News Archives - Page 107 of 113 - Capitol Immigration Law Group PLLC

Update on Limited I-140 Premium Processing

We wrote earlier about the availability of limited I-140 premium processing filings. It is only available to certain H-1B holders who "H-out" of their status and for whom the only way to remain on H-1B status would be a I-140 premium processing filing. The USCIS has now commented on some of the limitations on the I-140 premium processing program and has provided some guidance and clarification on which types of I-140 are eligible for premium processing. Please read the full article for further details.

By Dimo Michailov|2008-07-21T09:54:26-04:00July 21st, 2008|News|

Update on H-2B Visa Count

USCIS has provided two recent updates on the numbers on the H-2B visa count. The two recent updates are useful because it allows us to sample the rate at which H-2B visa numbers are being used. The July 1 announcement stated that the H-2B count, as of July 1, stands at 17,305 for the first half of FY 2009. The July 7 announcement stated that the H-2B count, as of July 7, stands at 20,390, an increase of nearly 3,000 over a period of less than a week. It should be noted that the period included the July 4th holiday, so it is safe to assume that the actual filing rate is somewhat higher. The cap for the first half of FY 2009 is set at 33,000, so based on current demand at a rate of 3,000 visa petitions in 6 days, we anticipate that the remaining numbers willbe exhausted some time in August. This expectation assumes that the rate of 3,000 visa petitions per 6 days will not change.

By Dimo Michailov|2008-07-16T12:27:20-04:00July 16th, 2008|News|

August 2008 Visa Bulletin Update

We wrote on Friday about the anticipated significant forward movement for EB-2 India. The August 2008 Visa Bulletin is out now and it confirms our expectation. In addition, EB-2 China has also moved forward significantly. Both EB-2 India and China have a date of June 1, 2006 (from April 2004 previously). Another important update related to the visa bulletin is the unavailability of visas in the "Other Workers" category - they are now unavailable (from April 2003 previously). The visa bulletin explains that such unavailability is due to the numbers for the "Other Workers" category reaching their annual numerical limit. It is expected that once the FY 2009 begins in October, the dates should return to April 2003. Please read the full article for more details on the August 2008 Visa Bulletin.

By Dimo Michailov|2008-07-14T09:07:40-04:00July 14th, 2008|News|

August 2008 Visa Bulletin – Great News for EB-2 India

The August 2008 Visa Bulletin is about to be released and we have reliable (based on past experience) information that EB-2 India will move forward by more than two years - from April 2004 to June 2006. This is excellent news for applicants in the EB-2 India category. Stay tuned as we wil update this post with more information as the official State Department Visa Bulletin is distributed.

By Dimo Michailov|2008-07-11T14:07:36-04:00July 11th, 2008|News|

Obama v. McCain on Immigration

Many of our clients and readers have asked us what kind of relief or changes they can expect once the new president takes office in January of 2009. Although it is difficult to predict the exact type of policies they will implement once they take office, the Wall Street Journal created a helpful chart comparing Obama and McCain on immigration. Please read the full article for details on Obama and McCain's immigration policies and for analysis on how it may impact the immigrant community.

By Dimo Michailov|2017-05-20T21:49:49-04:00July 9th, 2008|News|

FOIA Online Status Check

USCIS recently announced the launch of the online FOIA status check. The system is designed to provide a secure way for FOIA petitioners to check the status on their request. Please read more for details on this new online system and for link.

By Dimo Michailov|2008-07-07T17:55:30-04:00July 7th, 2008|News|

New I-9 Form Released

USCIS has released a new version of the Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification. Employers should start using the revised form (it has Rev. 06/16/08 in the bottom right corner) effective immediately because USCIS will no longer accept older versions. Please read the full article on more information on the new Form I-9.

By Dimo Michailov|2017-05-20T21:49:49-04:00June 25th, 2008|News|

Travel Abroad on Advance Parole and Switching Employers

A very frequent two-part question we receive from current and prospective clients who are expecting visa number and have used AC21 to switch employers and are no longer with the original employer who sponsored their green card is 1) whether they can travel abroad using advance parole (AP) document issued by the former employer and 2) what should they respond, upon return, when questioned by a border agent about their employment situation. Please read the full article for more details.

By Dimo Michailov|2017-05-20T21:49:49-04:00June 24th, 2008|News|

PERM Fiscal Year 2008 Statistics

The Department of Labor's Office of Foreign Labor Certification has released its October 2007 - May 2008 statistics on PERM processing. It is interesting to note that 44% of the active (pending) PERM cases were in "Audit" stage, most likely in connection with the recent decision to audit all PERM applications filed by a major immigration law firm. Please read the full post for more details on DOL's PERM processing statistics.

By Dimo Michailov|2017-05-20T21:49:49-04:00June 24th, 2008|News|

GAO: Visa Waiver Pre-Registration Program Will Cause Backlogs

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has commented on the program announced recently by USCIS which aims to pre-register all travelers to the U.S. coming from Visa Waiver Program (VWP) countries. We wrote extensively about the program earlier in June. Under the new program, which is optional until January, when it becomes mandatory for all of VWP travelers from 27 countries, all travelers to the U.S. must pre-register before traveling to the U.S. through an online system by entering personal information such as passport number, intended dates of travel, etc. If the system rejects the pre-registration, the traveler must apply for a visa at the U.S. consulate. Please read the rest of the article on details about the anticipated visa processing backlogs.

By Dimo Michailov|2017-05-20T21:49:50-04:00June 23rd, 2008|News|

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