The USCIS released the number of receipted cap-eligible H-1B visa petitions from April 1, 2011 to May 6, 2011.  As of May 6, 2011, approximately 10,200 H-1B cap-subject petitions were receipted.  Additionally, the USCIS has receipted 7,300 H-1B petitions for foreign workers with advanced degrees (master’s degree or higher).

If you have any questions, please fill out the free consultation form below, and we will respond as soon as possible privately. 

{ Comments on this entry are closed }

On April 29, 2011, the Board of Immigration held that service of an NTA on a minor 14 years of age or older at the time of service is effective, even though notice was not also served on an adult with responsibility for the minor. In Matter of Cubor-Cruz, the Respondent was 17 years old at the time of entry to the United States, and was subject to removal proceedings. He was served in person with an NTA, and he failed to appear for his scheduled hearing before the Immigration Judge.  He argued that he did not receive proper notice of the hearing because the notice should have been given to his step-father or a legal guardian since he was only 17 years old at the time.

The BIA rejected Respondent’s contention and held that nothing in the regulations or precedents precludes the Department of Homeland Security, as a matter of policy or practice, from also serving an adult when a minor is between the ages of 14 and 18.  Hence, in this case, the BIA concluded that the service of the Notice to Appear on the respondent’s step-father or another legal guardian was not required under the regulations.

If you have any questions, please fill out the free consultation form below, and we will respond as soon as possible privately. 

{ Comments on this entry are closed }

The USCIS released the number of receipted cap-eligible H-1B visa petitions from April 1, 2011 to April 22, 2011.  As of April 22, 2011, approximately 8,000 H-1B cap-subject petitions were receipted.  Additionally, the USCIS has receipted 5,900 H-1B petitions for foreign workers with advanced degrees (masters degree or higher).

If you have any questions, please fill out the free consultation form below, and we will respond as soon as possible privately. 

{ Comments on this entry are closed }

On April 19, 2011, President Obama hosted a White House Meeting with 70 national leaders—including Mayor Bloomberg, former Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, among others—to discuss the challenge of fixing our broken immigration system.

According to the press, the President expressed disappointment over Congress’s failure to produce comprehensive immigration reform (CIR), or even components of CIR like the DREAM Act, and enumerated the many problems resulting from our broken system—families torn apart, shipping talent overseas, wage equity and work eligibility issues, etc. In the same meeting, the President also stated that the “Administration continues to improve our legal immigration system, secure our borders, and enhance our immigration enforcement so that it is more effectively and sensibly focusing on criminals.” Many reports, however, argue that administrative reforms thus far have not been ambitious enough, or as effective as the White House claims.

Moreover, the President seems to be pinning all future immigration relief on Congressional action—stating that “the only way to fix what’s broken about our immigration system is through legislative action in Congress.”

If you have any questions, please fill out the free consultation form below, and we will respond as soon as possible privately. 

{ Comments on this entry are closed }

One of the elements for Cancellation of Removal for Non-LPR (10 year cancellation case) eligibility is “good moral character.” If the applicant has been convicted of a Crime Involving Moral Turpitude (CIMT), the applicant becomes ineligible for cancellation of removal relief.

In this case, the Respondent was convicted of assault. In his Individual Hearing, the Immigration Judge ruled that the respondent’s assault conviction was for a crime involving moral turpitude.  On appeal, the respondent argued that he was not convicted of an assault involving family violence, but was instead convicted of simple assault, which is not a CIMT.  Moreover, when the Immigration Judge ruled that the respondent was convicted of a CIMT, the IJ used police reports (which was not part of the record of conviction) to determine whether the respondent’s assault conviction was a CIMT.

The BIA though held that evidence outside the record of conviction may only be considered in determining whether a conviction is a CIMT when the record itself does not conclusively answer that question. Thus, this holding allows Immigration Judges to undermine plea agreements by going behind a conviction to use sources outside the record of conviction to determine that an alien was convicted of a more serious offense that call fall within CIMTs.

If you have any questions, please fill out the free consultation form below, and we will respond as soon as possible privately. 

{ 0 comments }

The USCIS released the number of receipted cap-eligible H-1B visa petitions from April 1, 2011 to April 15, 2011.  As of April 15, 2011, approximately 7,100 H-1B cap-subject petitions were receipted.  Additionally, the USCIS has receipted 5,100 H-1B petitions for foreign workers with advanced degrees (master degree or higher).

If you have any questions, please fill out the free consultation form below, and we will respond as soon as possible privately. 

{ Comments on this entry are closed }

On April 14, 2011, the USCIS announced its final rule regarding the employment eligibility verification process. Under federal law, employers must complete Form I-9 for all newly hired employees to verify their identity and authorization to work in the United States.  The list of acceptable documents that employees may present to verify their identity and employment authorization is divided into three sections: List A documents, which show identity and employment authorization; List B documents, which show identity only; and List C documents, which show employment authorization only.

Prior to the announcement of the final rule, the interim rule allowed employers to accept expired documents. However, under the final rule, this action is strictly prohibited.  So, if an employee presents an expired driver’s license or passport, employers must not accept those documents as proper identification proof for I-9 purposes.  The Final rule revised the list of acceptable documents by removing outdated documents and making technical amendments; and adding documentation applicable to certain citizens of the Federated States of Micronesia and the Republic of the Marshall Islands.

The Department of Homeland Security wants to ensure that documents presented for use in the Form I-9 process are valid and reliable to establish both identity and employment verification. The DHS announced that expired documents are prone to tampering and fraudulent use, so the DHS prohibited employers to accept expired documents.

I-9 procedures are very important for both employers and employees. A foreign employee who is authorized to work in the United States must make sure that the information on his or her I-9 form is accurate.  In some cases, people misrepresent on the I-9 by claiming that they are a US citizen or national. Falsely claiming U.S. citizenship will bar you from future possible immigration benefits.  This is also a deportable offense.

If you have any questions, please fill out the free consultation form below, and we will respond as soon as possible privately. 

{ Comments on this entry are closed }

The H-1B filing season has started on April 1, 2011 for fiscal year (FY) 2012. Annually, there is a cap of 65,000 for the H-1B program, so early filing of the H-1B is very critical.  The USCIS released the number of receipted cap eligible petitions from April 1, 2011 to April 7, 2011.  As of April 7, 2011, approximately 5,900 H-1B cap-subject petitions were receipted.  Additionally, the USCIS has receipted 4,500 H-1B petitions for foreign workers with advanced degrees.

If you have any questions, please fill out the free consultation form below, and we will respond as soon as possible privately. 

{ Comments on this entry are closed }

The May 2011 Visa Bulletin is out and below are some notes on specific movements this month:

• The F-2A (Spouse of Legal Permanent Resident) preference cut-off date for all of countries shows forward movement.
• The F-3 preference (Married sons and daughters of U.S. citizen) cut-off date for all of countries shows forward movement.
• All of family sponsored immigration preferences for the Philippines advanced.
• The EB-2 cut-off date for India advanced to July 1, 2006. According to the April 2011 visa bulletin, the EB-2 cut-off date for India was May 8, 2006.  This forward movement is the first advancement in this category for fiscal year 2011.
• The EB-3 cut-off date for all countries advanced by two weeks to a month.

FREE CONSULTATIONS

If you have any questions, please fill out the free consultation form below, and we will respond as soon as possible privately. 

{ Comments on this entry are closed }

On April 8, 2011, AILA released an update on what would happen to different immigration-related government agencies in case the government shuts down. Please note that if the budgetary issues are not resolved, the government plans to shut down at midnight on April 9. As a consequence, the government claims that all but “essential” government functions are not allowed to work.

USCIS (United States Citizenship and Immigration Service)

The USCIS processes permanent resident, naturalization, and non-immigrant  visa petitions, among others. It is the agency that conducts interviews, reviews applications, and makes decisions on green card and citizenship applications. The USCIS has indicated that in the event of a shutdown, they will continue to operate except for the E-Verify section.

DOS (Department of State)

The DOS deals with most visa and consular processing applications. J-1 waivers and visa petitions for people outside the United States go through them. If a shutdown occurs, only applications related to diplomats and “life or death” situations would continue to function.

CBP (Customs and Border Patrol)

The CBP guards the port of the entries – shipping ports, borders, and airports. They inspect and decide on whether a person gets in the United States, and enforce applicable immigration laws when someone is inadmissible. Inspection and law enforcement personnel are deemed “essential” personnel, but a shutdown will also limit their staff. The ramifications of a shutdown are thus uncertain.

EOIR (Executive Officer for Immigration Review)

The EOIR is the immigration court system. Immigration Courts, judges, clerks, and the Board of Immigration Appeals all fall under this branch. A general warning that “non-essential” personnel would not be allowed to work has been set forth, and that the only aspect of operations that is certain to continue is the detained docket, which is considered an essential function.

DOL (Department of Labor)

The Department of Labor is one of the first agencies involved in employment-based petitions, as they review and make determinations on the Labor Certification process. Personnel would certainly not be available to respond to emails or other inquiries, but it is yet to be determined if the ICERT and PERM functions would shut down.

If you have any questions, please fill out the free consultation form below, and we will respond as soon as possible privately. 

{ Comments on this entry are closed }