OUTSIDE THE BOX THINKING, DELIVERING CUTTING EDGE SOLUTIONS!

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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 (9/20/13); 28,173 beneficiaries have been approved and 749 are pending for a total of 28,922.

The H-2B cap limit for first half of FY 2014 (October 1 – March 31) is 33,000. As of the last count (9/20/13); 4,657 beneficiaries have been approved and 1,892 are pending for a total of 6,549.

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The American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) has requested information from the federal government agencies involved in the immigration system for updates on their contingency plans in case of a government shutdown. A possible government shutdown could happen as early as October 1, 2013, the beginning of the new fiscal year 2014 (FY2014). AILA has reported that they have not received any updated information at this time. They suggested reviewing the shutdown plans for the last threatened federal government shutdown, which was in 2011.

Below is an excerpt from MVP Law Group’s original blog post on the subject dated (4/8/11).

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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

I have an H-1B application pending since April 2013, CAP case, no RFE issued yet. Can I contact USCIS and make a service request for them to look further into the case and why it is taking so long? Filed at Vermont.

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The State Department has confirmed that employment annual limits have been reached, as is often the case at the end of a fiscal year.

USCIS will continue to process pending adjustment cases, and is able to submit visa number requests for all cases which are being finalized. The State Department will place requests in a “Pending Demand” file.

Eligible cases which have been submitted to the State Department that are within the October cut-off dates will be automatically authorized effective October 1, 2013.

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On Friday, September 20, 2013, the Center for American Progress released a report on Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). The report entitled “Undocumented No More” is a nationwide analysis of DACA’s implementation over the last year. The (51) page report has many great sections, from summarizing DACA to how the different regions of the country have implemented it and how that has caused differences. The report has a section entitled;” The gendered dimensions of DACA” which examines how DACA is being implemented across gender lines, which is not something that we have seen discussed before and is very interesting. We encourage you to read the report.

The Center for American Progress describes itself is an independent nonpartisan educational institute dedicated to improving the lives of Americans through progressive ideas and action. The Center which is headquartered in Washington, D.C. is a Public Policy Think Tank!

Source of Information:

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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 “Operating Engineer.”

After receiving & reviewing an Employer’s Application for Permanent Labor Certification, the CO denied certification of the application because the Employer had placed their State Workforce Agency (SWA) job order more than 180 days prior to the filing of their ETA Form 9089.

The Employer sent a reconsideration request to the CO arguing that “the 180 day period should be calculated based on the end date of the SWA, rather than the date it commenced.” To interpret the regulations otherwise would penalize employers who wanted to run their SWA’s for longer than 180 days. The CO did reconsider but afterwards, he confirmed the denial. Not happy with the outcome, the Employer appealed the decision to BALCA and restated its argument.

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On Tuesday, September 17, 2013, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced they have awarded nearly $9.9 million in grants to qualified organizations serving immigrants. These grants will be used by 40 organizations from 21 states to help prepare legal permanent residents (LPR) for U.S. citizenship.

The News Release stated, “Under this year’s program, grant recipients will offer citizenship instruction to prepare permanent residents for the civics and English components of the naturalization test, and naturalization application services within the scope of the authorized practice of immigration law. The period of performance for the grants is two years.”

USCIS Director Alejandro Mayorkas stated, “This funding will help thousands of permanent residents gain the support they need to learn English and civics, and embrace the important rights and responsibilities of United States citizenship.” For more detailed information please review the USCIS News Release listed below.

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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 27, 2013. Act now and submit your questions!

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Annually, the United States government issues a maximum of 50,000 green cards through a computer-generated random lottery drawing. Applications for the DV-2015 random lottery will be accepted from noon (EDT) Tuesday, October 1, 2013 through noon (EDT) Saturday, November 2, 2013. Paper entries will not be accepted, eligible participants may access the electronic Diversity Visa entry form (E-DV) to apply during this period. Early entry is recommended and they strongly encourage applicants not to wait until the last week of the registration period to enter!

These green cards are only available to those eligible participants from countries with low rates of immigration to the United States. Please check the “INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE 2015 DIVERSITY IMMIGRANT VISA PROGRAM (DV-2015)” for the complete list of countries/areas whose natives are eligible for DV-2015.

Natives of the following countries are not eligible to apply because the countries sent a total of more than 50,000 immigrants to the U.S. in the previous five years: Bangladesh, Brazil, Canada, China (mainland-born), Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Haiti, India, Jamaica, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, South Korea, United Kingdom (except Northern Ireland) and its dependent territories, and Vietnam. Also, persons born in Hong Kong SAR, Macau SAR, and Taiwan are eligible. A notable change in eligibility for DV-2015, natives of Nigeria are no longer eligible.

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Processing Time reports for all of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) Service Centers were released on 9/17/13 with processing dates as of 7/31/13.

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

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