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USCIS to Accept H-1B Petitions Starting April 1 PDF Print E-mail
Written by Jordana Hart   
Tuesday, 09 March 2010

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will begin accepting H-1B petitions subject to the fiscal year (FY) 2011 cap on April 1, 2010. Cases will be considered accepted on the date that USCIS takes possession of a properly filed petition with the correct fee; not the date that the petition is postmarked.

The fiscal year cap (numerical limitation on H-1B petitions) for FY 2011 is 65,000. Additionally, the first 20,000 H-1B petitions filed on behalf of individuals who have earned a U.S. master’s degree or higher are exempt from the H-1B cap.

H-1B employment for fiscal year 2011 can begin no earlier than October 1, 2010. H-1B workers can have part-time employment, or can work concurrently for two or more employers with each employer filing its own I-129 petition and processing fees.

USCIS will monitor the number of petitions received and will notify the public of the date on which USCIS received the necessary number of petitions to meet the H-1B cap. If needed, USCIS will randomly select the number of petitions required to reach the numerical limit from the petitions received on the final receipt date. USCIS will reject cap-subject petitions that are not selected, as well as those received after the final receipt date.

 
Last Updated ( Tuesday, 09 March 2010 )
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Immigration-related Bills Filed with House and Senate for January and February PDF Print E-mail
Written by Jordana Hart   
Thursday, 04 March 2010
According to the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), the following immigration-related bills were introduced into the House of Representatives and the Senate in January and February 2010:

Employment Benefit Act (H.R. 4259)

Introduced by Rep. Polis (D-CO) on 12/10/2009
Summary: To facilitate foreign investment by permanently reauthorizing the EB-5 regional center program, and for other purposes.


Fairness for American Students Act (H.R. 4548)

Introduced by Rep. Tiahrt (R-KS) on 1/27/2010
Summary: Amends the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 to make illegal aliens ineligible for any postsecondary education benefit that results from their residence within a state or political subdivision unless every citizen and national of this country is entitled to such benefit regardless of their place of residence or the location of the school from which they graduated. Allows any U.S. citizen or national that is enrolled in a postsecondary school to commence a civil action against a school or state education official to enforce their compliance with this Act's requirement and obtain appropriate relief, including the in-state tuition rate. Prohibits federal agencies from providing financial assistance to postsecondary schools that provide benefits to illegal aliens in contravention of this Act.

Safe Treatment, Avoiding Needless Deaths, and Abuse Reduction in the Detention System (Strong STANDARDS) Act (H.R. 4470)

Introduced by Rep. Watson (D-CA) on 1/19/2010
Summary: Safe Treatment, Avoiding Needless Deaths, and Abuse Reduction in the Detention System Act or the Strong STANDARDS Act - Directs the Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS) to: (1) ensure that all individuals subject to detention under the Immigration and Nationality Act (detainees) are treated humanely and granted specified protections; and (2) comply with minimum requirements concerning detainees set forth in this Act. Requires the Secretary to appoint and convene an Immigration Detention Commission to conduct independent investigations of detention facility and DHS compliance with requirements under this Act. Establishes reporting requirements concerning any individual who dies while in DHS custody.

Criminal Penalties for Unauthorized Employment Act of 2010 (H.R. 4627)

Introduced by Rep. Kratovil (D-MD) on 2/22/2010
Summary: To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to impose new penalties for the knowing unlawful employment of aliens, and for other purposes.

Each week hundreds of bills are introduced into the House and Senate, and the likelihood of any particular bill moving is usually very small. The bills posted on this page represent all immigration-related legislation introduced this week, not legislation AILA believes is important or likely to succeed
Last Updated ( Thursday, 04 March 2010 )
 
USCIS Releases New Form I-485 and Lockbox Filing Locations PDF Print E-mail
Written by Jordana Hart   
Friday, 26 February 2010
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has posted a revised Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status, Form I-485. In addition to the revised form, there are new filing locations. The changes are part of an overall effort to transition the intake of USCIS benefit forms from Service Centers to Lockbox facilities. Please go to www.uscis.gov and click on "Forms" link to view or download the new form, filing instructions, and filing locations.

As of February 25, 2010, most applicants must submit Form I-485 to a USCIS Lockbox facility, depending on the eligibility category under which they are filing, as provided in the form instructions. USCIS Service Centers will forward all Form I-485 applications to the appropriate Lockbox facility until March 29, 2010. USCIS will accept previous versions of Form I-485 until March 29, 2010. After that date, USCIS will only accept the Form I-485 dated 12/03/09 and any previous versions of the form will be rejected. After the transitional period, the Service Centers will return any incorrectly filed Form I-485 with instructions to send the application to the correct location.

At this time, applicants should NOT concurrently file Form I-485 with an Immigrant Petition for Alien
Worker (Form I-140) at a USCIS Lockbox facility. Instead, they should refer to the Form I-140 filing Instructions for information on how to file forms concurrently.

When filing Form I-485 at a Lockbox facility, you may elect to receive an email and/or text message
notifying you that USCIS has accepted your application. To receive notification, you must complete
an E-Notification of Application/Petition Acceptance (Form G-1145), and attach it to the first page of
your application.
Last Updated ( Friday, 26 February 2010 )
 
DOL's New Prevailing Wage System Causing Delays to PERM Process PDF Print E-mail
Written by Jordana Hart   
Friday, 26 February 2010

PERM Labor Certification (LC) is the starting point in the permanent residence (green card) process for most foreign workers. The position offered in the LC must have a rate of pay at or above the prevailing wage rate. The employer must obtain a prevailing wage determination (PWD) at the start of the LC process. As of January 1, 2010, requests for PWDs must to be made through the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) centralized office. As of January 21, 2010, the requests can be filed through the online system known as iCert. However, there are delays in the issuance of PWDs through the DOL's national office. This, in turn, is creating unusually long delays in the filing of PERM applications.

At a recent conference in Miami Beach, FL sponsored by the South Florida chapter of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), panelists stated that it was currently taking about 4-5 weeks to receive a PWD and that they expected this time frame to increase as DOL receives more requests.
 
Prior to the transition to iCert, PWD requests were submitted to the State Workforce Agencies (SWAs) in the various states. These requests were processed within widely varying timeframes with some SWAs reaching determinations the same day of the request and others taking days, weeks or even months to provide the PWD.

Last Updated ( Friday, 26 February 2010 )
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Free Live Web Chat on New DS-160 Nonimmigrant Visa Application PDF Print E-mail
Written by Jordana Hart   
Thursday, 25 February 2010
The new DS-160 nonimmigrant visa application is live at many major embassies, such as London, Mexico City and Toronto, and many more are requiring it as of March 1 and soon thereafter.

To find out if a particular embassy requires the form now, go to  http://www.usembassy.gov/ and click on visas. The DS-160 can only be completed online and requires you to upload your photograph. The form is about 15 screens long and combines the questions on the DS-156, DS-157 and DS-158 visa application forms that are being phased out.

There is an opportunity to learn more about the new visa application: At 3:30pm on Friday, February 26, the U.S. Embassy in Caracas, Venezuela will hold a live web-chat to answer questions from the public regarding the new DS-160 Non-Immigrant Visa Application. The chat can be accessed by going to https://statedept.connectsolutions.com/caracas.

Choose the “Enter as a Guest” option, type in the screen name of your choice, and enter the room. No password is necessary. Questions may be submitted at any time in advance of or during the program.
Last Updated ( Thursday, 25 February 2010 )
 
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