by Cyrus D. Mehta* For those who have been waiting endlessly for permanent residence as applicants for adjustment of status, three important announcements were made this week that could provide relief, but could also delay the coveted goal of obtaining a green card. First, the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced in a June […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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, […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
