September 2009 Immigration Update

Headlines: 1. DHS Proposes To Rescind Social Security No-Match Rule; SEVIS Data To Be Integrated Into E-Verify – DHS has proposed to rescind amendments relating to procedures that employers may take to acquire a safe harbor from receipt of no-match letters. 2. State Dept. Introduces Online Nonimmigrant Visa Application Form – The new DS-160 Web-based […]

HOW THE DEFINITION OF THE WORD ТBEGINУ COULD AFFECT YOUR PERM APPLICATION

by Cora-Ann V. Pestaina* Of the many complicated rules surrounding the Department of Labor’s (“DOL”) Permanent Electronic Review Management (“PERM”) process, one rule, and more fittingly, the DOL’s hypertechnical interpretation of that rule, continues to be the basis for many unexpected PERM denials. This rule can be found in 20 C.F.R. §656.40(c). In pertinent part, […]

MY MARRIAGE HAS BROKEN DOWN, BUT NOT YET TERMINATED: HOW DO I FILE MY I-751?

byCyrus D. Mehta* A Conditional Permanent Resident (CPR) is one who has obtained his or her status through marriage to a United States Citizen spouse or to a Legal Permanent Resident (LPR) spouse within two years of the marriage.1 ¤ 216 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) imposes a two year period of conditional […]

HOW TO WIN A NATIONAL INTEREST WAIVER

by Cora-Ann V. Pestaina* This article is not intended to be a comprehensive overview of the National Interest Waiver (“NIW”) immigrant visa petition, and is instead a practical account of how our firm recently won a NIW. The NIW is an immigrant petition for lawful permanent residence under the employment-based second preference (“EB-2”) category. In […]

August 2009 Immigration Update

Headlines: USCIS Issues Guidance to Employers Whose H-1B Petitions for Health Care Specialty Occupations Are Denied – Employers whose petitions were denied on certain bases should send an e-mail to the USCIS Service Center that issued the denial to request review. DHS Secretary Announces Support for Federal Contractor E-Verify Rule, Intention to Rescind No-Match Rule […]

CDMA COMMENT TO PROPOSED RULE THAT REMOVES HIV FROM COMMUNICABLE DISEASE OF PUBLIC HEALTH SIGNIFICANCE

In July of 2008, as part of the ТTom Lantos and Henry J. Hyde United States Global Leadership Against HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria Reauthorization ActУ, Public Law 110-93, Congress removed the specific statutory ban on entry into the United States by foreign nationals with HIV, restoring jurisdiction to the Department of Health and Human Services […]