Visa Lawyer Blog

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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 Bear in mind that USCIS takes into account the fact that some of these applications may be revoked, withdrawn by applicants, or denied.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.

Continue reading

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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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USCIS has just released the latest H-1B visa information on December 9, 2009. As of December 8, 2009, USCIS reported that 61,500 cap-subject petitions had been filed.

On December 4, 2009, USCIS reported that 61,100 cap-subject petitions had been filed. From December 4 to December 8, 400 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.

Continue reading

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Effective December 21, 2009, the Nursing Relief for Disadvantaged Areas Reauthorization Act will sunset. The Nursing Relief for Disadvantage Areas Act (NRDAA) established the H-1C Program in 1999 to reduce the shortage of qualified nurses in health professional shortage areas. The Program was reauthorized until December 20, 2009 under the Nursing Relief for Disadvantage Areas Reauthorization Act of 2005 which became effective in December 20, 2006.

Under the H-1C Program, eligible hospitals filed attestations with the Department of Labor’s, Employment and Training Administration (ETA) to support nonimmigrant worker petitions filed with the Department of Homeland Security’s U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Absent further legislative action, Congress has not elected to reinstate the H-1C Program and will no longer accept H-1C Attestations on Form ETA 9081 for foreign nurse positions effective December 21, 2009. The hospitals utilizing the H-1C Program may continue to file applications with the Department of Labor through its other programs including the H-1B Program and the PERM Program, as appropriate.

Please note that nurses still have other visa options, like the H1B visa as well as Permanent Residency.

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Update from our local AILA office. This morning Christopher D. Matson was sworn as the new port director for the San Ysidro and Otay Mesa Ports of Entry. Mr. Matson most recently served for the past two years as the Port Director at Miami International Airport Mr. Matson succeeds Interim Port Director David Murphy, who filled the position for the past six weeks while a replacement was found for former Port Director Oscar Preciado.

Mr. Preciado recently assumed the position of liaison to the U.S. Government Services Administration during the port’s upcoming $577 million reconstruction project.ÿ For additional information, please see CBP’s press release: Here