We have mentioned previously in some of our articles the planned replacement of the current PERM and LCA filing systems. Although the replacement of these two systems does not necessarily affect employees and employers as much as it affects immigration attorneys (as immigration attorneys prepare these filings most often), it is helpful to monitor the [...]
USCIS has released a memorandum, dated March 20, 2009, which provides additional clarifications about H-1B sponsorship by companies which are recipients of TARP funds. We have written extensively about these restrictions earlier this year but there were still questions outstanding. This USCIS guidance should provide final clarify on the subject. The restrictions apply to any Labor [...]
The Department of Justice has released a new set of Freedom of Information Act (”FOIA”) guidelines that direct all executive branch departments (DHS and USCIS including) to apply a presumption of openness when administering FOIA. The new FOIA guidelines address both application of the presumption of disclosure and the effective administration of the FOIA across the [...]
USCIS has released the average processing times for cases pending at the Administrative Appeals Office (AAO) as of March 18, 2009. Among the most notable AAO processing times: H-1B appeal takes 13 months (compared to 14 months when last reported in January 2009); I-140 EB1 Extrordinary Ability and Multinational Manager or Executive categories both take 9 months while [...]
USCIS has released an updated Employer Handbook, Instructions for Completing Form I-9. The new handbook describes in detail the requirements imposed by Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification. Note that the new handbook contains procedures which should be used only on or after April 3, 2009.
We wrote last week about the April 2009 Visa Bulletin and the significant retrogression of the visa numbers in EB-3 Rest of World (ROW) category. It is important to note that the April 2009 Visa Bulletin retrogression for EB-3 will be applied immediately, as opposed to as of April 1, 2009 (see last sentence of [...]
Our firm handles a fair amount of appeals with the Administrative Appeals Office (AAO) and we often receive inquiries about the procedural aspects of an AAO appeal. About the AAO As a short preliminary background matter, the AAO is an appeals office which handles appeals of certain decisions made by USCIS field offices and regional procssing centers. [...]
The National Service Center has provided some guidance on requesting expedited processing of re-entry permits (Form I-131) to clarify the reasons for requesting expedited processing. According to NSC, valid expedited reasons are humanitarian reasons, financial loss, medical need, etc. We have received many re-entry permits inquiries by permanent legal residents who are about to accept a [...]
The California Service Center (CSC) has issued guidance on what kind of documentation is satisfactory to show that an H-1B beneficiary has completed his or her degree requirements. It is important to note that an H-1B visa application must be filed only after all degree requirements are met, even if the diploma has not been [...]
The Department of State (DOS) has released a cable to its consular posts to begin using the 2009 poverty guidelines in calculating the levels of income and assets required by immigrant visa petitioners and joint sponsors. DOS requires that when processing immigrant visa cases subject to the Affidavit of Support (I-864) requirement, consular posts must [...]