Visa Lawyer Blog

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President Barack Obama delivered a 61-minute State of the Union address Tuesday, but only a a passing reference to immigration issues.

The president said: “Now, I strongly believe that we should take on, once and for all, the issue of illegal immigration. I am prepared to work with Republicans and Democrats to protect our borders, enforce our laws and address the millions of undocumented workers who are now living in the shadows.”

A passing reference to immigration. I’m glad it was in there, but this is a complicated issue not suited to sound bites — or one paragraph in a 6,000-word speech. Obama has to convince his own party to stop thwarting reform to please organized labor.

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U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that as of January 21, 2011, it has received 62,800 H-1B petitions counting toward the congressionally-mandated 65,000 limit. Congress has established an annual fiscal year limitation of 65,000 on the number of available H-1B visas, commonly referred to as the “H-1B cap.” Under the terms of the legislation implementing the United States-Chile and United States-Singapore Free Trade Agreements, 6,800 of the 65,000 available H-1B visas are set aside for the Chile/Singapore H-1B1 program. However, USCIS adds back to the H-1B cap the projected number of unused Chile/Singapore H-1B1 visas, which for this fiscal year is 6,350. This means that, of the approximately 64,550 H-1B visas available this year, approximately 1,750 remained as of January 21, 2011.

USCIS previously confirmed that it has received 20,000 H-1B petitions for employees with advanced degrees from U.S. colleges and universities, thus reaching the annual limit on H-1B petitions in the advanced degree category. Accordingly, additional H-1B petitions received in this category will be adjudicated under the general 65,000 cap.

USCIS has historically accepted a greater number of H-1B petitions than the number available for approval under the cap based on the assumption that some petitions will be denied, rejected or withdrawn.

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The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services will host public sessions to discuss the E-2 Investor Visa and Grant of Status at the National Park Service’s American Memorial Park indoor auditorium in Garapan.

The two-hour sessions will begin at 5pm on Jan. 25 and 26, Tuesday and Wednesday. Seating is available for 110 people on a first-come, first-served basis. Note that these public sessions are exclusively designed to discuss the CNMI-only E-2 Nonimmigrant Investor, for which the final rule was published in December 2010, and Grant of Status.

There will be no opportunity to discuss the Transitional Worker rule during these forums. Public meetings will be set up in the future when the final rule for the CNMI-Only Nonimmigrant Transitional Worker is finalized.

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Great update from AILA border Liaison for the benefit of our readers. Although Canadian nonimmigrants are largely visa-exempt, the non-Canadian dependent of a principal Canadian must be issued a visa to present for inspection and admission to the U.S. Visa issuance for L-2 non-Canadian dependents of L-1 beneficiaries whose petitions were submitted and approved at a port of entry or preclearance location have been problematic because, until recently, L-1 petitions submitted and approved at ports of entry or preclearance locations were not sent to the U.S. Department of State, Kentucky Consular Center (KCC) for entry into the Petition Information Management System (PIMS).

Visa issuance for TD non-Canadian dependents faced similar challenges, as no mechanism was in place to forward approvals of TN applications (consisting of only the TN letter) at the Port of Entry to the KCC for entry into PIMS.

Consular posts require confirmation of the principal Canadian’s approval of TN or L-1 application through a PIMS entry for a non-Canadian dependent’s visa application before they may issue visas to dependent L-2 and TD spouses and children. Thus, non-Canadian dependent spouses and children were unable to obtain visas, or visa issuance was significantly delayed.

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The following is new information regarding the ability to schedule a waiver appointment for an immigrant visa in Mexico. The information from the Consulate in Ciudad Juarez States:

Please be advised that as of January 10, 2011, the procedure to request a waiver appointment has changed. Applicants can make the appointment through the following website http://mexico.usvisa-info.com. They will need to log onto the website using their Passport Number, Date of Birth and Nationality. When prompted to select a Trip Purpose, they will need to choose “Immigrant IV Waiver” to schedule the appointment.

Alternatively, Applicants can schedule their waiver appointment by contacting the Visa Information Service at any of the numbers provided in the following link: http://www.usvisa-info.com/en-MX/selfservice/us_service_options.

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In this Bog article we discuss the very unfamiliar area of H3 visas for the Hospitality Industry. The very talented attorney Kate Powell from our office has been very successful in crafting and getting approved numerous such cases, and her summary is presented below.

The H-3 nonimmigrant visa category is available for aliens coming temporarily to the United States as either a:

• Trainee to receive training, other than graduate or medical education training, that is not available in the alien’s home country or

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I previously reported on changes to the H2B visa program. This is a notice on the identification of foreign countries whose nationals are eligible to participate in the H-2A and the H-2B nonimmigrant worker programs. The notice becomes effective when it is published in the Federal Register on 1/18/11.

Under Department of Homeland Security (DHS) regulations, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) may approve petitions for H-2A and H-2B nonimmigrant status only for nationals of countries that the Secretary of Homeland Security, with the concurrence of the Secretary of State, has designated by notice published in the Federal Register. That notice must be renewed each year. This notice announces that the Secretary of Homeland Security, in consultation with the Secretary of State, is identifying 53 countries whose nationals are eligible to participate in the H-2A and H-2B programs for the coming year.

Nationals from the following countries are eligible to participate in the H-2A and H-2B nonimmigrant worker programs:

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Tech companies and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce have bemoaned the shortage of American students earning advanced degrees in math, engineering and science; half of all graduate students in those subjects at U.S. universities are foreign-born.

House Oversight Committee Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) introduced a bill Wednesday that would pave the way for up to 55,000 foreign graduate students at American universities to obtain a green card.

Issa’s bill would make it easier for those graduate students to stay in the country after earning their degree by allowing up to 55,000 graduates holding advanced degrees from U.S. universities to earn green cards, provided they have found employment “in the sciences or medicine.”

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Beginning January 10, 2011, the U.S. Embassy and Consulates in Mexico will process visas differently. Under the new procedures, most applicants will go to Applicant Service Centers (ASCs) prior to their consular section interview. The ASC staff will collect the applicant’s biometric information that will be reviewed by the consular section prior to the applicant’s interview. ASCs will be located in buildings separate from the U.S. Embassy and Consulates.

The new process will provide several advantages to applicants:
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Total visa application costs will go down. Applicants will no longer pay one fee to obtain information and schedule the appointment, another fee for the visa application, and a third fee for courier service. Instead, they will pay only one application fee that will cover the appointment, application, and courier fees. The current application fee will stay the same: USD140 for a tourist application, USD150 for petition-based cases (including temporary worker visas), and USD390 for treaty-trader and investor visas.

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Many applicants who are renewing their visas will no longer require an interview with a consular officer. These applicants can simply visit the nearest ASC in order to submit application documents and provide fingerprints. See the links below for more information on the Interview Waiver Program.

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Because the collection of biometric information will take place at the ASC, applicants who are required to visit both the ASC and the consular section should spend less time at the consular section than they have had to in the past.

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Applicants at the U.S. Consulates in Ciudad Juarez, Monterrey, and Nuevo Laredo will no longer pay a USD26 surcharge.

What is the new process for applying for a nonimmigrant visa to the United States?

Before applicants can schedule an appointment, they will be required to complete the DS-160 online application and pay the visa application fee (MRV fee). If the applicant chooses to pay the MRV fee at Banamex or Scotiabank, each applicant will print a deposit slip with the correct amount of the MRV fee and the applicant’s receipt number.

The MRV fee can also be paid by credit card through the appointment website or by telephone. The appointment website will be available soon. Whether the applicant schedules an appointment through the web site or through the call center, the DS-160 nonimmigrant visa application form bar code number and the MRV receipt number will be collected prior to the scheduling of the appropriate appointment for the ASC as well as the consular section appointment, if required.

During the scheduling process, applicants will have an opportunity to choose a convenient DHL location to pick up their passports with the approved visa.

How will the new process work?

* Before making an appointment online or contacting the Call Center to make an appointment, applicants will download a deposit slip and pay the visa application fee at any Banamex or Scotiabank location. The fee can also be paid online or by telephone using a credit card.

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Yes we still have H1B visas available. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that as of December 31, 2010, it has received 57,300 H-1B petitions counting toward the congressionally-mandated 65,000 limit.

Congress has established an annual fiscal year limitation of 65,000 on the number of available H-1B visas, commonly referred to as the “H-1B cap.” Under the terms of the legislation implementing the United States-Chile and United States-Singapore Free Trade Agreements, 6,800 of the 65,000 available H-1B visas are set aside for the Chile/Singapore H-1B1 program. However, USCIS adds back to the H-1B cap the projected number of unused Chile/Singapore H-1B1 visas, which for this fiscal year is 6,350. This means that, of the approximately 64,550 H-1B visas available this year, around 7,250 remained as of December 31, 2010.

USCIS previously confirmed that it has received 20,000 H-1B petitions for employees with advanced degrees from U.S. colleges and universities, thus reaching the annual limit on H-1B petitions in the advanced degree category. Accordingly, additional H-1B petitions received in this category will be adjudicated under the general 65,000 cap.

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