The Department of State ("DOS") routinely publishes the denial rate for B-1/B-2 visitor visas for each fiscal year (October 1 to September 30). The fiscal year (FY) 2012 data has been published and we share it with our clients and readers. It is interesting to note the countries with the highest and lowest denial rates. [...]
Our office is getting reports from clients, readers and colleagues from other firms that there is an alarming trend in recent PERM Labor Certification application denials due to an overly broad education requirement. Specifically, DOL denies PERM applications, usually after an audit, with the stated reason that the "educational requirements are too broad, and thus, [...]
Many of our clients and readers (especially those who have family-based immigrant visa cases) are aware that a family-based Form I-485, Application to Adjust Status, required an interview to be conducted at a local (to the applicant) service center. The requirement for these interviews is set under 8 CFR §245.6 which also indicates that interviews [...]
The Department of Labor has provided some updates (as of January 6, 2012) on their processing of employment-based cases and we are happy to share them with our clients and readers. This kind of information is generally available, but if rarely combined in one place while it is still fairly recent information. DOL Processing [...]
USCIS has provided some interesting statistics relating to the processing of Form I-140 petitions for classification of foreign nationals under the employment-based first (EB-1) category. The statistics reflect the number of receipts, approvals, denials and RFEs issued during a fiscal year and are helpful in understanding general EB-1 adjudication trends. The EB-1 Statistics Texas Service [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
One of our major practices is the processing of employment-based permanent residency applications, most of which require an ETA 9089 PERM labor certification. As a result, we handle a number of PERM labor certifications filings, appeals and other related matters. Our office has been receiving an increasing number of inquiries about possible increase in PERM [...]
What is BALCA? The Board of Alien Labor Certification Appeals (BALCA) is an administrative body which reviews mainly denials of PERM labor certification cases but it also handles a number of Department of Labor review cases. With respect to PERM denials, BALCA is the appellate body which reviews appeals for PERM denials. BALCA currently has [...]
The Los Angeles Times has requested and been able to obtain statistics from USCIS regarding the adjudication rates for H, L, O and P petitions for the Vermont and California Service Centers since Fiscal Year 2008 (FY2008). The statistics are current as of July 2010 and provide a very helpful overview of approval, denial and [...]