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 [...]
The Department of Labor (”DOL”) has released a quarterly report covering the second quarter of 2009 (ending on June 31, 2009) which report indicates the performance measurements for four categories of labor certifications performed by DOL: H-1B Labor Condition Applications (”LCA”). The target performance rate set by DOL is seven (business) days. For the second quarter, [...]
The December 2009 Visa Bulletin was released today by the State Department. The third visa bulletin for the fiscal year 2010 does not bring much movement. In fact, the only movement in the EB categories is a one week only forward movement in EB-3 India. All other categories, including EB-3 Rest of World (ROW) remain [...]
We have updated our consultation options page. Please take a look. We have added some consultation options to better serve our clients. We now offer: free initial consultations; 20-, 40-, or 60-minute legal consultations via phone (new); in-person legal consultations at our office; and flat fee case-specific engagements. We constantly seek feedback from our clients [...]
Our firm handles a fair amount of appeals with the Administrative Appeals Office (AAO) and we often receive inquiries not only about about the procedural aspects of an AAO appeal but also about the current processing times for AAO cases. About the AAO The AAO is an appeals office which handles appeals of certain decisions made by [...]
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 [...]
This question arises often in the context of Visa Waiver Program (VWP) travelers who seek to enter the U.S. under VWP while their visa application (for H-1B, for example) has been “delayed” by the U.S. consulate. Under VWP, a nonimmigrant alien applicant for admission to the U.S. under VWP must indicate on Form I-94W and on [...]