http://www.laborimmigration.com United States Labor Immigration Law News and Analysis Thu, 04 Sep 2008 16:47:31 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en We at the Capitol Immigration Law Group have been following closely the Democratic and the Republican National Conventions, respectively last week and this week, and we were surprised to see that there was virtually zero attention paid to immigration in the speeches and debates on and off the convention floor. The ... http://www.laborimmigration.com/2008/09/political-conventions-and-immigration/ The USCIS has revised the instructions on Form I-751 which is generally filed by green card holders who have conditions on their residency - often by marriage or investors. The revised instructions direct the form to be filed either to the California or to the Vermont Service Centers, depending on the ... http://www.laborimmigration.com/2008/08/form-i-751-petition-to-remove-conditions-on-residence-revised/ It is election season and many non-U.S. citizens are interested in being involved in the election process.  We receive a number of inquiries about what election-related activities are permitted by non-U.S. citizens and we republish an article we wrote in April 2008: Foreigners and the U.S. Political Process - Permitted ... http://www.laborimmigration.com/2008/08/election-season-what-can-non-us-citizens-do/ After few weeks, the program entitled "Scheduled Departure" is about to end, according to the Associated Press.  The program allowed illegal immigrants who are subject to judicial order to leave the United States and who do not have a criminal record to turn themselves in voluntarily and be allowed to ... http://www.laborimmigration.com/2008/08/schedule-departure-program-to-end/ We wrote in June about the lawsuit challenging the 17-month OPT extension for STEM students.  The lawsuit was brought by  the Immigration Reform Law Institute, joined by the Programmers Guild and other organizations.   The lawsuit challenged the administration’s decision to extend the work period for students under the OPT program ... http://www.laborimmigration.com/2008/08/opt-17-month-extension-court-challenge-fails/ An AAO decision was released recently which commented on whether it is required for a petitioner who has filed a Form I-131, application for re-entry permit to be physically in the country when the application is filed. The answer, according to the AAO decision is that the petitioner must be physically ... http://www.laborimmigration.com/2008/08/re-entry-permit-filing-requires-physical-presence-in-the-us/ The title may not suggest how this post is related to labor immigration, but it is.  In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, the formed Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan suggested that one of the easiest, yet politically difficult, ways to alleviate the housing crisis is by ... a ... http://www.laborimmigration.com/2008/08/greenspan-how-to-solve-the-housing-crisis/ The September 2008 Visa Bulletin has been released by the Department of State.  It brings a mix of good and bad news. The good news for EB-2 applicants from India and China continues this month as well - the dates for EB-2 India and EB-2 China moved by two months, from ... http://www.laborimmigration.com/2008/08/september-2008-visa-bulletin-eb-2-progresses-eb-3-may-retrogress/ The USCIS has released an update to the projected processing times for naturalization petitions.  Based on updated projections, USCIS estimates that the naturalization process would take an average of 10-12 months by the end of September 2008 (compared with the estimated 16-18 months projections announced last year). The increase in processing ... http://www.laborimmigration.com/2008/08/uscis-aims-to-decrease-naturalization-processing-times/ The Department of State rule, known as the "automatic revalidation" of visas is a rule which allows holders of almost all classes of U.S. visas to travel to a "contiguous territory" and return to the U.S. without a current valid stamp in the passport. Persons in F, J, H and O ... http://www.laborimmigration.com/2008/08/automatic-visa-revalidation-program-travel-to-contiguous-territories/ We have written previously on several occasions about the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) which is now live and operational.  Direct link. The new system opened on August 1 and will be voluntary in nature until January 12, 2009, when it becomes mandatory for all individuals traveling under the visa ... http://www.laborimmigration.com/2008/08/electronic-system-for-travel-authorization-esta-goes-live/ The E-Verify program, as we know it and have used to love it or hate it now, is set to expire on November 1st.  E-Verify and its requirements to verify the employment eligibility for all new hires is the cornerstone of many states' immigration enforcement laws.  For example, South Carolina ... http://www.laborimmigration.com/2008/07/e-verify-time-to-renew-is-ticking/ Section 245(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) allows for the adjustment of status (I-485) which so many of our clients and readers are well familiar.  Section 245(c) of the INA establishes eight (8) bars to adjustment of status.  However, adjustment of status based on employment-based immigrant visa are ... http://www.laborimmigration.com/2008/07/neufield-memo-on-180-day-adjustment-of-status-bar-exemption/ On July 30, the USCIS announced that it has reached the H-2B cap for the first half of the fiscal year 2009.  According to this announcement, July 29, 2008 is the "final receipt date" for H-2B petitions.  All petitions received after July 29, 2008 for H-2B with starting date of ... http://www.laborimmigration.com/2008/07/h2-b-cap-reached/ The USCIS has released a revised list of vaccines required for applicants seeking to adjust status to become permanent legal residents.  The updated list, required for all medical exams conducted on or after August 1, 2008, are as follows: Rotavirus; Hepatitis A; Meningococcal; Human papillomavirus; and Zoster. Although the requirements for these vaccines went into effect ... http://www.laborimmigration.com/2008/07/adjustment-of-status-i-485-vaccination-requirements-changed/ We have written about the upcoming new system for pre-registration of travelers of visa waiver countries coming to the U.S.  Under the new system, all travelers will be required to complete a pre-registration via an online system before departing for the U.S. There will be a period of several months ... http://www.laborimmigration.com/2008/07/electronic-system-for-travel-authorization-screenshots/ USCIS updated the H-2B cap numbers as of July 21st.  As of that date, there have been 29,234 petitions counted towards the 33,000 cap for the first half of the fiscal year.  With the current rate, the H-2B cap is expected to be reached within a week or so. http://www.laborimmigration.com/2008/07/h-2b-numbers-update-cap-limit-is-near/ The first step which must be taken by an F-1 student who wishes to apply for OPT renewal pursuant to the 17-month extension rule is to ensure that his or her school is on the list of SEVP schools which are authorized to issue 17-month OPT extensions. The Immigration and Customs ... http://www.laborimmigration.com/2008/07/updated-list-of-sevp-schools/ The receipt number is one of the most commonly used numbers, by immigrants and lawyers alike, to track the progress or identify a particular immigration case or filing. These receipt numbers start with three letters and follow by a series of numbers, for example EAC-06-123-45678.  Here is how to understand what ... http://www.laborimmigration.com/2008/07/receipt-numbers-explained-lin-src-eac-wac/ We wrote earlier about the availability of limited I-140 premium processing filings.  It is only available to certain H-1B holders who "H-out" of their status and for whom the only way to remain on H-1B status would be a I-140 premium processing filing.  Please read our earlier article for details ... http://www.laborimmigration.com/2008/07/update-on-limited-i-140-premium-processing/ USCIS has provided two recent updates on the numbers on the H-2B visa count.  The two recent updates are useful because it allows us to sample the rate at which H-2B visa numbers are being used. The July 1 announcement stated that the H-2B count, as of July 1, stands at ... http://www.laborimmigration.com/2008/07/update-on-h-2b-visa-count/ We wrote on Friday about the anticipated significant forward movement for EB-2 India.  The August 2008 Visa Bulletin is out now and it confirms our expectation.  In addition, EB-2 China has also moved forward significantly.  Both EB-2 India and China have a date of June 1, 2006 (from April 2004 ... http://www.laborimmigration.com/2008/07/august-2008-visa-bulletin-update/ The August 2008 Visa Bulletin is about to be released and we have reliable (based on past experience) information that EB-2 India will move forward by more than two years - from April 2004 to June 2006. This is excellent news for applicants in the EB-2 India category.  Stay tuned as ... http://www.laborimmigration.com/2008/07/august-2008-visa-bulletin-great-news-for-eb-2-india/ Many of our clients and readers have asked us what kind of relief or changes they can expect once the new president takes office in January of 2009.  Although it is difficult to predict the exact type of policies they will implement once they take office, the Wall Street Journal ... http://www.laborimmigration.com/2008/07/obama-v-mccain-on-immigration/ USCIS recently announced the launch of the online FOIA status check.  The system is designed to provide a secure way for FOIA petitioners to check the status on their request. While the information provided by the system is not very detailed, it nonetheless is bound to eliminate a large number of ... http://www.laborimmigration.com/2008/07/foia-online-status-check/ USCIS has released a new version of the Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification.  Employers should start using the revised form (it has Rev. 06/16/08 in the bottom right corner) effective immediately because USCIS will no longer accept older versions. Because employers are required to complete a Form I-9 for each new ... http://www.laborimmigration.com/2008/06/new-i-9-form-released/ A very frequent two-part question we receive from current and prospective clients who are expecting visa number and have used AC21 to switch employers and are no longer with the original employer who sponsored their green card is 1) whether they can travel abroad using advance parole (AP) document issued ... http://www.laborimmigration.com/2008/06/travel-abroad-on-advance-parole-and-switching-employers/ The Department of Labor's Office of Foreign Labor Certification has released its October 2007 - May 2008 statistics on PERM processing.  It is interesting to note that 44% of the active (pending) PERM cases were in "Audit" stage, most likely in connection with the recent decision to audit all PERM ... http://www.laborimmigration.com/2008/06/perm-fiscal-year-2008-statistics/ The USCIS has released a modified version of Form I-693, Report of Medical Examination and Vaccination Record.  The most recent form is dated June 5, 2008 and previous editions will be accepted only until July 14, 2008. The new form can be obtained from USCIS' website. For applicants for adjustment of status ... http://www.laborimmigration.com/2008/06/new-medical-exam-form-i-693-goes-into-effect/ The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has commented on the program announced recently by USCIS which aims to pre-register all travelers to the U.S. coming from Visa Waiver Program (VWP) countries.  We wrote extensively about the program earlier in June. Under the new program, which is optional until January, when it becomes ... http://www.laborimmigration.com/2008/06/gao-visa-waiver-pre-registration-program-will-cause-backlogs/ We have all heard or seen references to the "A Number."  Many USCIS forms ask for it, and many of our clients have asked us, "What exactly is the 'A Number'?" The "A Number" stands for Alien Registration Number.  It is a number that starts with an "A" followed by eight-digits.  ... http://www.laborimmigration.com/2008/06/the-a-number-explained/ USCIS has released a guidance on the criteria it uses to grant or reject a request for expedited processing (such as for Re-entry permit, etc.). All expedited processing requests are reviewed on a case-by-case basis. The criteria which take part into the decision of approving or rejecting each ... http://www.laborimmigration.com/2008/06/uscis-expedited-processing-criteria/ USCIS has released more information about the scope of the new rule which allows USCIS to issue 2-year EADs. The rule becomes effective on June 30, 2008 and after this date, USCIS will issue 2-year EADs only to individuals who have filed petitions to become a lawful permanent resident (LPR) using ... http://www.laborimmigration.com/2008/06/2-year-ead-update/ We wrote earlier today about the pending announcement that USCIS is restoring the possibility of filing I-140 via premium processing.  As we discussed earlier, the premium processing is limited to workers who are nearing the end of their sixth year in H-1B nonimmigrant status. The premium processing procedure will guarantee 15 ... http://www.laborimmigration.com/2008/06/limited-i-140-premium-processing-resumes-on-june-16/ BREAKING NEWS The USCIS has confirmed that on July June 16, 2008, it will resume premium processing for I-140s in certain limited circumstances. It is expected that these limited circumstances will cover cases where beneficiaries whose H status will expire within 60 days of filing the request and who need ... http://www.laborimmigration.com/2008/06/i-140-premium-processing-to-resume-in-limited-circumstances/ Many of our clients are complaining of the need to renew their employment authorization documents (EADS) every year while their green card adjustment of status application is pending. Given the long backlogs, the need to extend EADs every year becomes a hassle and, especially for those applicants who have ... http://www.laborimmigration.com/2008/06/secretary-chertoff-we-will-start-issuing-2-year-eads/ BREAKING NEWS EB-3 Unavailable.  The July 2008 Visa Bulletin is out.  As we predicted in May, the Employment Based Third Category (EB-3) is now unavailable until the end of the Fiscal Year in October.   This means that no EB-3 cases will be approved until at least October.  It is expected ... http://www.laborimmigration.com/2008/06/july-2008-visa-bulletin-eb3-unavailable-good-news-for-eb-3-india-and-china/ The debate surrounding E-Verify is in full force.  In the meantime, the federal government and many states are busy implementing regulations requiring employers to become E-Verify compliant and start using the E-Verify system for all of their new hires. The latest regulation is an Executive Order 12989 as Amended, dated as ... http://www.laborimmigration.com/2008/06/executive-order-mandates-federal-contractors-to-use-e-verify/ The Department of Homeland Security has announced an Interim Final Rule which creates a new online system which is part of the Visa Waiver Program (VWP).  The new online system will require all nationals or citizens of VWP countries who plan to come to the United States under the VWP ... http://www.laborimmigration.com/2008/06/electronic-pre-registration-for-visa-waiver-travelers-coming-soon/ The recent OPT 17-month extension which went into effect in early April 2008 has been challenged in the U.S. District Court in Newark, N.J. by the Immigration Reform Law Institute, joined by the Programmers Guild and other organizations.   The lawsuit challenges the administration's decision to extend the work period for ... http://www.laborimmigration.com/2008/06/opt-17-month-extension-program-challenged-in-court/