USCIS Expedite Criteria and Procedures

Our office has handled many cases where a specific USCIS benefit or application must be approved on an expedited basis.  Also, we have received numerous inquiries from applicants who seek to expedite the processing of a pending application due to long processing times.

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Startup Visa Act of 2010 Introduced

Among our clients and readers, we  have many entrepreneurs and start-up companies which may be interested in a recent development in Congress.

Senators Kerry (D-MA) and Lugar (R-IN) have introduced a new bill in Congress seeking to drive job creation and increasing America’s global competitiveness by helping immigrant entrepreneurs secure visas to the United States.  The bill’s title is the “StartUp Visa Act of 2010″ and will allow an immigrant entrepreneur to receive a two-year visa if they can show that a qualified U.S. investor is willing to dedicate a significant sum – a minimum of $250,000 – to the immigrant’s startup venture.   Please see full text of the draft bill and Senator Lugar’s press release.

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Report Highlights E-Verify Accuracy Problems

USCIS released, on January 28, 2010, a recent report conducted by an outside research firm, Westat, on the accuracy of E-Verify with respect to identifying illegal workers, among other classes of workers run through the   E-Verify system.  The E-Verify evaluation is part of an ongoing effort to evaluate E-Verify’s accuracy.

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USCIS Meeting on H-1B Employer-Employee Relationship Memo

Earlier today USCIS held a collaboration session on “Determining Employer-Employee Relationships for Adjudication of H-1B Petitions.“  We had the opportunity to attend the session, to listen and to engage in a discussion regarding the January 8, 2010, USCIS Memorandum by Donald Neufeld on the Employer-Employee Relationship.

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AAO Processing Times Report (February 1, 2010)

Our office handles a fair amount of appeals with the Administrative Appeals Office (AAO) and we often receive inquiries not only about about the procedural aspects of an AAO appeal but also about the current processing times for AAO cases.

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DHS Reports on Employer Enforcement and Compliance

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), in a recent symposium, has provides some useful insight into its operations and policies.  We are happy to share some of DHS’s disclosures.

DHS Investigations on Employers to Continue and Increase

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March 2010 Visa Bulletin – Slow Forward Movement

The March 2010 Visa Bulletin was just released by the State Department.  The sixth visa bulletin for the fiscal year 2010 and the third for the calendar 2010 does not bring much movement.  There is some slow forward movement across most employment-based categories.   The most significant movement noted this month is in EB-3 ROW and EB-3 China (both move forward by 3 months).  EB-2 India and EB-3 India dates move forward only slightly.

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NVC Releases Immigrant Visa Queue Numbers

The National Visa Center (NVC) has released numbers and statistics on the immigrant visa numbers pending at NVC.   The information is as of November 1, 2009.  It is important to note that these numbers reflect immigrant visas which have chosen “consular processing” and not adjustment of status (I-485) applications filed from within the U.S.  Also, the numbers reflect all applicants, including derivative beneficiaries such as spouses and children.

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Prevailing Wage Request Delays Under iCert Form 9141 System

Effective January 1, 2010, the Department of Labor (DOL) centralized all prevailing wage determinations needed in connection with certain programs – PERM, H-1B, H-2B and E-3.   All prevailing wage requests now must be submitted to DOL for processing and not to the state workforce agencies, as it was done before.

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Alert on H-1B Admissions at the Newark, NJ Airport

The American Immigration Lawyers’ Association (AILA) has provided some guidance and information from Customs and Border Protection (CBP) at the Newark, New Jersey airport.

Background

Starting in December of 2009, our office has been receiving alerts from current and prospective clients about a number of incidents where holders of valid H-1B stamps were questioned and, in some cases, offered the opportunity to withdraw their request for admission into the U.S. or be subject to expedited removal proceedings;  in many cases, such H-1B holders were not admitted into the U.S. and sent back to their home country and have had their H-1B visas cancelled.

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