessitate travel and only listed it on the ETA Form to “allow for participation in events outside of the employer’s offices.” They insisted that the travel requirement was optional.
Immigration Policy Center Releases Updated State-by-State Fact Sheets!
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. 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. debates Comprehensive Immigration Reform, we thought that it would be an appropriate 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; New Mexico, New Jersey, Oklahoma and Oregon.
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, August 2, 2013. Act now and submit your questions!
H1B Visa Lawyer Blog