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 […]
