Visa Lawyer Blog

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This is very important notice to all of you international Students out there. Recent NAFSA alert announces that CBP will no longer stamp I-20s at ports of entry (POEs). USCIS is reported to be reaching out to other agencies, such as the DMV, to inform them of the change, since many agencies require the I-20 stamp prior to granting benefits.

On August 15, 2012, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) unofficially confirmed for NAFSA that:

“CBP is no longer stamping I-20s at POEs. Recognizing that some staff at certain benefit granting agencies (for example, motor vehicle agencies) look for a stamp on these documents before granting a benefit, USCIS is conducting extensive outreach to ensure that these agencies are aware of this change.”

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In the efforts to reduce its costs associated with issuing paper Form I-94, United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has announced plans to eliminate Form I-94, Arrival/Departure Record.

As another reason for eliminating Form I-94, CBP has noted that it already has access to the data gathered on Form I-94. Aliens provide the information when submitting an application for a nonimmigrant visa at a U.S. consulate. In addition, information is provided to CBP through the Advance Passenger Information System (APIS). APIS is a web-based system used by commercial carriers and the private aviation community to electronically provide required information to CBP such as notices of arrival and/or departure and traveler manifests (crew and passenger).

Form I-94 plays a central role in documenting proper admission and maintenance of status and is used by a variety of entities ranging from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to state motor vehicle bureaus to verify aliens’ immigration status. It remains to be seen how these entities will be handling verification of lawful status without Form I-94.

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We are very happy to announce that today USCIS has posted Deferred Action Application Forms along with the instructions and further guidelines on Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). Now eligible individuals may apply for DACA and Employment Authorization by completing all the forms and submitting them along with supporting documentation to a USCIS Lockbox facility.

Filing Process:

Three forms will need to be submitted together to USCIS accompanied by a fee of $465:

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This great update for employer is Courtesy of AILA’s Verification & Documentation Liaison Committee. On August 13, 2012, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that employers should continue using the current version of the Form I-9 after the form’s expiration date of August 31, 2012.

The current version of the Form I-9 has the expiration date of August 31, 2012 printed in the upper right corner and the revision date of August 7, 2009 printed in the lower right corner. Employers should use the current version of Form I-9, but the USCIS instructions for the Form I-9 state that the agency also accepts the prior version of the Form I-9, which bears a revision date of February 2, 2009.

Previously, on March 27, 2012, USCIS published a proposed revision of the Form I-9 and accepted comments on the proposed form until May 29, 2012. The USCIS announcement instructing employers to continue to use the current form until further notice indicates that the agency will not publish a final revised Form I-9 before the expiration date of the current Form I-9.

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Online registration for the DV-2014 Program will begin on Tuesday, October 2, 2012 at 12:00 noon, Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) (GMT-4), and conclude on Saturday, November 3, 2012 at 12:00 noon, Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) (GMT-4). Instructions for the DV 2014 Program are not yet available.

The entry registration period for DV-2013 has ended. The online registration period for the 2013 Diversity Visa Program (DV-2013) began at www.dvlottery.state.gov on Tuesday, October 4, 2011, at noon, Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) (GMT-4), and concluded on Saturday, November 5, 2011, at noon, Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) (GMT-4). Entrants in the Diversity Visa 2013 program may check the status of their entries through the Entrant Status check on the E-DV website beginning on May 1, 2012.

As with many government programs, the diversity immigrant visa program is deceptively simple, and has numerous pitfalls. Rigid technical requirements disqualify many applicants. So-called lucky “winners” face the biggest challenge after they are notified they have been selected. According to Bernard Wolfsdorf, of the 100,021 registrants in the 2012 diversity lottery, slightly more than half were disappointed to discover they were unable to obtain a green card. Some are mortified when they are refused tourist or student visas because they expressed immigrant intent. The disappointment is certain to continue for tens-of-thousands recently announced 2013 lottery “winners”.

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Last week the Director of the USCIS announced that the USCIS will start accepting applications for Deferred Action and Employment Authorization from August 15.

Our office Lawyers were on a telephone conference with the USCIS last week, during which the process, requirements, fees and other important issues were clarified. This morning the USCIS release the following chart that outlines the process in a nutshell.

Remember there are no Appeals or Motions to Re Open in this process. If you make a mistake, you are done. It is important to do the research, obtain any records needed and consult an experienced lawyer before filing.

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AILA has provided this 8 point summary following DHS’ Announcement on Deferred Action:

1. In a change from the prior announcement, people currently in removal proceedings will use the USCIS process when it is implemented on August 15, 2012, rather than go through ICE. Only individuals in detention will go through ICE to make a deferred action request.

2. Information provided as part of the deferred action request process is protected from disclosure to ICE or CBP for purposes of removal proceedings unless the requestor meets the criteria of USCIS’ November 2011 NTA memo.

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On August 3, 2012, USCIS held a public engagement to discuss further updates on DACA and implementation process. While application process is not yet in effect, USCIS will start accepting applications on August 15, 2012. Interestingly, USCIS has not yet posted the actual form that will be used to apply for DACA. USCIS pointed out that the applicable form and instructions will be made available on August 15, 2012.

Deferred Action Requests will be mailed at the same time with Form I-765, Employment Authorization Application and with a fee of $465. In limited circumstances, you can qualify for a fee exemption.

USCIS has clarified the following important points concerning DACA process:

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Today, in Washington, the Department of Homeland Security provided additional information on the deferred action for childhood arrivals process during a national media call in preparation for the August 15 implementation date.

Back on June 15, Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano announced that certain young people who came to the United States as children and meet other key guidelines may be eligible, on a case-by-case basis, to receive deferred action. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is finalizing a process by which potentially eligible individuals may request consideration of deferred action for childhood arrivals.

USCIS expects to make all forms, instructions, and additional information relevant to the deferred action for childhood arrivals process available on August 15, 2012. USCIS will then immediately begin accepting requests for consideration of deferred action for childhood arrivals.

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A recent study conducted has shown that there is a high demand for skilled H-1B workers in metropolitan areas. An analysis of the geography of H-1B visa requests — particularly in the metropolitan areas with the highest demand between 2001 and 2011 — reveals that demand for H-1B workers has fluctuated with economic and political cycles over the last decade and reflects a wide range of employers’ needs for high-skilled temporary workers. Employer requests have exceeded the number of visas issued every year except from 2001 to 2003 when the annual cap was temporarily raised from 65,000 to 195,000. Employers requesting the most H-1B visas are large companies subject to the cap specializing in information technology, consulting, and electronics manufacturing. Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) occupations account for almost two-thirds of requests for H-1B workers; healthcare, finance, business, and life sciences occupations are also in high demand. Over the last decade the federal government has distributed about $1 billion from H-1B visa fees to fund programs to address skills shortages in the U.S. workforce.

One hundred and six metropolitan areas had at least 250 requests for H-1B workers in the 2010–2011 period, accounting for 91 percent of all requests but only 67 percent of the national workforce. Considerable variation exists among these metro areas in the number of workers requested and the ratio of requests to the size of the total metro workforce. On average, there were 3.3 requests for H-1Bs per 1,000 workers in these 106 metro areas, compared to 2.4 for the nation as a whole.

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