USCIS has released some numbers about the student and exchange visitor visa programs. As of December 31, 2008, there were 1,046,468 active nonimmigrant students, exchange visitors and their dependents. Out of this number, there were a total of 722,272 active F or M students and 94,027 dependents. There were 179,408 J-1 exchange visitors and 50,761 [...]
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that it has delayed by 60 days, until April 3, 2009, the effective date for using the revised Form I-9, originally scheduled to go into effect today. Copy of the USCIS notice. Employers who use the new form prior to the April 3, 2009 effective date are subject [...]
The requirement, imposed late last year on certain federal contractors to become E-Verify compliant or become ineligible for contracts with the federal government was due to become effective on January 15, 2009. However, the requirement, after attack by a number of organizations special interest groups, has been postponed until at least May 21, 2009. There are [...]
The Vermont Service Center (VSC) has provided an update to the number of pending cap-subject cases which were filed pursuant to the H-1B FY 2009 cap in April 1, 2008. As of January 9, 2009, there are a total of 3,432 H-1B cap cases, in various stages of adjudication, which remain pending. VSC has indicated that [...]
The Vermont Service Center (VSC), through the AILA Liaison, has provided some guidance and a refresher on when the H-1B status of an employee terminates in connection with termination of employment or revocation of the H-1B petition by the employer. The timing of the termination of the H-1B status is very important, because under USCIS [...]
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has produced another set of two excellent and very revealing reports - one reviewing the Immigration and Naturalization Fees and one suggesting improvements for the setting of USCIS fees. The two reports are very revealing in describing USCIS’s budgetary items, its heavy reliance on filing fees to finance operations and some [...]
USCIS has updated Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification and the new form is available for us; however, two versions exist. Please note that the version dated 06/05/07 is only available if used BEFORE February 2, 2009. The version dated 02/02/09 will be appropriate for use ON or AFTER February 2, 2009.
The current Processing Times Report for the Nebraska Service Center (NSC) as of September 30, 2008 indicates that NSC is processing I-140 (EB-3) petitions filed on or before August 2, 2007. However, NSC has indicated that they are still processing cases filed from July 1, 2007 through August 2, 2007, and it will be a [...]
A recent decision from the Administrative Review Board (ARB) held that when an H-1B employer fails to terminate H-1B employee and notify USCIS of such termination is liable for payment of back wages. ARB held: Under the INA’s “no benching” provisions, the employer is obligated to pay the required wage even if the H-1B nonimmigrant is [...]
The Vermont Service Center (VSC) has issued a practice pointer on the circumstances under which VSC will transfer a priority date to a subsequent petition. Retaining an earlier priority date is possible when: If the same petitioner (employer) and beneficiary (employee) are parties to both the original and the subsequent petitions (under 8 C.F.R. 204.2(h)(2)) and: the subsequent [...]