USCIS released updated information on the numbers of cap-subject H-1Bs filed since April 1. As of November 6, 2009, USCIS has received approximately 54,700 H-1B petitions counting toward the 65,000 cap (an increase of 900 in a week). USCIS will continue to accept petitions subject to the general cap. U.S. Masters Degrees Quota Reached As we mentioned [...]
In an article today, the Washington Post reports on a speech made by the Homeland Secretary Janet Napolitano and her prediction that in “[t]he first part of 2010, we will see legislation beginning to move.” The Post article is based on a speech made by Secretary Napolitano earlier today. She claimed that the Obama administration has [...]
Two weeks ago we wrote about the USCIS Ombudsman recommendation to modify the LCA/H-1B filing process to avoid negative consequences associated with delayed LCAs. As a response, USCIS just announced a temporary change in policy pursuant to which it will temporarily accept H-1B petitions filed without Labor Conditions Applications (LCA) that have been certified by the [...]
In a Memorandum, dated September 14, 2009, Donald Neufeld, the Acting Associate Director for Domestic Operations as USCIS, provides some clarifications and amendments to the Adjudicator’s Field Manual relating to Form I-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker. 1. Definition of Employer for Outstanding Researchers or Professors under Section 203(b)(1)(B). Each EB-1B petition for outstanding researcher or professor [...]
USCIS released updated information on the numbers of cap-subject H-1Bs filed since April 1. As of October 30, 2009, USCIS has received approximately 53,800 H-1B petitions counting toward the 65,000 cap (an increase of 1,000 in a week). USCIS will continue to accept petitions subject to the general cap. U.S. Masters Degrees Quota Reached As we mentioned [...]
In a final rule published in the Federal Register on November 2, 2009, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), is amending its regulations to remove “Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) infection” from the definition of communicable disease of public health [...]
USCIS released updated information on the numbers of cap-subject H-1Bs filed since April 1. As of October 25, 2009, USCIS has received approximately 52,800 H-1B petitions counting toward the 65,000 cap. USCIS will continue to accept petitions subject to the general cap. Additionally, USCIS has received sufficient number of petitions for aliens with advanced degrees and [...]
Over the past months we have written extensively about the issues raised by today’s Wall Street Journal article “Slump Sinks Visa Program” but it is still an interesting read. Most of our readers are aware of the current H-1B quota and the fact that a substantial number of H-1B visas still remain available (for comparison, [...]
In a report released this month, the Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”) provides some estimates and analysis of the numbers and demographic composition of the legal permanent residents (“LPRS”) in the U.S. as of January 1, 2008 (yes, the data is 22 months old but the analysis is recent and should not have changed much [...]
In a formal recommendation to USCIS, its Ombudsman has reviewed the current H-1B filing requirements with respect to LCAs and has concluded that changes to the LCA/H-1B filing process are necessary to avoid a number of negative consequences prejudicing employees and employers alike. The drive behind this policy review by the USCIS Ombudsman is a number [...]