As many of our clients and readers are aware, unless Congress decides to act on a long-term federal deficit-reduction plan before March 1, the government will suffer automatic slashes under the looming "sequester" plan passed in 2011. It will cut 8 percent from U.S. military spending and 5 percent from other domestic spending budgets. The [...]
The Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has announced on May 11, 2012, that they have expanded the list of Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) degree programs. New STEM-Designated Programs Until this revision, CIP degree codes ending in "99" were not designated as STEM degree programs. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is now proposing [...]
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has released its report on the numbers of unauthorized immigrants residing in the U.S. as of January 2011. The report makes a notable change in the methodology and also takes into consideration the 2010 Census data. The DHS report, perhaps unsurprisingly, indicates that an estimated 11.5 million unauthorized immigrants [...]
In a September 2011 audit report on the use of Social Security Numbers (SSNs) by H-1B temporary workers, the Office of Inspector General (OIC) claims that a substantial percentage of H-1B cases may involve some amount of irregularity or fraud. OIG based its review on a random sample of 200 H-1B cases from the 38,546 [...]
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has announced that the National Security Entry-Exit Registration System (NSEERS) will be eliminated effective April 28, 2011. See the Federal Register notice and WSJ article. About NSEERS The National Security Entry-Exit Registration System, NSEERS, required individuals from more than 20 predominantly Arab countries to register with the government on [...]
As of yesterday, March 21, 2011, the E-Verify Self Check system has been launched and made available to users who maintain an address and are physically located in Arizona, Idaho, Colorado, Mississippi, Virginia or the District of Columbia. About E-Verify Self Check E-Verify Self Check is the first online E-Verify program offered directly to workers [...]
It is not a secret that USCIS' processing times of I-765 work permit documents ("EAD") and I-131 advance parole travel documents ("AP") have increased over the past few months. Our office has experienced some of these delays and our office is increasingly approached by EAD/AP applicants who have either expiring EADs or need to travel [...]
On Tuesday, July 20th, AILA filed a lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) seeking the release of records concerning agency policies and procedures for the H-1B visa program. AILA had attempted to obtain these documents under a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request which had been denied [...]
The Texas Service Center (TSC) recently launched a pilot program pursuant to which employment-based I-485 applicants can facilitate TSC processes relating to specific stages of the employment-based adjustment of status. A special email address has been designated for this purpose: [email protected]. Procedure and Process After sending an email pursuant to this pilot program, applicants will [...]
USCIS released the weekly FY2011 information on the numbers of cap-subject H-1Bs filed since April 1. As of May 21, 2010, USCIS has received approximately 19,600 H-1B petitions counting toward the 65,000 cap (a weekly increase of only 600). Similarly, as of May 21, there were 8,200 H-1B visas filed subject to the U.S. Masters [...]