U.S. Immigration Attorneys and Counselors

Archive for February 2011

Feb

H-1B Cap for Fiscal Year 2012 Opens on April 1, 2011

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) is set to begin accepting H-1B visa applications pursuant to its Fiscal Year 2012 (FY2012) quota. The first day on which USCIS will accept new, cap-subject H-1B petitions, is April 1, 2011.

Feb

USCIS Begins Validation Instrument for Business Enterprises (VIBE) Program Testing

In late January 2011, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that they would begin testing their new Validation Instrument for Business Enterprises (VIBE) tool.

About VIBE

VIBE is a tool designed to enhance USCIS’s adjudications of certain employment-based immigrant and non-immigrant petitions such as I-140 and I-129. VIBE uses commercially available data to validate basic information about companies or organizations petitioning to employ alien workers.

Feb

Announcing: Immigration Live Chat Starting March 3, 2011

Do you need to have a brief immigration question answered? Are you confused by thousands of confusing (and conflicting) Internet forum and blog postings on a specific immigration subject? Do you want to chat with an immigration attorney about specific immigration regulations or general immigration policy?

Feb

Passport Validity and Entry into U.S.: Six-Month Club List Updated

About the Six-Month Club

Under U.S. law, every passenger who wishes to be admitted into the U.S. must have a valid passport while they are in the U.S. Furthermore, passengers must not only have a valid passport for the time they wish to be in the U.S., but also for an additional six months on top of the requested period of stay. For example, a B-2 visitor who wishes to stay for one month in the U.S. must show a passport with a validity of at least seven months.

Feb

Current PERM Processing Dates and Times (as of February 4, 2011)

Our office handles a substantial number of ETA Form 9089 – Permanent Labor Certification (“PERM”) applications and we are closely monitoring the current PERM processing times not only for the benefit of our clients but also to be able to predict longer-term trends in PERM processing.

Feb

Update on Long-Pending I-130 Petitions

After the significant forward movement in many of the family-based preference categories in the fall, the government has received a significant number of I-130 family-based immigrant petitions in a number of preference categories. In an effort to process these pending I-130 petition in a more efficient manner, in November 2010, USCIS transferred approximately 36,000 I-130 petitions from their California Service Center to their Texas Service Center. USCIS hoped that this redistribution of work would result in more timely adjudication of these petitions.

Feb

USCIS Starts Issuing a Single Combined EAD/Advance Parole Card

There have been rumors and speculation on this topic (which we did not report until we had final confirmation), but now it is official. USCIS has announced that they will start issuing a combined Employment Authorization Document (EAD) and Advance Parole (AP) card for some applicants for adjustment of status.

Feb

March 2011 Visa Bulletin – FB2A Retrogresses Additionally by One Year; Slow Movement in EB; No Movement (Again) for EB-2 India

The U.S. State Department just released the March 2011 Visa Bulletin which is the sixth Visa Bulletin for the FY2011 fiscal year. The major headline in the upcoming month’s bulletin is the major (additional) retrogression in family-based second A preference visa numbers, accompanied by the continued slow forward movement across the employment-based categories. The retrogression in family-based categories is a surprise following recent comments by the State Department that family-based categories (especially 2A) should continue to move forward.

Feb

AAO Processing Times (February 1, 2011)

Our office has established a reputation as one of the premier practices for handling 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. The AAO processing times are published monthly, at the beginning of the month, and we are providing monthly updates and analysis for the benefit of our clients and readers.

Feb

The Tri-Valley University Story and the Importance of Good F-1 School Practices (updated)

Updated: February 16, 2011

Many of our readers are aware of the story about Tri-Valley University (recent Google News) and how it was shut down by federal authorities for allegedly defrauding students and helping them obtain F-1 student visas in violation of immigration laws.

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Client Testimonials

Testimonial B.T., U.S. (December 27, 2011). "Thank you kindly for your excellent service throughout the entire [employment-based green card] process. I have been so impressed and grateful for your clear and timely communication. You are very well organized and knowledgeable about the entire [...] process. We always felt you were representing us well and moving us through all of the requirements in a very expeditious and professional manner."
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