Visa Lawyer Blog

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Stories like this one explain the increase in Mexican nationals fleeing to the US. As drug gangs clashed across Tijuana this week, a San Diego mother of two lost her life in the crossfire. Yajaira Orozco was shot in the head when assailants sprayed gunfire inside a seafood restaurant where she was sharing a meal with her husband.

ajaira Orozco, also 23, was one of about 50 people who have died in the past week in Tijuana, many of them as a result of a brutal battle for control between two rival drug-trafficking groups.

But while Yajaira Orozco was a U.S. citizen, Raul Orozco, her spouse, was brought to the United States from Mexico at age 5 and was not a legal resident. In order to apply for legal residency, he first had to move back to Mexico. There are may families in similar situations. Where one of the family members entered the US illegally, and upon marriage to US Citizen are trying to fix their papers. Under current law, the illegal immigrant must leave the US in order to complete the legalization process. Read a client’s story here. While the drug war in Mexico continues, such families are risking their lives every day.

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DOS issued a list of questions and answers on the removal of HIV infection from the CDC list of communicable diseases of public health significance. Issues addressed include the background of the rule change, visa application process, HIV-positive applicants who have previously been refused a visa, and information dissemination about the rule.

One of the main questions for the public is, before the effective date of January 4, 2010, what changes will take place for non-U.S. itizens with HIV infection who wish to enter the United States?

Until the final rule goes into effect on January 4, 2010, non-U.S. citizens who have HIV cannot be admitted to the United States without waivers granted by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Certain nonimmigrants may qualify for issuance of visas from consular officers without first applying to DHS for waivers under a streamlined process established by DHS in its HIV Waiver Final Rule.

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We like to share that the H1B cap is extremely close to being reached. The count as of December 15, 2009 is 64,200. This is 1300 cases more than the count from December 11th. This count is very close to the total cap of 65,000 which is actually somewhat reduced by numbers allocated under trade agreements. We continue to watch this very closely, and will provide updates until the FY 2010 cap is reached.

We suggest to act quickly to avoid last minute embarrassment as H-1B Cap may soon be cease to exist.

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USCIS has just released the latest H-1B visa information on December 15, 2009. As of December 11, 2009, USCIS reported that 62,900 cap-subject petitions had been filed.

From December 10 to December 11, 400 more applications were filed. As mentioned in all other previous H-1B updates, spots for advanced degree holders have been satisfactorily met; all other advanced degree holders approved will be counted towards the general cap. Remember, those who receive a job offer from a governmental or non-profit organization will not count towards the general H-1B cap.

Because 6,800 out of the 65,000 regular spots are kept for citizens of Singapore and Chile, this only leaves 58,200 spots for other nationals. Bear in mind that USCIS takes into account the fact that some of these applications may be revoked, withdrawn by applicants, or denied. As such, USCIS will continue to accept both cap-subject petitions and advanced degree petitions until they specify otherwise.

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This is a first posting is a series of discussions about the above referenced Bill. We upload a Section-by-section summary of the Comprehensive Immigration Reform for America’s Security and Prosperity (CIR ASAP) Act of 2009, introduced by Rep. Gutierrez (D-IL) on 12/15/09. This document was produced by Rep. Gutierrez’s office. Click here for the Summary Download file

The actual Bill is very detailed, ranging from enforcement to Immigration reform changes. For example, one reform discussed is to recognize family unity principles and facilitate backlog reduction, reclassifies spouses and children of lawful permanent residents as immediate relatives. Today such families must wait years to be united.

The government is given greater discretionary authority to waive unlawful presence bars to reunite families upon a demonstration of hardship for applicant’s U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident family members. Today such applicants must leave the US, apply for a waiver and risk getting denied.

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The Bureau of Consular Affairs with the Department of State has issued a proposed rule to increase certain immigration fees on Dec. 11, 2009. According to the notice, the fee for processing applications for most non-immigrant visas that do not require petitions and adult Border Crossing Cards will be increasing from $131 to $140. Additionally, some petition-based non-immigrant visas, along with the treaty trader and investor visa, will also see an increase in application fees. The rule will also increase the fee for Mexican citizen minors who apply for entry from Mexico and whose parent or guardian either has a Border Crossing Card or is in the process of applying for a card, from $13 to $14.

These fee increases are being implemented, the Department of State says, in response to results from a recent independent cost of service study that found that the U.S. Government is not fully covering the expenses of processing these visa types with the current level of fees. Written comments regarding this proposed rule may be submitted up to 60 days from the publication of this notice in the Federal Register. We keep you posted on this.

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USCIS has just released the latest H-1B visa information on December 11, 2009. As of December 10, 2009, USCIS reported that 62,500 cap-subject petitions had been filed.

On December 8, 2009, USCIS reported that 61,500 cap-subject petitions had been filed. From December 8 to December 10, 1,000 more applications have been filed. As mentioned in previous H-1B updates, spots for advanced degree holders have been satisfactorily met; all other advanced degree holders approved will be counted towards the general cap. Remember, those who receive a job offer from a governmental or non-profit organization will not count towards the general H-1B cap.

Because 6,800 out of the 65,000 regular spots are kept for citizens of Singapore and Chile, this only leaves 58,200 spots for other nationals. Bear in mind that USCIS takes into account the fact that some of these applications may be revoked, withdrawn by applicants, or denied. As such, USCIS will continue to accept both cap-subject petitions and advanced degree petitions until they specify otherwise.

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Computer World just released a comprehensive list of the employers who received approval from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services for new H-1B visas in federal fiscal year 2009. Indian outsourcing companies still dominate the list. If you compare to last years numbers, we can see a sharp decline in sponsoring workers.

Click here for the complete list

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After health care, Immigration is going to be the next big thing. On Tuesday, December 15, Congressman Luis V. Gutierrez (D-IL) will introduce new legislation, the Comprehensive Immigration Reform for America’s Security and Prosperity Act of 2009 (CIR ASAP), to the U.S. House of Representatives. Gutierrez will be joined by members of many different faiths and backgrounds, including the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, Black Caucus, Asian Pacific American Caucus and Progressive Caucus.

“We have waited patiently for a workable solution to our immigration crisis to be taken up by this Congress and our President,” said Rep. Gutierrez. “The time for waiting is over. This bill will be presented before Congress recesses for the holidays so that there is no excuse for inaction in the New Year. It is the product of months of collaboration with civil rights advocates, labor organizations, and members of Congress. It is an answer to too many years of pain —mothers separated from their children, workers exploited and undermined security at the border— all caused at the hands of a broken immigration system. This bill says ‘enough,’ and presents a solution to our broken system that we as a nation of immigrants can be proud of.”

We will follow the Bill’s progress and update our readers.

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The Department of State has just released the new visa bulletin for January 2010 on December 10, 2009.

Last month, the EB-2 category for both mainland Chinese and Indian nationals remained unchanged from the November visa bulletin. In addition, the EB-1 category stayed current for worldwide applicants. Cut-off dates in the EB-3 category moved forward nine days from April 22, 2001 to May 1, 2001 for Indian nationals and did not change for mainland Chinese nationals.

Based on the January 2010 visa bulletin, USCIS reports that the EB-1 category is still current in all countries. In the EB-2 category, cutoff dates for mainland Chinese nationals progressed one month from April 1, 2005 to May 1, 2005, but remained the same for Indian nationals. In the EB-3 category, the cutoff dates for mainland Chinese nationals progressed 2 months from June 1, 2002 to August 1, 2002 and progressed 53 days for Indian nationals from May 1, 2001 to June 22, 2001.

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