Processing Time reports for all of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) Centers were released on July 15, 2009 with processing dates as of May 31, 2009.
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 Department of State has released its latest Visa Bulletin. The August 2009 visa bulletin still shows employment based third preference (EB-3) visas as oversubscribed while the employment based second preference (EB-2) is current for all areas of chargeability except for China and India.
Click here to view the August 2009 Visa Bulletin.
On July 8, 2009, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) updated the count of H-1B petitions received and counted towards the 65,000 cap.
As of July 3rd, 2009, 45,000 H-1B cap subject nonimmigrant visa petitions have been filed. USCIS has advised that they will continue to accept petitions until the cap is reached. Additionally, USCIS reported that they received 20,000 advanced degree H-1B petitions. Although the limit on advanced degree petitions is 20,000, past experience has tended to show that not all petitions received are approvable.
Accordingly, qualifying applicants are still able to petition for an H-1B nonimmigrant visa either under the general cap, or as an applicant with an advanced degree. (i.e., U.S. Master’s degree)
The United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) recently announced that the 2/2/09 revision of Form I-9, which is currently located on the USCIS website will remain valid until futher notice. The version of the form currently on the website was set to expire on June 30, 2009.
If you have any questions regarding Form I-9 and your business, please contact our office.
The Foreign Credentialing Commission on Physical Therapy (FCCPT) issued a letter clarifying its educational equivalency for foreign educated Physical Therapists in February of 2009. Recently, there has been much confusion over the issue.
The FCCPT is the only entity authorized by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) to issue such certificates, which verify that a foreign applicant has acquired an education substantially equivalent to the US standard in education of physical therapists.
In summary, the letter provides that when the FCCPT issues a Type 1 Comprehensive Credentials Review Certificate, it is asserting that the applicant has acquired at least a Master’s degree or higher in Physical Therapy, as required under the regulations.
The Board of Alien Labor Certification Appeals (BALCA) recently vacated the final determination of a Certifying Officer (CO) denying labor certification (LC) for an alien worker for the position of “Cook.”
The employer filed a LC on behalf of an alien worker in February of 2006. In November of 2007, the CO denied certification under 20 C.F.R. § 656.3 because he was unable to verify the Employer as a bona fide entity. The CO did not explicitly request proof of the employer’s Federal Employer Identification Number (FEIN). In response to the denial, the Employer submitted a copy of a prior approved labor certification arguing that it was for the same employer, same address, same telephone number, and same FEIN. The Employer also submitted a Yellow Pages advertisement for the company, and the company’s business license in a request to the CO for reconsideration. Thereafter, in March of 2009, the CO issued a letter of reconsideration providing that the application would be denied because the applying company could not be verified as a bona fide entity under the regulations. Specifically, the CO stated that the other application contained a FEIN different from the application presently under review; therefore it did not serve as verification of a bona fide entity. Accordingly, since the Employer failed to provide proof of a valid FEIN, the denial was appropriate.
The CO then forwarded the case to BALCA. The Employer submitted an appellate brief arguing that at no time did the CO clarify that he wanted proof of a valid FEIN, and furthermore, never requested such proof. The CO filed a letter brief arguing that its decision should be affirmed by the Board because the Employer did not provide a valid FEIN as required under the regulations.
On June 30, 2009, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) updated the count of H-1B petitions received and counted towards the 65,000 cap.
As of June 26, 2009, 44,800 H-1B cap subject nonimmigrant visa petitions have been filed. USCIS has advised that they will continue to accept petitions until the cap is reached. Additionally, USCIS reported that they received 20,000 advanced degree H-1B petitions. Although the limit on advanced degree petitions is 20,000, past experience has tended to show that not all petitions received are approvable.
Accordingly, qualifying applicants are still able to petition for an H-1B nonimmigrant visa either under the general cap, or as an applicant with an advanced degree. (i.e., U.S. Master’s degree)
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) launched a bold new audit initiative on July 1, 2009 to combat the problem of hiring of an illegal workforce.
On July 1, 652 businesses nationwide were served with Audit Notifications indicating that ICE would be inspecting their hiring records (Form I-9) to determine whether they are in accordance with the employment eligibility verification laws and regulations.
The businesses presented with the Notice of Intent to Audit Form I-9 were selected as a result of leads and other information obtained through other investigative measures.
Effective July 1, 2009, all users of the Old LCA system must begin using the new iCert system located on the U.S. Department of Labor Employment & Training Administration website to file LCAs.
On June 24, 2009, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) updated the count of H-1B petitions received and counted towards the 65,000 cap. As of June 19, 2009, 44,500 H-1B cap subject nonimmigrant visa petitions have been filed. USCIS has advised that they will continue to accept petitions until the cap is reached. Additionally, USCIS reported that they received 20,000 advanced degree H-1B petitions. Although the limit on advanced degree petitions is 20,000, past experience has tended to show that not all petitions received are approvable.
Accordingly, qualifying applicants are still able to petition for an H-1B nonimmigrant visa either under the general cap, or as an applicant with an advanced degree. (i.e., U.S. Master’s degree)
If you have any questions surrounding the H-1B nonimmigrant visa program, please contact our office.
H1B Visa Lawyer Blog