Automatic Visa Revalidation Restriction Regulation I-140/485 Concurrent Filing Regulation Non-immigrant Allied Health care Worker Visa Screen Requirement Final Rule PERM Final Regulation Home Page: www.immigration-law.com Current Page[01/01/2010 - Present]/Archive XX[05/01/2009-12/31/2009/Archive XIX[10/01/2008-04/30/2009]/Archive XVII[03/31/2008 - 09/30/2008]Archive XVI[08/01/2007 - 03/31/2008/Archive XV [04/30/2007 - 07/31/2007]/Archive XIV[06/15/2006 - 03/31/2007]Archive XIII [12/01/05 - 06/1/06. ] Warning: The postings at this site are protected by copyright. Anyone who copies and publishes without disclosing the sources (www.immigration-law.com) will violate our copyright, not to mention reprehensible and unethical conduct of plagiarism. Q & A: H-1B Cap & OPT Issues 02/08/2010: Advance Copy of State Department Proposed New Consular Services Fee Schedule The State Department will publish this proposed rule tomorrow in the federal register with 30-day comment period from tomorrow. As one can figure out, they are raising fees substantially. It suffice to note particularly the following three points: They will raise Employment-Based Immigration Application fee from current $365 to $720, almost double, while other types of immigrant visa applications will just go up slightly. Renunciating your U.S. citizenship will no longer be free. They will charge $450 for renunciation of a U.S. citizenship. International litigations, beware that their support for your litigation, including deposition, will be quite expensive. Well, things are changing. 02/08/2010: Government Offices Closures in the Washington, D.C. Areas on Monday, 02/08/2010 The blizzard hit hard in the D.C. and surrounding areas. For the reasons, at the decision of the federal Office of Personnel Management, the federal government offices in the areas closed at 1:00 p.m. on Friday, 02/05, 2010. AILA reports that because of the severety of the hit of the blizzard, the federal government in the D.C. area will remain closed on Monday, 02/08/2010. So are many Maryland and Virginia metro governments and offices. AILA which is located in the D.C. area will also be closed. We wish well for the people in the areas. 02/07/2010: March 2010 Visa Bulletin EB Literally Moves in Snail Pace. Thank God, No B ackward Move, Though! EB-2: Worldwide - Still current EB-2 India - 02/01/2005 EB-2 China - 07/08/2005 EB-3 Worldwide - 12/15/2002 EB-3 India - 07/01/2001 EB-3 China - 12/15/2002 EB-3: Mexico - 07/01/2002 EB-3: Philippines - 12/15/2002 FB Moves in Turtle Pace. Thank God, No Backward Move, Though! No predictions, Ladies and Gentlemen! 02/07/2010: USCIS to Revise I-129 Form I-129 form is used for employment-based nonimmigrant visa petitions including H-1B. FY 2011 H-1B cap filing is scheduled to open effective April 1, 2010. Watch for the forthcoming revised I-129 form. Nowadays, the immigration forms are revised very frequently and employers and immigrants should always check the USCIS form site to assure that the forms they use are up to date. Just heads-up! 02/07/2010: iCERT Portal System is Back Up and Running 02/06/2010: iCERT Portal System is Down As of this evening, DOL's iCERT Portal System is down and none of the temporary certification applications including Labor Condition Application for H-1B and prevailing wage determination using ETA 9141 are available. It is hoped that the system be fixed as soon as possible. 02/06/2010: Are You a Naturalizaton Applicant and Interested in Naturalization Information Sessions Offered by USCIS in Your Area? Please check it out the sessions which are scheduled in your areas. The topics will include: Below is a list of upcoming naturalization information sessions for legal permanent residents and interested naturalization applicants. Topics covered at these FREE sessions will include: (1) naturalization eligibility requirements; (2) naturalization process; (3) naturalization test and (4) rights and responsibilities of U.S. citizenship. 02/06/2010: USCIS Schedules a Collatoration Session on Signatures on Applications and Petitions Filed with USCIS on 02/09/2010, 1:00 P.M., EST USCIS invites national stakholdrs to participate in a teleconference to discuss the implementation of recently developed policy and guidance clarifying the accetability of signatures on applications and petitions filed with USCIS. For the details on the teleconference, please click here. 02/06/2010: Foreign Worker Employment in Northern Mariana Islands and Guam Are Exempt From H-1B and H-2B Annual Cap Workers in H-1B and H-2B classifications who are admitted to perform labor and services in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) and Guam are exempt from the H-1B cap and H-2B cap from November 28, 2009 to December 31, 2014. The Consolidated Natural Resources Act of 2008 (CNRA), Public Law 110-229, provides a special exemption to the statutory numerical limitations (or “caps”) for temporary workers in H nonimmigrant classifications mentioned in Section 214(g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). However, the same employees' employment, either parti-time or full-time, in the mainland USA and Hawaii will be subject to the annual cap and the H-1B visa holders through employment in these two islands are not permitted to perform work in the mainland USA and Hawaii, unless a separate cap-subject H-1B petition has been granted. Read on. 02/06/2010: Rep. Yvette Clarke of New York Introduces H.R.4616 To Temporarily Expand the V Visa Category to Certain Haitians. The bill was introduced in the house to temporarily expand the V nonimmigrant visa category to include Haitians whose petition for a family-sponsored immigrant visa was approved on or before January 12, 2010. If enacted, certain beneficiaries of family immigration petitions will be allowed to come to the U.S. in V visa status pending the immigrant visa number available inasmuch as they meet the V nonimmigrant visa thresholds. 02/06/2010: USCIS Interpretation of Refunded TARP-Funded Employers for H-1B Filing Procedure and Need for Identical Interpretation by DOL There are many employers who received TARP money, particulaarly in financial community, and have been handicapped in filing H-1B petitions to hire new H-1B employees. In order to relieve such employers from such handicaps, the USCIS has taken two steps releasing its interpretation of the law in two different sequence. One is the one which was released earlier and the other is the one which they just released yesterday. These releases have cleared two issues as follows: Eligibility of Current Employees of the TARP-Funded Employers: To either change status from other non-immigrant status to H-1B cap petitions or extension of their current H-1B status. Earlier, the USCIS released its interpretation that the new applies only to the "new" hires and does not apply to any existing employees, no matter in what nonimmigrant status they were in. Accordingly, those who have been working for such employer in F-1 OPT status or L-1 or E-1 or E-2 or any other types of nonimmigrant visa status will be able to file FY 2011 H-1B cap petitions. For the cap exempt employers, the same rule will apply. As for those who have been working for such employer already in H-1B status and need extension of the H-1B status, these employers are not subject to the addtitional attestations of recruitment and no displacement of U.S. workers from the perspectives of the USCIS and they will be able to file H-1B petitions to extend their status with the same TARP-funded employer. TARP-Funded Employers Who Paid Back the TARP Money to the Feds: Under the just released guidance, they should be able to file new FY 2011 H-1B petitions to hire new employees in H-1B status without being subject to addtiional attestations as H-1B dependent employer. However, there remains one grey area which the DOL will have to remove as quickly as possible. DOL form ETA 9035E still requires to follow its own rule relating to the question of TARP-funded employers relating the additional attestation requirements. We urge the leaders of the DOL/OFLC to revise its LCA filing guidance as soon as possible in consistence with the newly released USCIS interpretation relating to the TARP-funded employers who have returnded TARP money. 02/05/2010: USCIS Guidance on TARP-Funded Employers That Have Returned the Fund and Their H-1B Petition Process Good news for these employers who have long awaited the USCIS answer to this question. It is very timely in that the FY 2011 H-1B cap filing date, 04/01/2010, is soon approaching. The TARP funded employers who have returned the fund and their future H-1B employees should read the following USCIS releases carefully: USCIS announcement 02/04/2010 USCIS earlier announcement on the TARP-fund employers and H-1B filing restrictions. DOL has yet to announce its policy on LCA. 02/04/2010: USCIS Releases Names of Employers and Number of H-1B Cap Petitions Filed by Each Employer in FY 2009 This is the information which was reported by the Computerworld as we reported earlier. However, this USCIS report is more direct sources of information that even covers by employers in foreign countries. It is a huge document. Read on. 02/04/2010: USCIS Releases Findings of the E-Verify Program Evaluation, December 2009 This is a very voluminous (330+ web pages) document, but the employers and their representatives may want to review this report during the weekend. 02/04/2010: Naturalization Applications Processing Statistics as of 12/31/2009 Naturalization receipts in December 2009 increased 124 % when compared to December 2008, while approvals/oaths decreased by 32 % and denials decreased 48 %. The number of pending N-400 cases reached 245,064 in December 2009, a decrease of 35 % compared to the same month in fiscal year 2009. For the full details, please click here. 02/04/2010: USCIS Immigration Applications/Petitions Processing Statistics as of 12/31/2009 Receipts of applications and petitions for immigration benefits in December 2009 decreased 41 % compared to the number received in December 2008. Approvals in December 2009 decreased by 24 %, and denials increased by 24 %, and pending cases decreased by 47% compared to December 2008. However, there were 100,107 EAD applications pending. For the full details, please click here. 02/04/2010: USCIS Withdraws Memorandum on "Acceptable" Signatures on Applications and Petitions This memorandum which was posted yesterday has been pulled off of its website. According to the AILA, the USCIS has decided to withdraw this memorandum. 02/04/2010: OMB Clears H-2A Final Rule on 02/03/2010 The H-2A rule making has witnessed a lot of roller coaster ride during the last 14 months. This final rule was enacted as the last minute rule making agenda of the Bush Administration. After the Obama Administration board the ship, this rule was initially suspended and afterward withdrawn. Then the Obama Administration reintroduced the H-2A final rule removing "poisonous" elements from the perspectives of the new government. This final version of the rule was finally cleared by the OMB of the White House yesterday and is expected to be released in the federal register sooner or later. Please stay tuned. 02/04/2010: "Acceptable Signature" Memorandum and Premium Processing Request Filing Advisory [USCIS Reportedly Withdraws the Memorandum] The USCIS memorandum which this reporter posted yesterday was issued on 01/19/2010 but released on 02/03/2010. The memorandum amended the Adjudicators Field Manual and the adjudicators who adjudicate all the nonimmigrant and immigrant visa petitions and applications after 01/18/2010 were supposed to follow the AFM as amended per the memorandum. No wonder why there have been a numerous reports that employers who filed Premium Processing Requests through their outside representatives have witnessed rejection of their filings lately. It appears that in light of the date of the amendment which was only about ten days back, the field offices appear to be in a state of confusion themselves as to whether the memorandum applies to I-907 Premium Processing Requests, judging from the late unofficial information that certain Service Center had denied such I-907 but later released information backing off from the rejection practice. Close reading of the memorandum indicates that it applies to all the application and petition forms which are filed with the USCIS. It will thus be prudent, not to experience rejection or denial of filings, that when the employers and the aliens file I-907 Premium Processing Request through outside representatives including an attorney, the authorized employees of the company or individual applicant should sign the I-907 form. 02/03/2010: USCIS Memorandum on "Acceptable" Signatures on Applications and Petitions[USCIS Reportedly Withdraws the Memorandum] The USCIS has just released a memorandum issued by the new USCIS Acting Deputy Director, dated 01/19/2010, concerning the above-entitled subject. Point blank, non-employee legal representatives cannot sign the forms in place of their clients!!!! Any applications and petitions without the authorized signature of the petitioner or applicant in violation of this memorandum will be "rejected." For other details, please read the memorandum. 02/03/2010: Prospects for Changes in Foreign Labor Certification Processing Plan During FY 2011 The FY 2011 DOL Performance Plan reflects that in FY 2009, there was no specific plan in permanent labor certification program to set aside certain applications for "integrity" performance. This, however, changed in FY 2010, targeting 60% of applictions for integrity process leading to the current PERM application processing time delays to 10 months and audit case delays in processing since late 2007. The FY 2011 performance target for integrity work will increase to 61%, which may be reflected in the forthcoming reengineered revised ETA 9089 filing form and filing procedure changes, further focusing on "integrity" of the PERM applications. Accordingly, the employers will have to endure not only the down-turn times for the next year relating to the slow economic recovery but also from difficulties and delays in hiring needed foreign workers for "permanent" employment for a prolonged period of time. Employers may as well learn to live with the current delays in permanent labor certification process at least another a year and a half. Not a promising news for the employment-based immigration community as well. 02/03/2010: FY 2011 (10/01/2010-09/30/2011) Foreign Labor Certification Program Budget Proposes Labor Certification Application Fees During th past few years, the DOL has been considering charge of filing fees for temporary and permanent labor certification applications. Thus far, it has never materialized. However, in the FY 2011 budget proposal, it again proposes to charge filing fees. Its justification goes: "Currently, employers do not pay a fee to the Department for the processing of permanent foreign labor certification applications. Employers are the primary beneficiaries – at taxpayers’ expense – of the permanent admission of specific foreign workers and of the attestation-based review of applications they receive under the current process. Therefore, it is reasonable to require that employers pay the processing expense to the Department of providing this service. Second, it is proposed that the Department keep application fees paid by employers under the H-2A temporary agricultural worker program to offset its processing costs ($100 base fee plus $10 per worker, up to a maximum of $1,000 for each application approved). However, the Department does not retain these H-2A fees to offset its processing costs. Third, it is proposed that the Department be permitted to charge employers a fee to support the processing of applications for the H-2B nonagricultural program. H-2B fee revenue also would be used for a new apprenticeship initiative that would expand apprenticeship opportunities across the country through a competitive grant program that could lessen our dependence on foreign labor for these occupations." 02/03/2010: DOL iCERT Portal System Problem Fixed and Now Up and Running For a few days, the foreign labor certification application new online filing system named iCERT portal system experienced a problem and witnessed outage. This has created a problem for H-1B petitioners and PERM employers since they could not file H-1B Labor Condition Application, ETA 9035E, and Prevailing Wage Determination Request, ETA 9141. Thank God, the problem has been fixed, and since yesterday afternoon, the system has been up and running again without any problem. We thank the OFLC leaders and technical team working hard during the weekend to deal with the technical problem. 02/02/2010: USCIS Alert - Approx 500 Incorrect 129 & 539 Approval Notices Issued Between 01/20/2010 and 01/27/2010 USCIS has issued special alert that the agency issued approximately 500 incorrect approval notices for I-129 and I-539 between January 20 and January 27, 2010, and the agency is in the process of issuing revised approval notices, which the involved parties should receive it by February 8, 2010. For the details, click here. 02/02/2010: State Department Notice of Secondary School Student Exchange Visitor Sponsor Onsite Reviews The State Department will initially conduct on-site reviews of all fee charging program sponsors. Excluded from this first round of review are all Rotary programs, schools, school districts, and government programs. Following the first round of on-site reviews, the Department will determine whether to conduct on-site reviews of some or all of the remaining non-fee-charging sponsors, or if a comparable review of these programs can be conducted through some alternative method. The Department intends to examine a broad range of sponsor operations. The process will encompass in-depth financial review; examination of program pricing structures; appraisal of organizational operating models; review of hiring criteria and training policies for program employees and agents; evaluation of third party contractor relationships; and standard operating procedures, especially those related to the screening and selection of host families and the repatriation of program participants. Other areas of review will include, but are not limited to, decision-making processes (including the numbers of students accepted); self-imposed compliance mechanisms; procedures for handling student problems; standards for the selection of housing with host families; and policies for refunding deposits or payments when applicants cannot participate due to visa denial or sponsor inability to secure a placement. The Department will also examine the relationships between sponsors and third parties, including foreign partners. In the case of foreign partners, the Department will review their role in the overall placement process and the fees they charge for their services. The State Department will scrutinize all contractual relationships under which designated sponsors outsource “core” services, i.e., the screening, selection, placement, orientation, and monitoring functions that constitute the core elements of international exchange programming. For the other details, please click here. 02/01/2010: Effective 03/04/2010, DHS to Enforce Amended Rule for Professional Conduct for Practitioners, Procedures, Representation, and Appearances DHS is amending the rule for practitioners who will practice before the agency as well as procedures, representation, and appearances. This rule will take effective 30 days from tomorrow. Those who appear before various agencies of the DHS, including law students, should make themselves familiarized with the amended rules. Read on. 01/29/2010: USCIS Announces Appointment of Associate Director, Eddie Brown, for the New Customer Directorate Under the Realigned USCIS Structure Mr. Brown will be responsible for the USCIS National Customer Service Center, a multi-site, state-of-the-art call center operation providing automated and live assistance services to more than 16 million customers annually; the USCIS Customer Assistance Office which responds to written inquiries received by the White House, the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, the USCIS Director, and the USCIS Ombudsman; Local Services Office which develops and manages customer self-service and notification tools such as Case Status Online and Portfolio Management, Change of Address Online, and Online Content Management; and Planning and Coordination which manages the budget, contracts, and personnel in support of the Directorate. For the biography of Mr. Brown, please click here. 01/29/2010: USCIS National Stakeholder Meeting (01/26/2010) Minutes This minutes covers the subject as to how H-1B cap number count has been counted and announced with reference to special Singapore and Chile H-1B1 numbers. Our readers will learn that our report of USCIS cap count method and prediction during last year hit the nail. This minute also dicloses that ICE is expected to release its final rule on Cap-Gap rule for H-1B pending or approved F-1 foreign students in cap-gap situation. Please stay tuned to this website for this upcoming release of the final cap-gap rule. 01/29/2010: Matthew Oh Launches Questions & Answers Page for FY 2011 H-1B Cap and Related OPT or Other Issues Readers must have noticed that we have just set up a link to Question & Answer Sessions page for discussion of H-1B and related issues for our visitors. FY 2011 H-1B cap filing is only about two months away and we want to discuss with the visitors in the form of Q&A. The Q&A site will be activated beginning from Monday, February 1, 2010. We encourage visitors to send questions to us by email to: matthewoh.attorney@gmail.com. The questions will be posted anonimoualy but people should not give any information or facts that can give some clues to others as to the identity of the question sources. We will also edit the text of the questions. 01/28/2010: Recent USCIS Memorandum on Employer-Employee Relationship for H-1B Petition Puts the USCIS in the Storm of Controversy and Potential Target for Lawsuit This memorandum which we reported earlier has been causing serious challenges by the agency against the nonimmigrant and immigrant petitions filed by the IT consulting businesses as well as challenges faced by the H-1B foreign consultants returning from overseas trips. Additionally, this memorandum poses a serious threat agaist the beneficiaries of immigrant and nonimmigrant petitions where the beneficiaries own controlling shares or self-employed business petitioner. To address the problem, the AILA has written a letter to the Counsel of the USCIS to review the legality of this memorandum from the standpoint of various rules and laws, particularly APA, and also from the standpoint of the agency's age-old tradition and practice permitting self-owned business filing employment-based petitions under certain circumstances. The issue of whether or not the agency should have followed the procedure under the Administrative Procedure Act and taken rule-making route instead of memorandum format is vulnerable to the legal challenge in federal courts. Please stay tuned to this website for the development of this news. 01/28/2010: State Department Estimate of DV Immigration Lottery Registrations of Approximately 6,000,000 The State Department has been conducting annually immigration lottery registration electronically and out of the restrants, the agency randomly selects 50,000 who will be eligible for immigrant applications. The agency is currently using DS-551 electronic registration form and seeks reauthorization of this form from the White House. According to the information, the agency estimates at approximately 6,000,000 restrants annually. Wow! Read on. 01/28/2010: BIA Rules "Alien Reentered Without Inspection After Unlawful Stay for 1-Year and Departing from the U.S. is Not Eligible for 245(i) Benefit This decision affects those mostly from the border states who enter the U.S. without inspection and stays in the U.S. for one year or longer and departs afterward from the U.S. and reenter the country, again without inspection. In this case, the Board of Immigration Appeals ruled yesterday that they are not eligible for 245 benefits even if they are grandfathered for the 245(i) benefits and otherwise eligible for I-485 application based on family-based or employment-based immigrant petition. See Matter of DIAZ and LOPEZ, 25 I&N Dec 188 (BIA 2010), Interim Decision #3672 (BIA January 27, 2001) 01/27/2010: USCIS Special Notice: To Reissue Certain Advance Parole Documents USCIS announced today that it will reissue Advance Parole documents (Form I-512) in response to documents that were mailed to applicants with an incorrect issue date of January 5, 1990. All affected documents have been identified and USCIS will automatically reissue documents to individuals who have received a document with the incorrect issue date. All documents continue to be valid as the expiration dates remain accurate, therefore it is not necessary for applicants to contact USCIS regarding their pending application unless their application is outside the normal processing time of 90 days. If you need to travel urgently and you have received a document with an invalid issue date, then you may travel using the incorrect document. U.S. Customs & Border Protection (CBP) has been alerted however, you may be questioned about the issuance date. Therefore, please print this explanation to share with CBP if necessary. 01/27/2010: USCIS Announces Change of Filing Location for Form I-601 (Application for Waiver of Ground of Inadmissibility) Read on for the new filing location. 01/27/2010: USCIS Fact Sheet: Humanitarian Parole 01/27/2010: USCIS Releases Q&A on Requirement & Procedure for Requesting Fee Waiver for Haitian TPS Applications Read on. 01/27/2010: Board of Immigration Appeals Ruled on 01/25/2010 No Hardship Waiver Required For Alien Spouse Whose Spouse Deceased During I-751 Condition Removal Proceeding The BIA handed down another good decision in Matter of Rose, 25 I&N Dec 181 (BIA 2010), Interim Decision #3670 (BIA, January 25, 2010) that a conditional permanent resident under section 216(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act who is seeking to remove the conditional basis of that status and who has timely filed the petition and appeared for the interview required under the law does not need a separate hardship waiver if the petitioning spouse died during the 2-year conditional period. Please read the full text. 01/27/2010: Bills to Regulate Involvement of Foreign Nationals by Certain Contributions This is an election year and election related issues is slowly heating up. Yesterday, both in the House and the Senate, three legislators introduced identical/similar bills to ban on contributions and expenditures by foreign nationals to domestic corporations which are owned or controlled by foreign principals, etc. Obviously, they want to regulate influence of foreign businesses and foreign nationals in the country's national election. These bills are proposed to amend the current Federal Election Campaign Act. Foreign nationals and businesses may follow up the legislation process of these bills. The three bills are: H.R. 4522 sponsored by Rep Pascrell, Bill, Jr. New Jersey H.R. 4523 sponsored by Rep Perriello, Thomas S.P. Virginia S. 2954 sponsored by Sen Menendez, Robert. New Jersey 01/26/2010: Comprehensive Immigration Reform in 2010 - A Soccer Ball of Politics? Read on. 01/26/2010: USCIS Issues Warning Against Immigration Scams Targeting Haitian TPS Applicants Warning What to do and what not to do 01/25/2010: CRS 'U.S. Immigration Policy on Haitian Migrants' Report of 01/15/2010 Reviews Ever-Complicating Post-Haiti Trauma U.S. Immigration Policy Issues As Haiti ends rescue mission, the Haiti is struggling to deal with post-rescue recovery related social, economic, and political issues. Relating to the issues, the United States is facing massive and flood of Haitian refugee relief and migration policy issue which raises national migration policy from a long term national policy perspective. The conflicting views are gradually looming up. This CRS report reviews the issues from various perspectives. 01/25/2010: Pearl Cheng, Acting Chief of Office of Policy & Strategy Replaced by David Howell in the New USCIS Leadership Team After six months of taking charge of USCIS Directorship of USCIS in August 2009, Mr. Alejandro Mayorkas appears to reshaping up his new leadership team to assist him with management of the agency. Pearl Cheng has been in charge of the Office of Policy & Strategy, an important post for formulating policies, but she has just been replaced by Mr. David Howell. It is uncertain whether the ongoing shake-up of the USCIS headquarters leadership will trickle down to the next layer of leaderships in the field office posts. Please stay tuned. 01/25/2010: H-1B Visa Usage by U.S. Employer and List of H-1B Employers in 2009 According to the report of Computerworld, the U.S. companies continued to hire people using H-1B visas. See the list of U.S. employers by the size of H-1B visa usage. 01/24/2010: USCIS Follow-Up Session on Business Transformation Program: External Data Interface Standards (EDIS) On Januaary 20, 2010, USCIS had a collaboration session to present and discuss the technical details of forthcoming operation of business transformation program. This presentation gives the perspectives of the forthcoming reengineered immigration benefits management system and procedures of filing, processing, and adjudication. Read on. 01/24/2010: DOL ICERT Portal System End User Advisory DOL posted on 01/22/2010, advising end users to contac oflc.port@gol.gov in case that the users experience any difficulty accessing any portion of its iCERT portal application. As we posted earlier, the DOL reconfigured iCERT Portal System and started accepting online the prevailing wage determination application using iCERT portal system. Understandably when a system is reconfigured, there can arise some unexpected and unanticipated technical diffulties. DOL thus wants to know any difficulty the users may experience so that the DOL can try to fix the problems. There are some reports relating to filing of ETA 9141 prevailing wage determination request through iCERT portal system. We urge the end-users to cooperate and assist with the DOL to detect the problems. Read on. 01/23/2010: New Lineup of USCIS Leadership The following list represents the new line-up of the USCIS leadership as of now: Alejandro "Ali" Mayorkas, Director, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Lauren Kielsmeier, Acting Deputy Director of USCIS Rendell Jones, Associate Director, Management Directorate Donald Neufeld, Associate Director, Service Center OperationsDirectorate Gerri Ratliff, Associate Director, Enterprise Services Directorate Debra A. Rogers, Associate Director, Field Operations Directorate Lori Scialabba, Associate Director, Refugee, Asylum and International Operations Directorate Roxana Bacon, USCIS Chief Counsel Rebecca S. Carson, Chief, Office of Citizenship Hubert "Buck" Humphrey, IV, Chief, Office of Communications David R. Howell, Acting Chief, Office of Policy and Strategy Pearl Chang, Acting Chief, Office of Policy and Strategy Gregory Collett, Chief, Office of Transformation Coordination Donald Hawkins, Chief, Office of Privacy James McCament, Chief, Office of Congressional Relations Joe Moore, Chief, Office of Performance and Quality Perry Rhew, Chief Administrative Appeals Office For the biographies of these leaders, please click here. For the new organization chart of the USCIS, please click here. 01/23/2010: Ms. Debra A. Rogers, New Associate Director of Field Operations Directorate of USCIS The Field Operations Directorate of USCIS oversees all the local field offices of the USCIS within the United States other than the Service Centers which come under the jurisdiction of the new Service Center Directorate headed by Mr. Donald Neufeld as Associate Director. Mr. Neufeld is no longer a "Acting" Director but permanent Director. Ms. Debra Rogers has served the USCIS as the Associate Director, Customer Service Directorate, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services until the new appointment. Ms. Rogers served as the Acting Deputy Associate Director for Domestic Operations, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). Prior to her selection in July 2008, she served as Senior Counselor to the USCIS Director on detail while Chief, Information and Customer Service (ICS) Division in the Domestic Operations Directorate, where she had served since July 2006. Prior to her ICS selection, Ms. Rogers had served as Director of the San Diego District Office since January 2004 after serving as Interim District Director. Prior to her appointment as Interim District Director, Ms. Rogers had served with the San Diego District Office of the former Immigration and Naturalization Service since 1995, progressing to Acting Assistant District Director for Adjudications in 2002. In this capacity, she managed a staff of more than 120 Adjudications and Records and Information personnel. Prior to this, Ms. Rogers was the Section Chief for the Adjudications Special Projects Unit. This unit was responsible for benefit fraud investigations, orphan petitions, citizenship, intelligence and security, the National Security Entry/Exit Registration System (NSEERS), and the Student/Schools Program. In San Diego, she also managed the Naturalization and Immigration Benefits Units, strengthened the community outreach program, and established a model public and attorney inquiry system. Prior to San Diego, Ms. Rogers served as a Deportation Officer in the Washington District’s Detention and Removal Unit. She began her immigration career in 1984 as a student intern in the Boston District Office Investigations Branch and upon graduation started as an Immigration Inspector at Boston’s Logan Airport. Ms. Rogers holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Northeastern University. 01/23/2010: USCIS Questions & Answers for Information for U.S. Citizens in the Process of Adopting a Child from Haiti The tragic earthquake in Haiti has produced a huge number of infants and children who have lost their parents and become orphans. Some of them had been orphans even before the earthquake undergoing a long process of adoption by the U.S. citizens. There are others who have fallen into orphans by the earthquake. The DHS and DOS are currently reaching out their hands to help these prospective U.S. citizen parents. The USCIS is responsible for managing and processing adoptees' petition processes here and overseas. The agency has just released a helpful information for these prospective parents in the form of Q&A. We have also posted another Q&A of the USCIS on its new policy on humanitarian parole for these Haiti orphans. Read on. 01/22/2010: Group of Representatives Introduced Yesterday H.Res. 1026 To Reinforce Immigration/Border Enforcement and to Bar Legalization of Illegal Aliens in any CIR Bills Mr. CHAFFETZ (for himself, Mr. HUNTER, Mr. KRATOVIL, Mr. NYE, Mr. FLEMING, Mrs. LUMMIS, Mr. COFFMAN of Colorado, Mr. MCCLINTOCK, Mr. POSEY, Mr. ROE of Tennessee, Mr. HARPER, Ms. JENKINS, Mr. BARROW, Mr. BRIGHT, Mr. LUETKEMEYER, Mr. OLSON, Mr. TAYLOR, Mr. PATRICK J. MURPHY of Pennsylvania, Mr. MCINTYRE, Mr. KAGEN, Mr. SHULER, and Mr. CHILDERS) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committees on Education and Labor and Homeland Security, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned: RESOLUTION Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the continued peace, prosperity, liberty, and national security of the United States and its people depend upon the rule of law and credible and effective immigration enforcement policies which both welcome lawful immigrants and non-immigrants and also prevent the unlawful entry or unlawful continuing presence of foreign persons. Whereas the United States, as a nation of immigrants, recognizes and celebrates the economic and cultural contributions of generations of lawful immigrants; Whereas the United States must remain a place where lawful immigrants can come to enjoy the promises of religious, political, and economic freedom; and Whereas the continued peace, prosperity, liberty, and national security of the United States and its people depend upon the rule of law and credible and effective immigration enforcement policies which both welcome lawful immigrants and non-immigrants and also prevent the unlawful entry or unlawful continuing presence of foreign persons: Now, therefore, be it Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Representatives that-- (1) the use of a basic pilot program described in section 403(a) of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1324a note; commonly known as the E-verify program) by employers of workers within the United States should be mandatory, and that enforcement policies should hold both employers and employees responsible whenever an individual's employment violates United States immigration law; (2) installing and sustaining the necessary border infrastructure and manpower to effectively secure and control United States borders to prevent the unauthorized passage of persons or contraband is a critical responsibility of the Federal Government; and (3) any immigration reform proposal adopted by Congress should not legalize, grant amnesty for, or confer any other legal status condoning the otherwise unlawful entry or presence in the United States of any individual. Hmm.......................................! Hmmm..........................................................!! 01/22/2010: USCIS Leadership Shake-Up Continues - Michael Aytes Replaced by Lauren Kielsmeier for Acting Deputy Director Without much publicity, the USCIS named a new Acting Deputy Director replacing the current Acting Deputy Director, Michael Aytes. The new Acting Deputy Director is the current Chief of Staff, USCIS. Ms. Kielsmeier served in senior policy and management roles in the administration of former Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano. As education policy advisor, Ms. Kielsmeier provided recommendations for education policy, legislation and budget. She worked to implement the governor’s education agenda through the Governor’s P-20 Council (Council), a state-wide education advisory body charged with improving and aligning Arizona’s education systems from early childhood through postsecondary education as well as aligning Arizona’s education systems to the expectations of 21st century employers. One of the Council’s key accomplishments was raising Arizona’s high school graduation requirements in an effort to increase student college- and career-readiness and ensure better alignment between secondary and postsecondary education systems. Ms. Kielsmeier was also responsible for state-level AmeriCorps and youth development programs and funding, and provided oversight to the Governor’s Commission on Service and Volunteerism, Arizona Statewide Youth Development Task Force, Governor’s Youth Commission and the Arizona State Citizen Corps Council. Prior to her work in state government, Ms. Kielsmeier held senior management roles in both the corporate and not-for-profit sectors. At the San Francisco-based technology innovator, RespondTV, she managed the development of interactive television campaigns for high-profile corporate clients. Ms. Kielsmeier also directed a large AmeriCorps program at Civicorps Schools in Oakland – the oldest and largest regional urban corps in California. In this role, she trained, motivated and managed teams to work with and teach young people in the Oakland Public Schools. Ms. Kielsmeier earned a Masters in Business Administration from the University of San Francisco and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science and Community Health from Tufts University. She holds a Multiple Subject Teaching Credential from California State University, East Bay. Lately, Domestic Operations Directorate was eliminated and then two sub divisions of Service Center Operations and Field Operations have been moved up to the two separate directorates. Then Acting Associate Director of Domestic Operations has then been appointed as Associate Director of the new Service Center Operations Directorate. The new Acting Associate Director for the Field Operations has yet to be made public. Prior to that, the Chief Counsel of the USCIS was also replaced. Obviously, the on-going shake-up of the USCIS leadership may bring with it some changes in the direction and policy of the USCIS immigration benefits management, probably reflecting new USCIS Director's policy agenda. Please stay tuned. 01/21/2010: USCIS 01/21/2010 Q&A on I-140 Filing Procedure and Processing This Q&A provides some helpful information on the I-140 filing as well processing information for the employers. 01/21/2010: Small Good News for AC-21 I-140 Portability Invoked I-485 Applicants in Immigration Court Proceeding Until yesterday, those I-485 applicants who invoked AC-21 portability and changed employer had faced a serious problem if they for whatever reasons face removal proceedings in immigration court because of the BIA rule that the immigration judge or BIA did not have jurisdiction to recognize sustainability of I-485 applicant's legal status when the I-485 applicant invoked AC-21 I-140 portability and changed employer. Today, the Board of Immigration Appeals overturned and overruled its prior decision in Matter of Marcal Neto, 25 I&N Dec 169 (BIA), Interim Decision #3669 (BIA, January 21, 2010). Read on. 01/21/2010: iCERT Prevailing Wage Determination Request (ETA 9141) Mandatory Effective Today Office of Foreign Labor Certification now initiates the centralized prevailing wage determination process through iCERT portal system effective today. People can still file it by mail, but the agency strongly discourages such mail filing. It is uncertain at this point whether the employer may as well file the ETA 9141 online about 60 days ahead of their need for PWD to initiate recruitment or file vaious temporary and permanent labor certification applications. Currently, the ETA 9141 which was filed on 01/04/2010 have yet to be adjudicated. OFLC has already alerted the people that the request may be filed 60 days ahead of time. Accordingly employers should be alerted for the anticipated delays in obtaining PWD in planning on initiating foreign labor certification applications. For the iCert prevailing wage determination request, people may go to iCert Portal System which is posted on our homepage and click the form page and click ETA 9141 form. However, under the Quick Start Guide which we posted yesterday, employers should first register themselves in iCert Portal System. 01/21/2010: HHS Extension of 2009 Poverty Guidelines to March 1, 2010 or Beyond Pending Release of Updated Guidelines Every year, the HHS has been publishing yearly poverty guidelines before March of the year. However, this year, (HHS) poverty guidelines will remain in effect until updated 2010 poverty guidelines are published, which shall not take place before March 1, 2010. Accordingly, the USCIS I-864 Affidavit of Support filers may continue to use the current USCIS poverty guidelines of 2009 which is printed in I-864P form until March 1, 2010 or beyond and until the HHS publishes 2010 guidelines. The economy in 2009 was disastrous, but the inflation rate remained steady because of the Federal Reserve's control of interest rate. Please stay tuned. 01/21/2010: H.R. 4471 & S. 2935 Bills in the House and Senate to Exclude Visa Revocation from Judicial Review Yesterday, Rep. Lamar Smith of Texas in the House and Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa in the Senate introduced these companion bills to provide that the revocation of visas and other matters are not subject to judicial review. Another flora of restrictive immigration bills to take advantage of and to ride the anti-immigration sentiment in the country under one of the harshest economic downturn of the country in the century. Text of the bills: SECTION 1. JUDICIAL REVIEW OF VISA REVOCATION. Section 221(i) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1201(i)) is amended by striking ``There shall be no means of judicial review'' and all that follows and inserting the following: ``Notwithstanding any other provision of law, including section 2241 of title 28, United States Code, any other habeas corpus provision, and sections 1361 and 1651 of such title, a revocation under this subsection may not be reviewed by any court, and no court shall have jurisdiction to hear any claim arising from, or any challenge to, such a revocation.''. SEC. 2. EFFECTIVE DATE. The amendment made by section 1 shall-- (1) take effect on the date of the enactment of this Act; and (2) apply to all visas issued before, on, or after such date. Alas! 01/21/2010: Here is Haiti TPS Federal Register Designation Notice Published 01/21/2010 01/20/2010: F and M Foreign Student Data at End of 2009 This Sevis by the Numbers which is released by ICE on January 14, 2010 gives data on foreign students at the end of December 31, 2009. Read on. 01/20/2010: iCERT Prevailing Wage Quick Start Guide of DOL Today, there is outage of iCERT portal system and people cannot use iCert portal to file temporary labor certification application. DOL is currently reconfiguring the system to add iCERT Prevailing Wage Determination Request (ETA 9141) feature online. Beginning from 01/01/2010, DOL required the employers to file prevailing wage determination request with the DOL office in Washington, D.C. in papers until tomorrow when the DOL will open iCERT operation for ETA 9141 filing online. DOL has thus released this Guide to give information to the new online filing procedure and requirement. Employers should review this Guide very carefully in order to file ETA 9041. 01/20/2010: Advance Copy of USCIS Federal Register Notice of Designation of Haiti TPS Effective 01/21/2010 Through 07/22/2011 This notice will be officially published tomorow. 180-day registration period will begin from tomorrow. Read on. 01/20/2010: State Department Q&A on HIV Final Rule Implementation in Visa Processing Q: Why has it taken the United States so long to implement changes for non-U.S. citizens who are HIV- positive to visit or live in the United States? -- On July 30, 2008, President Bush signed the United States Global Leadership Against HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria Reauthorization Act of 2008, which amended the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) to eliminate language that specified HIV infection as a public health condition that can prevent non-U.S. citizens from entering the United States with HIV without first obtaining a waiver from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). -- The Act did not change the regulatory framework under which HIV is handled for visa purposes. Because HIV was still on the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (HHS/CDC) list of communicable diseases of public health significance, HIV-positive applicants who applied for United States visas or entry into the United States remained inadmissible and still required waivers from DHS. Q: Why is the CDC removing HIV infection from both the definition of communicable disease of public health significance and the scope of the medical examination for visa purposes? -- On July 2, 2009, CDC proposed a rule change to amend Title 42 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), Part 34, by removing HIV from the list of communicable disease of public health significance and from the scope of the medical examination for aliens, which was published in the Federal Register as a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) for a 45-day public comment period. -- The CDC reviewed all public comments it received and published a Final Rule in the Federal Register on November 2, 2009, which contains no changes from the NPRM. The final rule is effective January 4, 2010, and it removes HIV from the definition of a communicable disease of public health significance and references to HIV from the scope of medical examinations for aliens. -- The CDC determined that while HIV infection is a serious health condition, it is not a communicable disease that is a significant public health risk for introduction, transmission, and spread through casual contact. -- We refer you to the CDC for further guidance. Q: How does this new regulation change the visa application process for applicants who are HIV-positive? -- Until the final rule goes into effect on January 4, 2010, non-U.S. citizens who are HIV-positive cannot be admitted to the United States unless granted a waiver by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Certain nonimmigrants may qualify for issuance of visas from consular officers without applying to DHS for waivers under a streamlined process established by DHS in its HIV Waiver Final Rule. -- Effective January 4, 2010, visa applicants required to receive medical examinations will not be tested for HIV, and HIV-positive visa applicants will not be found ineligible for visas under Section 212(a)(1)(A)(i) of the INA and will not need waivers from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) prior to being issued visas, if otherwise qualified. -- Although applicants with HIV cannot be found ineligible for visas under Section 212(a)(1)(A)(i) of the INA starting on January 4, 2010, they still must overcome INA Section 212(a)(4), public charge, by demonstrating to consular officers that they will have means of support in the United States and that they, therefore, will not need to seek public financial assistance. Q: How will this change affect HIV-positive applicants who have previously been refused a visa? -- Effective January 4, 2010 applicants who were previously refused visas only under INA Section 212(a)(1)(A)(i) and only because they were HIV positive may be eligible for a visa. These applicants may reapply for a visa. A consular officer will then determine whether or not the applicant is qualified. Q: How will this change affect how applicants complete their visa applicant forms? -- The DS-156 Nonimmigrant Visa Application, DS-160 Online Nonimmigrant Application, and DS-230 Application for Immigrant Visa and Alien Registration forms contain the following question: "Have you ever been afflicted with a communicable disease of public health significance or a dangerous physical or mental disorder, or ever been a drug user or addict?" Effective January 4, 2010, HIV- positive visa applicants will no longer have to answer "Yes" to this question based solely on their HIV status. Applicants who are HIV-positive, and can otherwise answer "No" to the question, should answer "No" beginning on January 4, 2010. Q: Are there any restrictions under this new rule? -- No. After the final rule goes into effect on January 4, 2010, HIV-positive visa applicants will no longer be ineligible to receive visas under Section 212(a)(1)(A)(i) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA.) Q: How will non-US citizens with HIV find out about this new change? -- All U.S. embassies and consulates will disseminate information on the final rule to the general public as necessary. -- Consular officers will inform any visa applicants with HIV infection who apply for and are found ineligible for visas between now and January 4, 2010 about the final rule. Until January 4, 2010, visa applicants with HIV may still apply for waivers of ineligibly under Section 212(a)(1)(A)(i) of the INA from DHS. Certain nonimmigrants may qualify for visas without first applying to DHS for waivers under a streamlined process established by DHS in its HIV Waiver Final Rule. Alternatively, applicants previously refused visas under Section 212(a)(1)(A)(i) of the INA may opt to wait to apply for visas until January 4, 2010, when they will no longer be ineligible. -- Additional guidance is available on CDC's website (http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dq/laws_regs/fed_reg/remove- hiv/final-rule-hiv.htm). Q: Before the effective date of January 4, 2010, what changes will take place for non-U.S. citizens with HIV infection who wish to enter the United States? -- Until the final rule goes into effect on January 4, 2010, non-U.S. citizens who have HIV cannot be admitted to the United States without waivers granted by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Certain nonimmigrants may qualify for issuance of visas from consular officers without first applying to DHS for waivers under a streamlined process established by DHS in its HIV Waiver Final Rule. Q: Who is affected by the rule change? -- Effective January 4, 2010, all non-U.S. citizens with HIV who apply for visas or who apply for entry to the United States will be affected by the final rule because they will no longer be ineligible under Section 212(a)(1)(A)(i) of the INA. -- Additionally, all immigrant visa applicants and refugees and some nonimmigrant visa applicants are required to have medical examinations prior to entrance into the United States. Effective January 4, 2010, they will be affected by the final rule because it removes HIV from the scope of medical examinations for visa applicants, including HIV testing. Q: Will the rule change increase the risk that average Americans will contract HIV? -- The CDC has determined that allowing non-U.S. citizens with HIV infection to enter the United States will not pose a health risk to the American public because HIV is preventable and not spread through casual contact or day-to-day activities. -- We refer you to the CDC's website (http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dq/laws_regs/fed_reg/remove- hiv/final-rule-hiv.htm) for further information. 01/19/2010: DHS Announces Humanitarian Parole Policy for Certain Haitian Orphans 01/16/2010: State Department Consular Cable of December 2009 on HIV Removal From Communicable Diseas and Guidance for Processing of Visas at Visa Posts The CDC final rule removing the HIV from communicable diseas that rends visa ineligible is in full force since January 4, 2010. In order to implement and give a guidance for visa processing at visa posts, the State Department issued a cable in December 2009, amending Foreign Affairs Manual on this issue. Please read the cable for the full guidance. 01/15/2010: Haitian Emergency Relief Other Than TPS The USCIS is also offering other immigration relief to Haitians other than TPS relief. Please read and follow the following two USCIS releases of 01/15/2010: USCIS Director Alejandro Mayorka's special annoucement of initial relief other than TPS USCIS Q&A on such other relief Those who seek either Haiti TPS or other special reliefs may contact community organizations or services that may be available with or without charge. USCIS warns against potential scams that may try to take advantage of human misery. 01/15/2010: USCIS Haitian TPS Q&A Clafifying Implementation Process and Application Procedures The USCIS Q&A indicates that the USCIS will implement the DHS Secretary's decision to designate Haitian TPS by an emergency notice which will be published in the federal register probably after the long holidays. The notice is likely to encompass some type of protection for those eligible Haitians relating to their stay in the country pending publication of the federal register notice. For the details, please read the Q&A carefully and follow the USCIS plan of implementation which is enumerated in the Q&A. 01/15/2010: DHS Secretary Announces TPS Designation for Haitians Who Were Present in the U.S. as of 01/12/2010 Release Date: January 15, 2010 "As part of the Department's ongoing efforts to assist Haiti following Tuesday's devastating earthquake, I am announcing the designation of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Haitian nationals who were in the United States as of January 12, 2010. This is a disaster of historic proportions and this designation will allow eligible Haitian nationals in the United States to continue living and working in our country for the next 18 months. Providing a temporary refuge for Haitian nationals who are currently in the United States and whose personal safety would be endangered by returning to Haiti is part of this Administration's continuing efforts to support Haiti's recovery. "At this moment of tragedy in Haiti it is tempting for people suffering in the aftermath of the earthquake to seek refuge elsewhere. But attempting to leave Haiti now will only bring more hardship to the Haitian people and nation. The international community has rallied to deliver relief to Haiti. Much has already arrived and much more is on its way. The Haitians are resilient and determined and their role in addressing this crisis in their homeland will be essential to Haiti's future. "It is important to note that TPS will apply only to those individuals who were in the United States as of January 12, 2010. Those who attempt to travel to the United States after January 12, 2010 will not be eligible for TPS and will be repatriated. "The Department of Homeland Security continues to extend sympathy to our Haitian neighbors and support the worldwide relief effort underway in every way we can. Four Coast Guard cutters have arrived in Haiti, in addition to a variety of Coast Guard assets that were already in the area to support military air traffic control, conduct damage assessments and rescue people in need of assistance. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) continues to work closely with the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the State Department - the lead U.S. federal agencies in the response - while coordinating the deployment of state and local Urban Search and Rescue Teams from across the country to Haiti and standing by to provide food, water and other resources as requested. U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has provided aircraft to support response efforts. "Haitians in the U.S. who are eligible to apply for TPS should go to www.uscis.gov or call USCIS toll-free at (800) 375-5283." 01/15/2010: Amazing Changes in Immigration Benefits Applications During Last One Year: Drastic Drop of New and Pending Cases and Drastic Denial of Cases The immigration benefits applications statistics record as at the end of November 2009 reveals that overall new receipts had dropped 28% and pending cases dropped 44% from 3,162,606 in November 2008 to just 1,765,472. Meanwhile, denial increased 46% over November 2008 from 36,020 in November 2008 to 52,453 in November 2009. In November 2009, during the one month period, they received 39,682 I-485 applications that included all types of I-485s such as EB, FB, Asylum-based, etc. As for the I-129 employment-based nonimmigrant temporary worker petitions which include all types of EB nonimmigrant cases, the agency received only 22,738. For the details of Immigration Benefits and Naturalization Applications record as of the end of November 2009, please read the following statistics: Immigration Benefits Applications Naturalization Applications No wonder why the USCIS is facing a serious funding shortfalls. 01/15/2010: Alert to Low-End Wage Foreign Worker Labor Certification Employers for State Minimum Wage Changes Effective 01/01/2010 in Connecticut and Kansas States OFLC alertsthat effective 01/01/2010, the State Minimum Wage for the States of Connecticut and Kansas increased: The Connecticut minimum wage increased to $8.25 and Kansas to $7.25. Employers in all other states may access to their State Minimum Wages through http://www.dol.gov/esa/minwage/America.htm. 01/15/2010: USCIS Updates Processing Times (Posted 01/15/2010) USCIS has just posted its Service Centers and Field Offices processing times as at the end of November 2009. I-129 EB nonimmigrant petitions take 2 months or 1 month depending on the types of cases, I-140 takes 4 months across the board, and more importantly, they were processing EB-485, cases at the end of November 2009, which were received in the first week of June 2009. The July 2007 Visa Bulletin fiasco cases were long gone! Of course, the report includes only those cases for which priority dates were earlier than the cut-off date and visa numbers were available. There are a huge number of EB-485 cases which they have completed adjudication and are waiting for the visa number availability. Overall EB-485 processing shows a rosy picture. For the monthly report, please visit our homepage. 01/15/2010: Notice of Designation of 39 Countries Eligible for H-2A and H-2B Visa Programs The USCIS is required to publish notice the list of such eligible countries annually since such notice will be valid only for one year and the agency is required to publish the notice every year. This new notice will remain valid from 01/19/2010 to 01/18/2011. The 39 countries include: Argentina,Australia,Belize,Brazil,Bulgaria,Canada,Chile,Costa Rica,Croatia,Dominican Republic,Ecuador,El Salvador,Ethiopia,Guatemala,Honduras,Indonesia,Ireland,Israel,Jamaica,Japan,Lithuania,Mexico, Moldova,The Netherlands,Nicaragua,New Zealand,Norway,Peru,Philippines,Poland,Romania,Serbia,Slovakia,South Africa,South Korea,Turkey,Ukraine,United Kingdom, and Uruguay. This notice does not affect the status of aliens who currently hold H-2A or H-2Bnonimmigrant status. Please read the full text. 01/15/2010: Advance Copy of DHS Final Rule on Naturalization for Certain Persons in the U.S. Armed Forces DHS will publish on 01/19/2010 its final rule amending the naturalization qualification and procedure for certain persons in the U.S. Armed Forces. The amended naturalization will include, among others: Reducing from three years to one year the length of time a member of the United States Armed Forces has to serve to qualify for naturalization through service in the Armed Forces; Making eligible for naturalization individuals who served or are serving as members of the Selected Reserve of the Ready Reserve of the U.S. Armed Forces during specified periods of hostility; Removing the requirement to submit Form G-325B, Biographic Information, with Form N-400, Application for Naturalization, for applicants applying for naturalization through service in the U.S. Armed Forces. By eliminating the Form G-325B requirement, the rule will reduce the response burden and amount of time it takes U.S. Armed Forces members to complete the paperwork required with a naturalization application The final rule will take effect on February 18, 2010. For the full text, please click here. 01/15/2010: Federal Government Observes Martin Luther King Jr. Federal Holiday For the federal government employees, a long weekend starts tomorrow and ends on 01/18/2010. The federal government including both Houses of Representatives and Senate will return on Tuesday, 01/19/2010. 01/14/2010: DOL iCERT Portal System Outage Alert DOL will start accepting online ETA 9141 Prevaing Wage Determination Request Form on iCert portal. Accordingly they need the portal system maintenance, and it has released the following alert for the iCert porta users: The iCERT system will be unavailable starting on Wednesday, January 20th at approximately 6:00 AM EST and will not be available until Thursday January 21st at 6:00 AM EST... Scheduled system maintenance will be performed during this time. Please contact the OFLC help desk at oflc.portal@dol.gov for further information on the outage. For specific questions on your application, application status, or other questions that do not pertain to the outage, please contact the OFLC National Processing Center at lca.chicago@dol.gov for H-1B issues or the OFLC National Prevailing Wage and Helpdesk Center at flc.pwd@dol.gov for Prevailing Wage questions. DOL is scheduled to additional information to give a guide for using iCert portal to request prevailing wage determination using ETA 9141. Please stay tuned. 01/13/2010: Mr. Donald Neufeld, Current Acting Director of USCIS Domestic Operations, Takes the Position of Associate Director of Service Center Operations As we reported earlier, the USCIS removed the post of Directorate of Domestic Operations, splitting it into two Directorates: Service Center Operations and Field Offices Operation. Information indicates that Mr. Donald Neufeld has taken the post of Associate Director of Service Center Operations. Besides, he will be a formal Associate Director rather than an Acting Associate Director. Considering his long career with the California Service Center before he was moved to the Headquarter, this appointment is considered very appropriate. We welcome his new appointment. 01/13/2010: How to Establish Employer-Employee Relationship in Filing H-1B Employees by Consulting Company? During the past two years, IT consulting companies have been receiving RFEs from the USCIS demanding tons of documents.when they filed H-1B petitions. These employers must have have noticed the Service Centers were asking the employers to submit evidence to establish the "employer and employee relationship," particularly when the employees were placed at the client sites for consulting services. The standards and guidance for requiring evidence have been vague leading the adjudicators to demand a boiler place list of documents or arbitrary list of evidence. On January 8, 2010, the USCIS issued a memorandum to give guidance for determining employer-employee relationship for adjudication of H-1B petitions, including third-party site placements. Considering the fact that the problem has been encountered mostly by IT consulting businesses, this memorandum is likely to give a help for these employers to collect and file evidence in filing H-1B petitions pursuant to this guidance to alleviate RFEs. This reporter urges the consulting employers to read this memorandum carefully and try to follow the agency's guidance to alleviate receiving a boiler plate RFEs. For details, please read carefully the following releases: Memorandum Q&A 01/13/2010: House Back to Session Yesterday and Senate to Return Only on 01/19/2010 House returned to the session yesterday without any hot legislative actions, not to mention immigration bills. Further more, the Senate is not even scheduled to return to the session until the 19th. As for the pending bills, Congress does not have any immigration bills which are positive other than a few fingers, but there are a number of "restrictive" bills, particularly in the Senate, that await the Congressional actions. The most typical of these includes Senders/Glassley 'Employ America Act of 2009.' In both Congress and the Administration, integrity of immigration benefits management may continute to receive one of the highest priorities and attention under the persisting highest unemployment rate in the nation. This is also reflected in the USCIS realignment announcement by the USCIS Director yesterday who emphasized its top prioritty to be placed on fraud detection and prevention. Please stay tuned. 01/12/2010: PERM Processing Times as of 12/31/2009 Final Review: March 2009 (OOPS!) Audit Cases: December 2007 Appeal: August 2007 OFLC Error Review/Appeal: Current 01/12/2010: DOL Reintroduces H-2A Reengineering Final Rule H-2A reengineering rule-making process has gone through a lof of ups and downs. The final rule was "enacted" by the Bush White House as the last minute rule-making that may have some lasting foot-print of the departing political leaders in the farm community and constituencies. This rule has then been suspended by the Obama White House after it took the office. Now, the Obama DOL is reintroducing its version of "final rule." The fule was submitted to the OMB on 01/07/2010 for the White House clearance. Here is the statement on background of H-2A reengineering final rule making needs of the DOL: "The Department has determined for a variety of reasons that a new rulemaking effort is necessary for the H-2A program. The Department believes that the policy underpinnings of the 2008 Final Rule, e.g., streamlining the H-2A regulatory process to defer many determinations of program compliance until after an application has been fully adjudicated, do not provide an adequate level of protection for either U.S. or foreign workers. In addition, the Department’s experience under the program since January 2009 demonstrates that the policy goals of the 2008 Final Rule have not been met. One of the clear goals of the 2008 Final Rule was to increase the use of the H-2A program and to make the program easier and more affordable to use for the average employer. However, applications have actually decreased since the implementation of the new program. Not only has usage not increased under the program revisions, there has actually been a reversal of an existing multi-year trend toward increased program use. While factors other than the regulatory changes may play a role in this decrease, the Department can not justify the significant decrease in worker protections if the prior rules’ goal of increasing program use is not being accomplished. The Department believes that there are insufficient worker protections in the attestation-based model in which employers merely confirm, and do not actually demonstrate, that they have performed an adequate test of the U.S. labor market. Even in the first year of the attestation model, it has come to the Department’s attention that employers, either from a lack of understanding or otherwise, are attesting to compliance with program obligations with which they have not complied. Such non-compliance appears to be sufficiently substantial and widespread for the Department to revisit the use of attestations, even with the use of back-end integrity measures for demonstrated non-compliance. The Department has also determined that the area in which agricultural workers are most vulnerable – wages – has been adversely impacted to a far more significant extent than anticipated by the 2008 Final Rule. The shift from the AEWR as calculated under the 1987 Rule to the AEWR of the 2008 Final Rule resulted in a substantial reduction of farmworker wages in a number of labor categories, and the obvious effects of that reduction on the workers' and their families' ability to meet necessary costs is an important concern. " Please stay tuned to this website for the details of the new versions of the Final Rule. 01/11/2010: USCIS Realigns Organizational Structure USCIS has announced the following changes in the USCIS organizational structure: The realignment of the USCIS organizational structure was reflected in its FY 2010 USCIS budget proposal to the Congress as we reported during the period of Congressional legislation process for FY 2010 DHS Appropriations Act. The organizational structure realignment also reflects its preparation for new forthcoming management and processing concept and system for immigration benefits applications to implement the Business Transformation Program. In a way, the restructure also reflects its preparation for potential legislation of comprehensive immigration reform which will dump over 12 million legalization of undomented aliens mostly through the local field office operations. Creation of a Fraud Detection and National Security Directorate, reflecting its anti-fraud and national security responsibilities. The USCIS will bring greater focus to them. Creation of a new Customer Service Directorate, reflecting its prioritization of customer service and adopting the cutting edge of service modeling. Break-Up of Current Domestic Operations Directorate into Two Separate Directorates: Service Center Operations Directorate and Field Operations Directorate. This means that the USCIS has removed one layer of domestic operation structure in line of command by eliminating the Domestic Operations Associate Director position. It also means that Mr. Donald Neufeld position that has been overseeing these two components has been removed. Accordingly, the Service Center Operation and the local Field Operation will fall under the direct command of the USCIS Director through the Deputy Director. The future of current Acting Domestic Operation's Associate Director, Donald Neufeld, has yet to be announced. It is also not certain whether or what other shake-ups will follow the organizational restructuring. See the following for the details: New Organization Chart Announcement of 01/11/2010 01/11/2010: EB-5 Regional Center Immigrant Investors Doubled Last Year? Read on. 01/09/2010: Permanent Labor Certification Program Integrity Goal and Forthcoming PERM Application Procedure Changes As we have reported from time to time, the federal agencies dealing with the immigrations programs have been pushing cyber programs of immigration and visa processing procedures and management programs with goals to achieve the triple primary goals, among others. One is national security, the other is detection and prevention of frauds and achieving integrity of the programs, and the third is achievment of efficiency and effectiveness of the programs through online application, processing, and management of the programs. These goals can be achieved through a concept that is consistent across the agencies allowing sharing of the data and information. Online system based on "account" system across the board will permit the agencies to achieve the goals. For the purposes, the USCIS has been developing and accelerating the "Business Transformation Program," the Department of State has also been gradually transforming visa application and management programs to online system, and the Labor Department has been developing its own program under the concept ICert Portal System. DOL report indicates that the Office of Management and Budget has approved revised PERM and H-1B forms and electronic programs have been developed for enhanced web-based submission using a new Foreign Labor portal system. Obviously, the new portal system named iCERT Portal System represents an integrated portal system that will encompass all of the temportary and permanent labor certification application programs. The new H-1B component was launched on April 15, 2009. However, the PERM system reengineering into the iCERT Portal System has reportedly encountered technical program which requires delays and the PERM program in iCert Portal System which has been under development is scheduled to be launched on July 1, 2010, according to the DOL report. However, the DOL cannot afford delaying its goals of achieving, albeit in limited fashion, integrity of the PERM program. Accordingly, it launched a new internal processing guidelines that demanded processing and adjudication process heavily focusing on checking and investigating applications for integrity of the applications. This has led to a drastic delay in adjudication of PERM application from initial less than 6-month target to 10-month processing target. According to the DOL report, the overall decrease in this measure from one year ago is due to the impact of increasing integrity activities in light of the declining economy and continued filings for positions where there are U.S. workers. (Increased integrity activities are being implemented to protect U.S. workers and satisfy statutory responsibilities and require additional processing time.) It thus appears that the DOL apparently planned two steps of reengineering of the PERM system for the purpose of integrity of the system. The first step was to revise the PERM application form, ETA 9089, additing features in the application that require employers and representatives to provide certain additional information that can help the job of tentative creation of account concept in the system and investigation of the application for frauds. This new form has been approved by the OMB and DOL was considering to launch the new form as early as July 2009, which has been pushed off to September 2009 and eventually so-called "indefinite" delays in launching the new form. However, according to the DOL report, the OFLC is scheduled to implement the enhanced PERM performance measure and the new PERM integrity measure at the beginning of FY 2010. Obviously, "at the beginning" did not mean October 1, 2009. At this point, for the specific schedules and timelines of the OFLC, we will have to wait and see. However, no one will be too surprised if they will launch the new form around the end of March 2010. Since the new form may represent its form under iCERT Portal System, employers may as well start studying the new form carefully to plan for their PERM application filings in Spring or Summer at the latest. 01/08/2010: February 2010 Visa Bulletin EB-2 India: No move (01/22/2005) EB-2 China: Moved to 5/22/2005 EB-3 Worldwide: 09/22/2002 EB-3 China: 09/22/2002 EB-3 India: 06/22/2001 EB-3: Mexico: 07/01/2002 EB-3: 09/22/2002 EB-EW: All countries - 06/01/2001 01/06/2010: USCIS Q&A of 01/04/2010: HIV Infection Removal from CDC List of Communicable Diseases of Public Health Significance 01/06/2010: USCIS Q&A of 01/05/2010: Vaccination Requirements 01/06/2010: Lamb for Initiative of Comprehensive Immigration Reform - Employment Enforcement The DHS and USCIS may intensify enforcement activities. In fact, there is already a sign that they have initiated. Such move is ripe because of the two factors. One is the comprehensive immigration reform history that has repeated over the years. Whenever there was a push for the CIR, the government reinforced its enforcement activities to demonstrate that the government was taking care of illegal immigration and violation of immigration laws in order to appeace both ultra right wing conservatives and ultra left progressive wings. It has been used as an overture and a bargaining chip for the CIR sponsors and supporters to work with these forces. The CIR 2010 is currently facing a difficulty because of the delays in the Healthcare Reform legislation, the resolution of which has been pushed off, according to the reports, to February 2010, and other mounting top priority issues that have developed, including national security and economic reform. Despite the hostile environment, the CIR political forces are likely to be forced to initiate the CIR reform bill in the Senate early this year, and to support such legislative move, the government must intensify the historical cycle of employment enforcement activities. There are already news reports that the key CIR sponsors in the Senate are seeking joining of pro-CIR Republican Senate leaders in the CIR process using such chips. It is uncertain, at this point, how successful such move has been. Pending the negotiation and compromise, the employment enforcement may intensify by the government including site visits and audits. The second factor is this administration's decision to go after the employers and not the employees to control unauthorized employment and immigration violation. Some observers consider such policy a politics not to offend Hispanics who are their political power base and turn out to be mostly employees, when it comes to the employment enforcement. Whether right or wrong, the employers and businesses are increasingly likely to face tough employment-based proceedings and employment authorization enforcement. It is time for the businesses and employers to reinforce their "internal compliance" system. 01/06/2010: Department of State "Reinitiates" Proposed Rule to Reform Exchange Visitor Program for Secondary School Students This controversial program has been under attack by media and gone through a nightmare because of poor management of homestay programs of foreign students and visitors by the Department. In response to the political fire, the Department initiated the rule-making process and even published the proposed rule, which recently ended up with the unfornate action of withdrawal of the published proposed rule because of the premature release before the completion of the OMB clearance. Now, they are starting it all over again and the Department submitted it to the OMB yesterday for its clearance and approval. Please stay tuned. 01/06/2010: DHS Seeks OMB Approval for Identification of Foreign Countries Whose Nationals Are Eligible to Participate in the H-2A and H-2B Visa Programs DHS submitted to the OMB today for its release of a notice for identification of foreign countries whose nationals are eligible to participate in the H-2A and H-2B temporary worker visa programs. The details have yet to be released and it is uncertain what changes it will make with the current designation of foreign countries which are eligible for these programs. Please stay tuned. 01/05/2010: USCIS Latest Update of H-1B Statistics: Who Are They, Where Are They From, and How U.S. Government Managed Them and Their Employers? The following two latest publications of the USCIS give readers an opportunity to learn the characteristics and origins of H-1B foreign professionals and the USCIS processsing and adjudication records. The publications were released between April and May 2009, but made available only in November 2009. These documents may also shed light on the characteristics and origins of professional foreigners who eventually settle down in this country in most cases through professional levels of employment-based immigration process with or without foreign labor certification applications in that majority of them start their immigration journeys from the nonimmigrant employment in this country. Read on. Charateristics of H-1B Workers [10/01/2007 - 09/30/2008] USCIS FY 2008 Annual Report to the Congress on H-1B [10/01/2007 - 09/30/2008] As the country witnesses one of harsh est economic downturns of the century and the international economic competition grows fiercely among the countries, this visa category has been facing increased challenges and undergoing negative reforms against the foreign workers and hightech industry. 01/04/2010: USCIS Latest Update of Employment-Based I-485 Applications Inventory Statistics 12/11/2009 USCIS has released this latest update of EB-485 inventory statistics. This stastistics represents employment-based green card applications which are pending before the Service Centers at the time of update. For the related Q&A, please click here. 01/03/2010: U.S.-Bound Travelers From 14 Countries Reportedly Subject to Enhanced Airport Screening Process Effective 01/04/2010 Report indicates that the Transportation Security Administration announced today that it will begin enhanced screening procedures from 01/04/2010 on any U.S.-bound air passenger traveling through "state sponsors of terrorism or other countries of interest." The four state sponsors of terrorism and ten countries of interest reportedly include the following: List of State Sponsors of Terrorism Countries: Cuba Sudan Syria Iran List of Countries of Interest: Afghanistan Algeria Iraq Lebanon Libya Nigeria Pakistan Saudi Arabia Somalia Yemen No details have been released as to the nature and types of "enhanced" screening procedures. Additionally, the State Department has not released any special travel alert visa processing guidance since the Chirstmas incident. However, the travelers from the foregoing countires may go through certain special procedures, even though it remains a speculation at this point. 01/01/2010: DOL/OFLC Announcement of New Prevailing Wage Determination Procedure in Place This announcement is dated January 4, 2010 considering New Year holiday and weekend holidays. The announcement states that the Office of Foreign Labor Certification’s (OFLC) National Prevailing Wage and Helpdesk Center is open and is currently accepting for processing Prevailing Wage Determination (PWD) requests for use in the H-1B, H-1B1 (Chile/Singapore), H-2B, E-3 (Australia) and the permanent labor certification programs, as well as PWD requests for use in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. Please read the following FAQsand Updated PWD Policy Guidance. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) that address the filing and processing of PWD requests. Prevailing Wage Determination Policy Guidance Updates for use in the Nonagricultural Immigration Programs. We reminded earlier importance of the employers to familiarize themselves with the technical details of filing process in order to avoid any substantial delays owing to rejections or denials. 01/01/2010: USCIS Extends Policy of Extending Validity of Medical Certification Until 01/01/2011 Beyond One Year Pending I-485 Application Medical certification by the immigration civil surgeons on I-693 is supposed to be valid only for one year from the date of certification. Accordingly, unless the USCIS takes a certain policy, I-485 waiters would have been required to go back to the civil surgeons to go through another medical examination and file a new sealed I-693. However, considering the backlog in I-485 application relating to its own backlog as well as visa retrogression, the USCIS has been releasing a policy in January each year extending validity of the medical certificate beyond one year pending I-485 applications. Since such policy decision is valid only for one year, the USCIS had to release new policy of extending such policy. The latest policy extending the validity of I-693 expires on 01/01/2010. On December 31, 2009, the USCIS issued a new policy memorandum extending the validity of medical certification at least until January 1, 2011. The policy states that "the validity of the civil surgeon’s endorsement on Form I-693, when submitted in support of an adjustment of status application, is extended until the time of adjustment if no Class A or Class B medical condition is certified by the civil surgeon in section 2, 3 or 4 of Part 2 of the Form I-693. A Form I-693 remains valid until the time of adjustment even if section 6 of Part 2 shows a Class B medical condition other than those addressed in section 2, 3 or 4. This policy will be in effect until January 1, 2011." This means that the current I-485 waiters whose I-693 on file is older than one years do not have to retake medical examination for certain part of the certification at least until January 1, 2011. We thank the USCIS for continuing its traditional policy of extending the medical certifications relieving the I-485 waiters from the time and expense of taking medical examination every year pending I-485 applications. 01/01/2010: USCIS Grants One-Time Accommodation for Sheepherders in H-2A Status U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced on 12/30/2009 that it would allow H-2A workers in the sheepherding industry more time to fully transition to the three-year limitation of stay requirements under the agency’s final rule that became effective on Jan. 17, 2009. USCIS is making the one-time accommodation in deference to the industry’s prior exemption from the 3-year limitation. This exemption does not impact other H-2A categories. The time spent as an H-2A worker performing labor or services as a sheepherder prior to the effective date of the final rule will not be counted toward the 3-year maximum period of stay. Instead, USCIS is ‘starting the clock’ on Jan. 17, 2009 for sheepherders who were lawfully present in the United States in H-2A classification on that date. Any I-129 petition that was denied solely on the basis that the beneficiary, who would be performing labor or services as a sheepherder, had exceeded the three-year limitation of stay, may be reopened by initiating a Service Motion to Reopen via e-mail request to: csc-ncsc-followup@dhs.gov (include ‘H-2A Sheepherder Service Motion Request’ in the subject line). USCIS will only review denials of petitions for which it has received a written request. Such requests will be accepted through Jan. 30, 2010. No fee is required. 01/01/2010: New Prevailing Wage Determination Procedure Takes Effect on 01/01/2010 From 01/01/2010, the employers filing temporary or permanent labor certification application must apply for the prevailing wage determination to the USDOL and not state SWA, using the new form ETA 9141. From January 1, 2010 through January 19, 2010, the prevailing wage determination form must be filed with the DOL office in Washington, D.C. at the address which is specified in the new regulation by mail or overnight delivery services only. From January 20, 2010 and onward, the form will be filed online using the iCERT portal system. When it is filed by mail, people should provide their email address so that the DOL can transmit its determination via email. Otherwise, it will send the determination only by regular U.S. mail, ignoring the filer's request to use their prepaid overnight delivery envelope. The new procedure affects those employers and type of labor certification applications that required prevailing wage determination by the state SWAs befor the centralization of the prevailing wage determination function at the DOL. Accordingly, unless the employer seeks a safe haven for the prevailing wage determination, the H-1B employers can keep using SOC/OES or other wage data sources which are acceptable in the Labor Condition Application for H-1B petitions. For the details, please read and follow the regulation and instructions. In order to assist our visitors to get access to the form and relevant information, this reporter has set up the links to the form, filing instructions, and the new regulation in our home page. Please visit our home page. For Pre 01/01/2010, please click here (Archive XX).
Current Page[01/01/2010 - Present]/Archive XX[05/01/2009-12/31/2009/Archive XIX[10/01/2008-04/30/2009]/Archive XVII[03/31/2008 - 09/30/2008]Archive XVI[08/01/2007 - 03/31/2008/Archive XV [04/30/2007 - 07/31/2007]/Archive XIV[06/15/2006 - 03/31/2007]Archive XIII [12/01/05 - 06/1/06. ] Warning: The postings at this site are protected by copyright. Anyone who copies and publishes without disclosing the sources (www.immigration-law.com) will violate our copyright, not to mention reprehensible and unethical conduct of plagiarism.
02/08/2010: Advance Copy of State Department Proposed New Consular Services Fee Schedule
02/08/2010: Government Offices Closures in the Washington, D.C. Areas on Monday, 02/08/2010
02/07/2010: March 2010 Visa Bulletin
02/07/2010: USCIS to Revise I-129 Form
02/07/2010: iCERT Portal System is Back Up and Running
02/06/2010: iCERT Portal System is Down
02/06/2010: Are You a Naturalizaton Applicant and Interested in Naturalization Information Sessions Offered by USCIS in Your Area?
02/06/2010: USCIS Schedules a Collatoration Session on Signatures on Applications and Petitions Filed with USCIS on 02/09/2010, 1:00 P.M., EST
02/06/2010: Foreign Worker Employment in Northern Mariana Islands and Guam Are Exempt From H-1B and H-2B Annual Cap
02/06/2010: Rep. Yvette Clarke of New York Introduces H.R.4616 To Temporarily Expand the V Visa Category to Certain Haitians.
02/06/2010: USCIS Interpretation of Refunded TARP-Funded Employers for H-1B Filing Procedure and Need for Identical Interpretation by DOL
02/05/2010: USCIS Guidance on TARP-Funded Employers That Have Returned the Fund and Their H-1B Petition Process
02/04/2010: USCIS Releases Names of Employers and Number of H-1B Cap Petitions Filed by Each Employer in FY 2009
02/04/2010: USCIS Releases Findings of the E-Verify Program Evaluation, December 2009
02/04/2010: Naturalization Applications Processing Statistics as of 12/31/2009
02/04/2010: USCIS Immigration Applications/Petitions Processing Statistics as of 12/31/2009
02/04/2010: USCIS Withdraws Memorandum on "Acceptable" Signatures on Applications and Petitions
02/04/2010: OMB Clears H-2A Final Rule on 02/03/2010
02/04/2010: "Acceptable Signature" Memorandum and Premium Processing Request Filing Advisory [USCIS Reportedly Withdraws the Memorandum]
02/03/2010: USCIS Memorandum on "Acceptable" Signatures on Applications and Petitions[USCIS Reportedly Withdraws the Memorandum]
02/03/2010: Prospects for Changes in Foreign Labor Certification Processing Plan During FY 2011
02/03/2010: FY 2011 (10/01/2010-09/30/2011) Foreign Labor Certification Program Budget Proposes Labor Certification Application Fees
02/03/2010: DOL iCERT Portal System Problem Fixed and Now Up and Running
02/02/2010: USCIS Alert - Approx 500 Incorrect 129 & 539 Approval Notices Issued Between 01/20/2010 and 01/27/2010
02/02/2010: State Department Notice of Secondary School Student Exchange Visitor Sponsor Onsite Reviews
02/01/2010: Effective 03/04/2010, DHS to Enforce Amended Rule for Professional Conduct for Practitioners, Procedures, Representation, and Appearances
01/29/2010: USCIS Announces Appointment of Associate Director, Eddie Brown, for the New Customer Directorate Under the Realigned USCIS Structure
01/29/2010: USCIS National Stakeholder Meeting (01/26/2010) Minutes
01/29/2010: Matthew Oh Launches Questions & Answers Page for FY 2011 H-1B Cap and Related OPT or Other Issues
01/28/2010: Recent USCIS Memorandum on Employer-Employee Relationship for H-1B Petition Puts the USCIS in the Storm of Controversy and Potential Target for Lawsuit
01/28/2010: State Department Estimate of DV Immigration Lottery Registrations of Approximately 6,000,000
01/28/2010: BIA Rules "Alien Reentered Without Inspection After Unlawful Stay for 1-Year and Departing from the U.S. is Not Eligible for 245(i) Benefit
01/27/2010: USCIS Special Notice: To Reissue Certain Advance Parole Documents
01/27/2010: USCIS Announces Change of Filing Location for Form I-601 (Application for Waiver of Ground of Inadmissibility)
01/27/2010: USCIS Fact Sheet: Humanitarian Parole
01/27/2010: USCIS Releases Q&A on Requirement & Procedure for Requesting Fee Waiver for Haitian TPS Applications
01/27/2010: Board of Immigration Appeals Ruled on 01/25/2010 No Hardship Waiver Required For Alien Spouse Whose Spouse Deceased During I-751 Condition Removal Proceeding
01/27/2010: Bills to Regulate Involvement of Foreign Nationals by Certain Contributions
01/26/2010: Comprehensive Immigration Reform in 2010 - A Soccer Ball of Politics?
01/26/2010: USCIS Issues Warning Against Immigration Scams Targeting Haitian TPS Applicants
01/25/2010: CRS 'U.S. Immigration Policy on Haitian Migrants' Report of 01/15/2010 Reviews Ever-Complicating Post-Haiti Trauma U.S. Immigration Policy Issues
01/25/2010: Pearl Cheng, Acting Chief of Office of Policy & Strategy Replaced by David Howell in the New USCIS Leadership Team
01/25/2010: H-1B Visa Usage by U.S. Employer and List of H-1B Employers in 2009
01/24/2010: USCIS Follow-Up Session on Business Transformation Program: External Data Interface Standards (EDIS)
01/24/2010: DOL ICERT Portal System End User Advisory
01/23/2010: New Lineup of USCIS Leadership
01/23/2010: Ms. Debra A. Rogers, New Associate Director of Field Operations Directorate of USCIS
01/23/2010: USCIS Questions & Answers for Information for U.S. Citizens in the Process of Adopting a Child from Haiti
01/22/2010: Group of Representatives Introduced Yesterday H.Res. 1026 To Reinforce Immigration/Border Enforcement and to Bar Legalization of Illegal Aliens in any CIR Bills
01/22/2010: USCIS Leadership Shake-Up Continues - Michael Aytes Replaced by Lauren Kielsmeier for Acting Deputy Director
01/21/2010: USCIS 01/21/2010 Q&A on I-140 Filing Procedure and Processing
01/21/2010: Small Good News for AC-21 I-140 Portability Invoked I-485 Applicants in Immigration Court Proceeding
01/21/2010: iCERT Prevailing Wage Determination Request (ETA 9141) Mandatory Effective Today
01/21/2010: HHS Extension of 2009 Poverty Guidelines to March 1, 2010 or Beyond Pending Release of Updated Guidelines
01/21/2010: H.R. 4471 & S. 2935 Bills in the House and Senate to Exclude Visa Revocation from Judicial Review
01/21/2010: Here is Haiti TPS Federal Register Designation Notice Published 01/21/2010
01/20/2010: F and M Foreign Student Data at End of 2009
01/20/2010: iCERT Prevailing Wage Quick Start Guide of DOL
01/20/2010: Advance Copy of USCIS Federal Register Notice of Designation of Haiti TPS Effective 01/21/2010 Through 07/22/2011
01/20/2010: State Department Q&A on HIV Final Rule Implementation in Visa Processing
01/19/2010: DHS Announces Humanitarian Parole Policy for Certain Haitian Orphans
01/16/2010: State Department Consular Cable of December 2009 on HIV Removal From Communicable Diseas and Guidance for Processing of Visas at Visa Posts
01/15/2010: Haitian Emergency Relief Other Than TPS
01/15/2010: USCIS Haitian TPS Q&A Clafifying Implementation Process and Application Procedures
01/15/2010: DHS Secretary Announces TPS Designation for Haitians Who Were Present in the U.S. as of 01/12/2010
01/15/2010: Amazing Changes in Immigration Benefits Applications During Last One Year: Drastic Drop of New and Pending Cases and Drastic Denial of Cases
01/15/2010: Alert to Low-End Wage Foreign Worker Labor Certification Employers for State Minimum Wage Changes Effective 01/01/2010 in Connecticut and Kansas States
01/15/2010: USCIS Updates Processing Times (Posted 01/15/2010)
01/15/2010: Notice of Designation of 39 Countries Eligible for H-2A and H-2B Visa Programs
01/15/2010: Advance Copy of DHS Final Rule on Naturalization for Certain Persons in the U.S. Armed Forces
01/15/2010: Federal Government Observes Martin Luther King Jr. Federal Holiday
01/14/2010: DOL iCERT Portal System Outage Alert
01/13/2010: Mr. Donald Neufeld, Current Acting Director of USCIS Domestic Operations, Takes the Position of Associate Director of Service Center Operations
01/13/2010: How to Establish Employer-Employee Relationship in Filing H-1B Employees by Consulting Company?
01/13/2010: House Back to Session Yesterday and Senate to Return Only on 01/19/2010
01/12/2010: PERM Processing Times as of 12/31/2009
01/12/2010: DOL Reintroduces H-2A Reengineering Final Rule
01/11/2010: USCIS Realigns Organizational Structure
01/11/2010: EB-5 Regional Center Immigrant Investors Doubled Last Year?
01/09/2010: Permanent Labor Certification Program Integrity Goal and Forthcoming PERM Application Procedure Changes
01/08/2010: February 2010 Visa Bulletin
01/06/2010: USCIS Q&A of 01/04/2010: HIV Infection Removal from CDC List of Communicable Diseases of Public Health Significance
01/06/2010: USCIS Q&A of 01/05/2010: Vaccination Requirements
01/06/2010: Lamb for Initiative of Comprehensive Immigration Reform - Employment Enforcement
01/06/2010: Department of State "Reinitiates" Proposed Rule to Reform Exchange Visitor Program for Secondary School Students
01/06/2010: DHS Seeks OMB Approval for Identification of Foreign Countries Whose Nationals Are Eligible to Participate in the H-2A and H-2B Visa Programs
01/05/2010: USCIS Latest Update of H-1B Statistics: Who Are They, Where Are They From, and How U.S. Government Managed Them and Their Employers?
01/04/2010: USCIS Latest Update of Employment-Based I-485 Applications Inventory Statistics 12/11/2009
01/03/2010: U.S.-Bound Travelers From 14 Countries Reportedly Subject to Enhanced Airport Screening Process Effective 01/04/2010
01/01/2010: DOL/OFLC Announcement of New Prevailing Wage Determination Procedure in Place
01/01/2010: USCIS Extends Policy of Extending Validity of Medical Certification Until 01/01/2011 Beyond One Year Pending I-485 Application
01/01/2010: USCIS Grants One-Time Accommodation for Sheepherders in H-2A Status
01/01/2010: New Prevailing Wage Determination Procedure Takes Effect on 01/01/2010
For Pre 01/01/2010, please click here (Archive XX).