Visa Lawyer Blog

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I am a big fan of the 80’s music and was pleased to learn of Boy George’s upcoming Concert Tour, passing through San Diego as well in July. Now it seems that we will be be expecting a refund for the tickets.Boy George has been denied a visa to enter the United States, according to his site.

U.S. immigration denied the visa because George, faces trial in November in London on charges of false imprisonment relating to an April 2007 incident, according to a statement from Boy George’s management, posted on his site. Under US law a criminal conviction even from abroad, can lead to a visa denial or bar to enter the US.

Read the story here

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This week I am attending the National American Immigration Lawyers Association Conference in Vancouver,BC. The setting is perfect as 11,000 immigration lawyers gather to discuss the most pressing issues in immigration law today.

I attended the open forum where by Government Officials from Immigration and Department of Labor share views and answer questions from the lawyers. Gov Officials said that the U.S. Department of State Visa Bulletin for July 2008 stated that all employment-based, third preference (EB3) visa numbers will be used by the end of June 2008. There are several causes of this development according to the panel experts today, including joint efforts by DOS and the USCIS to utilize all available visa numbers by the end of fiscal year (FY) 2008.

One important change that appears to be contributing to the usage of visa numbers is the February 2008 Michael Aytes (he was there today acting very cheerful and willing to answer many questions) memorandum allowing for approval of Application for Adjustment of Status (I-485) cases awaiting clearance through the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)’s National Name Check Program (NNCP).

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I-140 Premium processing is back, but wait not so fast. The USCIS issued an official notice informing that, as of June 16, 2008, premium processing will be available for I-140 petitions on a limited basis. The premium processing service for I-140s will only be available for foreign nationals who are reaching the end of their sixth year of H1B term and who otherwise would not be eligible for H1B extensions.

I-140 premium processing will be made available to those who need their I-140s approved in order to be eligible for H1B status beyond the six-year limit. This would apply to H1B applicants who have only 60 days remaining before the end of the H1B six-year limit, but who do not qualify for extensions based upon the priority date of the labor certification filings, alone. In that instance, the I-140 approval will permit an H1B extension for an additional three years in those situations where the priority date is not current / available.

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Per the USCIS announcement on June 5, 2008, USCIS is centralizing the processing of N-400’s at NBC, with one exception. Military naturalization applicants will continue to file with the Nebraska Service Center until further notice.

Movement of N-400 applications from the service centers to the National Benefits Center
(NBC) for centralized staging and subsequent processing will occur in an incremental
fashion. The Texas Service Center (TSC) will move forms from its office to the NBC
during the month of June. This movement will not involve all N-400 applications
received at the TSC, however. The TSC will only move those cases received and
accepted at their site after June 6th. Only those cases received after this date and found to
be correctly filed according to USCIS standards will be transferred to the NBC.

The California Service Center will follow suit during the month of July by transferring
only those cases meeting the above stated criteria after the specific date in July yet to be
determined and communicated. The Nebraska Service Center will be transferring its
cases received in August, in like fashion. The Vermont Service Center will conclude this
transition phase with the movement of its cases to the NBC within the month of
September. Only those cases receipted after the specific date set in September will be
moved from the VSC to the NBC.

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Our country’s commitment to bring to justice criminals against humanity is remarkable. The pursuit of Holocaust criminals shows that even after 60 years, they will face justice and be deported.

The Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) affirmed an order directing the removal of

Josias Kumpf, 83, due to his participation in Nazi-sponsored crimes of persecution during World War II.

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The American Immigration Lawyers Association reports that USCIS Service Center Operations has provided the following information to AILA liaison regarding processing cases under the FY2009 H-1B cap:

1. Except for cases that were being reviewed as potential duplicate filings, all receipts have been issued for those cases selected in the random lottery. The CSC and VSC completed data entry on all selected cases on May 23, 2008, and mailing of all receipts was completed on may 24, 2008. So if you have not been issued a receipt by May 24th, your case must have not been selected.

2. Cases that were thought to be duplicate filings are being hand reviewed to determine if they are true duplicates. USCIS has received approximately 500 petitions that are believed to be duplicates. However, some of these were submitted as “protective filings” due to courier delivery confirmation problems or where the petition was sent to an incorrect Service Center. Each will be reviewed and determined on a case-by-case basis. If the second submission was accompanied by an explanation of the reason for the second submission, there is a good chance of acceptance.

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The EB-5 program allocates 10,000 visas per year for aliens and family members whose qualifying investments result in the creation or preservation of at least ten (10) full-time jobs for U.S. workers. 3,000 of these immigrant visas are set-aside for aliens who invest in designated regional centers, areas of high unemployment or other qualifying rural areas.

The EB-5 visa category started in 1991. Regional Centers started in 1993. The program was due to expire this year. The House of Representatives passed HR 5569, a bill extending the EB-5 Regional Center program for another five years.

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Following the recent announcement of the audit of all PERM cases filed by Fragomen, largest immigration law firm in the nation. A new set of rules was issued by DOL on the role of Lawyers following the PERM process.

The Department has long held the view that good faith recruitment requires that an employer’s process for considering U.S. workers who respond to certification-related recruitment closely resembles the employer’s normal consideration process. In most situations, that normal process does not involve a role for an attorney or agent (as defined in 20 C.F.R. 656.3) in assessing the ability of applicants to fill the employer’s needs.

More specifically, the types of actions prohibited by 20 C.F.R. 656.10(b)(2)(i) and (ii) include:

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A recent, Memo from Donald Neufeld, Acting Associate Director, Domestic Operations, USCIS, provides supplemental guidance on the processing of I-140s and H-1Bs under AC21.

Some of the Key changes in this Memo are the following:

Post 6th year H1B extensions wll not be available if the workers’ Labor certification or PERM application has been revoked, or if the visa petition is not submitted within 180 days following the PERM approval occured on or after July 16, 2007. If you recall this was the extended deadline following the visa Bulletin changes in July of 2007.

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