The USCIS Ombudsman has released a recommendation report which urges overhaul of the USCIS fee payment system. USCIS is considered a “pay-for-service” government agency where petitioners pay for the provision of a particular service. However, the current system which accepts checks or money orders for most, and credit cards for a few e-filing-enabled forms, has [...]
The Optional Practical Training (OPT) program allows foreign students on F-1 visa to work for 12 (or up to 29 months, for holders of STEM degrees). The 12 (or 29) month period allows many students to apply for an H-1B work visa. Many employers (and OPT holders alike) are unaware of what happens when the [...]
We wrote last week about the new Employer Handbook which was released by USCIS in connection with the revised Form I-9. The revised version of Form I-9 becomes mandatory on April 3, 2009 (barring any last-minute change by the Obama administration). Employers will have to complete the new Form I-9 for all newly hired employees [...]
The Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Immigration Statistics has released its annual U.S. Permanent Residents: 2008 report. The report provides a summary of the approvals of the various types of legal permanent resident (LPR) petitions. According to the report, in 2008, a total of 1,107,126 persons became LPRs. Of these, 58% already lived in [...]
Many of our clients have asked us whether there will be a lottery during this year’s H-1B filing season and if there will be one, how the lottery would work. Amid difficult economic times and increasing jobless rate, it is expected that the H-1B applications this year will be less than they were in April [...]
The Department of Labor has provided an update on the current PERM processing dates. Unfortunately, delays in PERM processing still remain (we wrote about these in the past: 1 | 2 | 3). During the Spring 2009 AILA conference, DOL has provided some updates on the current PERM processing dates. They are as follows: No audit: [...]
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 [...]