NEW INTERPRETATIONS ON AC21
by Cyrus D. Mehta* The US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued an important Memorandum by Donald Neufeld (Neufeld Memo),1 dated May 30, 2008, providing guidance on various provisions of the American Competitiveness in the Twenty-First Century Act of 2000 (AC21). AC21 allows beneficiaries of H-1B petitions to extend their H-1B status beyond the maximum […]
June 2008 Immigration Update
Headlines: 1. DHS Issues Supplemental Q&A on OPT Interim Rule for F-1 Students – Among other things, the supplemental Q&A discusses the e-mail notification process allowing an employer whose pending H-1B petition on behalf of an F-1 student was randomly selected to receive an H-1B visa number for FY 2009 to request change of status […]
CSPA AND RETROACTIVITY
by Cyrus D. Mehta * A new Memorandum from Donald Neufeld, Acting Associate Director, Domestic Operations, US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), Revised Guidance for the Child Status Protection Act (CSPA), HQ DOMO 70/6.1, AFM Update AD07-04 (“Neufeld Memo“), sheds new light on whether the CSPA is retroactive. The CSPA allows, under certain circumstances, children […]
REQUIRING A FOREIGN LANGUAGE UNDER PERM¹
by Cyrus D. Mehta * It is not uncommon for employers to sponsor foreign national workers through the labor certification process because of their linguistic abilities. The Department of Labor (DOL) has usually frowned upon an employer including a foreign language requirement in an advertisement that was used to test the US labor market to […]
NORMALIZING MIGRATION
by Patricia S. Mann* Reporting about any aspect of the current immigration situation with a calm, reasonable tone is very difficult. The new documentary film, Beyond Borders: The Debate Over Human Migration, directed by Brian Ging, and shown on May 1, as part of the 2008 Tribeca Film Festival, manages to be calm and reasonable, […]
May 2008 Immigration Update
Headlines: 1. H-1B Roundup: Cap Reached, Random Selection Completed; Some Applications ‘Wait-Listed’ – USCIS announced a preliminary number of nearly 163,000 H-1B petitions received during the filing period ending on April 7, 2008. 2. DHS Issues Interim Rule on Optional Practical Training for F-1 Students – DHS issued an interim final rule extending the maximum […]
USCIS IMPLEMENTS NEW POLICY ON EXEMPTIONS FROM CERTAIN TERRORISM-RELATED BARS TO ADMISSIBILITY
by David A. Isaacson* On March 26, 2008, USCIS deputy director Jonathan Scharfen issued an important memorandum regarding implementation of the government’s new exemption authority with respect to certain terrorism-related bars.1 Previously, many otherwise deserving adjustment applicants, including a number of asylees, had been denied their green cards because of their support for or membership […]
H-1B FY 2009 CAP UPDATE
On April 14, 2008, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) conducted a computer-generated random selection process on H-1B petitions to select H-1B petitions for fiscal year 2009. Selected petitions would continue to full adjudication. Those filed under the premium process program would move faster and USCIS designated April 14 as the first day […]
H-1B VISA CRISIS: USCIS ANNOUNCES THAT CAPS HAVE BEEN REACHED
by Cyrus D. Mehta* In a statement released on April 10, 2008, the United States Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that based on a preliminary count, it has received “nearly 163,000” total H-1B petitions out of which “more that 31,200” were subject to the H-1B Master’s 20,000 cap. The USCIS will soon conduct a […]
April 2008 Immigration Update
April 2008 Immigration Update Headlines: 1. Employers to File FY 2009 H-1B Petitions on April 1; USCIS Publishes Interim Rule Prohibiting Multiple H-1B Petitions for Same Employee – The H-1B supply is expected to be exhausted immediately; USCIS published an interim final rule prohibiting employers from filing multiple H-1B petitions for the same employee. 2. […]
LAST MINUTE HELPFUL HINTS FOR FILING A FY 2009 H-1B CAP CASE
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), anticipating that April 1, 2008 will see a repeat of the mass filings from last year, offers a list of measures the petitioner can take to ensure that the petition is correctly filed on its website, www.uscis.gov. We reproduce substantial portions of this governmental advisory, along with our own […]
USCIS ANNOUNCES RULE PROHIBITING DUPLICATE H-1B FILINGS AND ALLOWING FOR A 5-DAY FILING PERIOD
by Cyrus D. Mehta * US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) transmitted an interim final rule to the Federal Register today that prohibits employers from filing multiple H-1B petitions for the same employee. According to the USCIS, these changes will ensure that companies filing H-1B petitions subject to congressionally mandated numerical limits have an equal […]
AAO APPROVES EB-2 I-140 FOR BENEFICIARY WITH A 3-YEAR BACHELORХS DEGREE AND A 2-YEAR MASTERХS DEGREE FROM INDIA
by Cora-Ann V. Pestaina* In order to qualify under the Employer-Based Second Preference (EB-2) category pursuant to §203(b)(2) of the Immigration and Nationality Act; 8 U.S.C. §1153(b)(2), the position described on a labor certification must require an advanced degree or, in the alternative, a Bachelor’s degree plus five years of progressive post-baccalaureate experience.1 The employer […]
¤ 212(c) LITIGATION: THE AFTERLIFE OF A WAIVER
by Patricia S. Mann * The Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act (“AEDPA”), and the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act (“IIRIRA”), passed by Congress over a decade ago, in April 1996, and in September 1996, respectively, had a number of harsh consequences for both undocumented immigrants and for legal permanent residents. For example, […]
March 2008 Immigration Update
Headlines: 1. Filing Tips for H-1B Applications – The Alliance of Business Immigration Lawyers recommends these tips for employers planning to file H-1B applications. 2. USCIS Announces Centralized Filing Location for H-1B Cap Exempt Petitioners – This includes petitions filed by institutions of higher education and nonprofit organizations or entities related to or affiliated with […]
PERM CONUNDRUMS
by Cyrus D. Mehta * In recent months, immigration practitioners are reporting an increase in audit notifications each time a PERM application is filed with the Atlanta and Chicago Processing Centers. The audits primarily request a “business necessity” justification for job requirements with the Department of Labor (DOL) finds excessive. An employer’s job requirement will […]
USCIS REVISES EARLIER GUIDANCE ON ITS FBI NAME CHECK POLICY
By Adam Ketcher* I wrote MANDAMUS ACTIONS: AN EYEWITNESS ACCOUNT (December 10, 2007, https://cyrusmehta.com/perseus/) to provide a basic overview of when federal litigation may be appropriate to compel the government to complete the adjudication of an application for which processing has been delayed by two years or more. I wrote this article in response to […]
The H-1B VISA PROGRAM
by Cyrus D. Mehta * On April 1, 2008, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will begin accepting H-1B petitions in advance of October 1, 2008, which is the date when H-1B visas under Fiscal Year 2009 become available. Since it is anticipated that there will be more petitions filed than the number of […]
February 2008 Immigration Update
Headlines:1. Federal Contractors Must Use E-Verify, White House Orders – Under a new executive order, federal contractors must check the immigration status of their current and future employees through the E-Verify online employment authorization verification system. 2. CBP Issues Tips for U.S.-Canadian Border Travelers – With the onset of summer travel, U.S. Customs and Border […]
CONTEMPORARY BUSINESS IMMIGRATION ISSUES
Attached is a Powerpoint Presentation that was presented at a seminar on the same topic by Cyrus D. Mehta and Poorvi Chothani in Mumbai, India, on January 4, 2008.
