As India and China EB-2 Priority Dates Advance, Does a Freeze or Retrogression Look Likely in 2012?

Posted on December 9th, 2011 by Vic Goel

The U.S. Department of State just issued the January 2012 Visa Bulletin, heralding a ten month improvement in priority date cut-offs for Indian and Chinese nationals in the second employment-based visa preference category, more commonly known as the “EB-2″ classification.  While this rapid advancement in visa cut-off dates is truly welcome news, eligible EB-2 visa beneficiaries are well advised to … more

Filed Under: Department of State, EB-2, EB-3, Green Card, I-140, I-485 Adjustment of Status, Priority Dates, U.S. Embassies and Consulates, USCIS, Visa Bulletin | 1 Comment

Brazil Imposes New Employer Obligations & Limits on Extending Temporary Work Permits

Posted on December 6th, 2011 by Jill Marie Bussey
Brazil Flag

On November 29, 2011, Brazil’s National Council of Immigration issued a final rule (Regulatory Resolution 96/2011 or “RN-96/11”) regarding the extension of Temporary Visas Item V, based upon local employment contract. The Temporary Type V (VITEM V) is a temporary visa that provides work authorization for foreign nationals who seek professional employment in Brazil.  There are two different categories of … more

Filed Under: Brazil, Global Immigration | Leave a comment

FY2012 H-1B Cap has been Exhausted

Posted on November 23rd, 2011 by Vic Goel

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) today announced that it received a sufficient number of petitions to reach the statutory cap for FY 2012 as of November 22, 2011.  USCIS also received more than 20,000 H-1B petitions on behalf of persons exempt from the cap under the advanced degree exemption as of October 19, 2011.  USCIS will reject cap-subject petitions for … more

Filed Under: H-1B Cap, H-1B Visas, USCIS | Leave a comment

The DOL Prevailing Wage Fiasco: Two Wrongs Don’t Make a Right

Posted on September 9th, 2011 by Erik Anderson

It’s been a tough year for the U.S. Department of Labor’s prevailing wage program. Federal District Court Judge Louis Pollak invalidated two regulatory provisions governing the calculation of wages that employers must pay to foreign H-2B workers. DOL was instructed to promulgate new regulations by December 28, 2010. The Agency thereafter sought to delay the inevitable and requested additional time … more

Filed Under: Department of Labor, EB-2, EB-3, Green Card, I-140, I-485 Adjustment of Status, PERM, Prevailing Wages, Priority Dates, Visa Bulletin | Leave a comment

Positive Changes to RFE Response Times: Removing Tiered System Increases Consistency and Predictability

Posted on July 19th, 2011 by Vera L. Fry

USCIS is taking a step in the right direction toward increased consistency and predictability for applicants and petitioners with changes to Request For Evidence (“RFE”) time frames.  A July 7, 2011 interim memo posted for comment proposes to increase the amount of time USCIS officers may provide an applicant or petitioner to respond to a RFE. It also limits adjudicator … more

Filed Under: H-1B Cap, H-1B Visas, L-1 Visas, Policy Memorandum, Uncategorized, USCIS | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

With EB-2 and EB-3 Priority Dates Improving Slowly, Alternative Solutions Merit Consideration

Posted on May 23rd, 2011 by Erik Anderson
Indian Passport

The June 2011 Visa Bulletin reinforces uncertainty, and perhaps disappointment, for Indian and Chinese nationals in the EB-2 classification.  Despite the “extra” visas intended to spill into these categories, the improvement in visa cutoff dates is moderate – ten weeks for China and fifteen for India. The EB-2 dates have not improved as much as anticipated and might not do so … more

Filed Under: EB-1, EB-2, EB-3, Green Card, I-140, I-485 Adjustment of Status, Immigration Reform, Priority Dates, USCIS, Visa Bulletin | Leave a comment

India EB-2 Priority Dates: Congress Holds the Key to Continued Improvement

Posted on April 24th, 2011 by Erik Anderson
green-card

The recent India EB-2 priority date improvement announced in the May 2011 Visa Bulletin has sparked speculation regarding continued progress with the category.  Pressure is mounting on employers to file (or “re-file”) cases for employees in the EB-2 category in hopes that fresh EB-2 cases will lift their EB-3 applications from the unthinkable backlogs they’ve faced for years.  But is … more

Filed Under: Department of State, EB-2, EB-3, Green Card, H-1B Visas, Immigration Reform, Priority Dates, U.S. Embassies and Consulates, USCIS, Visa Bulletin | 19 Comments

“Safe Harbor” Would Help USCIS and ICE with E-Verify Credibility Gap

Posted on April 22nd, 2011 by Benjamin Brueggemann
E-Verify

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has adopted its final rule for the Employment Eligibility Verification process (Form I-9).  This final rule, dated April 15, 2011, adopts USCIS’s April 3, 2009 interim rule without any changes.   Although the final rule clarifies the E-Verify process and the documentation that may be presented to establish employment eligibility, it is still a system that … more

Filed Under: Employer Sanctions, I-9 and E-Verify, ICE, Immigration Enforcement, Immigration Reform, USCIS | Leave a comment

Department of Commerce Issues Advisory Opinion on Applicability of Export Control Regulations to Staffing Firms

Posted on April 19th, 2011 by Vic Goel

Shedding light on an issue that has vexed many employers of H-1B, H-1B, L-1, and O-1A foreign nationals since the new Form I-129 was unveiled last year, the U.S. Department of Commerce has issued an informal advisory opinion on the applicability of the “deemed export” provisions of the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) where foreign nationals work at a third party client … more

Filed Under: Export Controls, H-1B Visas, Immigration Enforcement, L-1 Visas, O-1 visas, USCIS | Leave a comment