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greencardlawyers.com > immigration news
(2006)
Immigration NewsRead the 2006 news and information about immigration issues that affect you. We provide short summaries of the announcements, news and article about immigration to the United States. Many have links to more information on that topic. Nov. 30, 2006 USCIS Announces Temporary Suspension of Premium Processing for Religious Workers On November 28, 2006, USCIS announced a temporary suspension of Premium Processing Service for Religious Workers applying for R-1 nonimmigrant visa classification. According to the announcement, the suspension is due to additional adjudication procedures implemented in response to an August 2005 Benefit Fraud Assessment for religious worker petitions by the USCIS Office of Fraud Detection and National Security which revealed "significant issues and potential vulnerabilities" in the religious worker program. The suspension will last for six months from the date of the announcement. During this time, USCIS will determine whether it is able to resume processing these cases within 15 days of receipt and, if so, whether it will prescribe additional conditions of availability on Premium Processing Service for religious workers. Nov. 22, 2006 Aytes Memorandum on USCIS Case Management Timelines An October 27, 2006 memorandum from Michael Aytes, USCIS Associate Director, Domestic Operations, provides guidance on timeframes related to case processing. The memorandum covers the rescheduling of interviews, naturalization testing, and fingerprinting; the effect of an RFE on the processing clock; NOID extensions; and Post-RFE/NOID processing. Nov. 9, 2006 USCIS Expands Premium Processing Service to EB-1s On November 8, 2006, USCIS announced that it will begin accepting premium processing requests for Form I-140 Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker, involving EB-1 Aliens with Extraordinary Ability beginning November 13, 2006. In order to request premium processing, petitioners must submit Form I-140 along with Form I-907, Request for Premium Processing Service, and a $1000 processing fee. See the press release. Oct. 28, 2006 VSC Provides Additional Guidance on Chile-Singapore Recaptured H-1Bs On October 26, 2006, the Vermont Service Center (VSC) provided answers to questions put forth by AILA's Service Center Operations (SCOPS) Committee on the processing of H-1B cap-subject petitions received on May 26, 2006 using recaptured Chile-Singapore H-1Bs for applications that were not selected in the random selection process. The VSC has mailed a letter notifying applicants that it has retained the I-129 petition and supporting documentation that was submitted with the initial filing and providing guidelines for re-filing for the H-1B. Applicants are required to return a copy of the letter, along with filing fees, to the VSC by November 14, 2006. Oct. 28, 2006 The DOL's Administrative Review Board recently addressed what circumstances constitute termination of employment for purposes of the employer's H-1B obligations. In its analysis of the case, Amtel Group of Florida v. Yongmahapakorn, 04-087 (ARB 9/29/06), the Board ruled that the employer, Amtel Group, had not effected a bona fide termination of its H-1B internal auditor employee, because there was "no evidence that Amtel notified the INS that it had terminated (the H-1B employee) and that Amtel provided (the H-1B employee) with payment for her transportation home." As a result, the Board decided that Amtel was not justified in withholding the salary otherwise due to the employee. The Board then ordered Amtel to pay the prevailing wage for an internal auditor until the expiration of her authorized period of stay for H-1B employment. To read the full decision, please click here. Sep. 26, 2006 CIS announces 3 additional I-140 categories for premium processing From September 25, 2006, CIS will accept premium processing for the following cases: Outstanding Professors or Researchers (EB-1B), Advanced Degree Professionals or Aliens of Exceptional Ability (EB-2) (but NOT National Interest Waiver (NIW) cases), and Unskilled Workers (jobs requiring less than 2 years of experience) (EB-3 “Other workers”). These three categories are in addition to the EB-3 categories of Professionals (jobs requiring a Bachelor’s degree) and Skilled Workers (jobs requiring at least 2 years of training or experience), which have been allowed to use Premium Processing since August 28, 2006. For additional information please click here. Sep. 26, 2006 CIS announces I-140 Premium Processing for Professionals and Skilled Workers (EB-3) From August 28, 2006, CIS will accept premium processing for the EB-3 categories of Professionals (jobs requiring a Bachelor’s degree) and Skilled Workers (jobs requiring at least 2 years of training or experience). It has not yet started premium processing for the EB-3 category of Other Workers (jobs requiring less than 2 years of experience) or any other I-140 categories. For additional information please click here. Sep. 22, 2006 DOS Announces 2008 Diversity Visa Lottery Program Registration The DOS announced that applications for the 2008 Diversity Visa (DV) Lottery will be accepted between Wednesday, October 4, 2006, 12 pm EST and Sunday, December 3, 2006, 12 pm EST. Applicants may access the electronic Diversity Visa entry form online. Paper entries will not be accepted. Applicants are encouraged not to wait until the last week of the registration period to enter since heavy demand may result in website delays. For additional information, including a list of countries whose natives are and are not eligible for this year's diversity program, please click here. Sep. 8, 2006 USCIS Expands Premium Processing Service On August 18, 2006, USCIS announced that, beginning August 28,
it will begin accepting premium processing requests for I-140 petitions involving
EB-3 Professionals (i.e., immigrant workers with bachelors degrees who are members
of the professions) and EB-3 Skilled Workers (i.e., immigrant workers capable of
performing skilled labor requiring at least two years of education, training or
experience). Premium processing will not be available to "other workers" in the EB-3
category for jobs that do not require two years of education, training or experience.
June 10, 2006 H-1B Cap Reached for Fiscal Year 2007 USCIS announced on June 1, 2006, that it had received
sufficient H-1B petitions to fulfill the fiscal 2007 quota as of May 26,
2006. Any cap-subject petitions received after that date will be returned.
Petitions received on that date will be subject to a "random selection
process." The notice announcing the reaching of the cap can be found
here.
May 25, 2006 USCIS Posts Updated Fiscal Year 07 H1-B Cap Usage Figures and Begins Bi-Weekly Updates USCIS has updated its website with the figures for H-1B usage for fiscal year 2007 as of May 19, 2006. Since it began accepting applications on April 1, USCIS has approved 6,934 H-1B beneficiaries with an additional 35,942 applications pending, for a total of 42,876 applications either granted or pending. In this same period, USCIS has approved 1,537 H-1B Advanced Degree beneficiaries with 3,821 applications pending, for a total of 5,358 applications either granted or pending. The respective caps are 58,200 for H-1B visas (with an additional 6,800 set aside for the H-1B1 program until October 1, 2006) and 20,000 for H-1B Advanced Degree visas. USCIS estimates the number of beneficiary applications needed to reach the cap, with an allowance for denials and revocations, at 61,000 for H-1Bs and 21,000 for H-1B Advanced Degrees. USCIS intends to try and provide updated cap usage figures twice a week until the cap is reached. For periodic updates on new usage counts, click here. May 23, 2006 USCIS Posts Updated Fiscal Year 07 H1-B Cap Usage Figures USCIS has updated its website with the figures for H-1B usage for fiscal year 2007 as of May 12, 2006. Since it began accepting applications on April 1, USCIS has approved 6,033 H-1B beneficiaries with an additional 28,775 applications pending, for a total of 34,808 applications either granted or pending. In this same period, USCIS has approved 1,392 H-1B Advanced Degree beneficiaries with 3,246 applications pending, for a total of 4,638 applications either granted or pending. The respective caps are 58,200 for H-1B visas (with an additional 6,800 set aside for the H-1B1 program until October 1, 2006) and 20,000 for H-1B Advanced Degree visas. USCIS estimates the number of beneficiary applications needed to reach the cap, with an allowance for denials and revocations, at 61,000 for H-1Bs and 21,000 for H-1B Advanced Degrees. For periodic updates on new usage counts, click here. May 6, 2006 USCIS Posts Updated Fiscal Year 07 H1-B Cap Usage Figures USCIS has updated its website with the figures for H-1B usage for fiscal year 2007 as of April 24, 2006. Since it began accepting applications on April 1, 2006, USCIS has approved 3,907 H-1B beneficiaries with an additional 8,806 applications pending. In that same period, USCIS approved 898 H-1B Advanced Degree beneficiaries wth 1,460 applications pending. The respective caps are 58,200 for H-1B visas (with an additional 6,800 set aside for the H-1B1 program until October 1, 2006) and 20,000 for H-1B Advanced Degree visas. USCIS estimates the number of beneficiary applications needed to reach the cap, with an allowance for denials and revocations, at 61,000 for H-1Bs and 21,000 for H-1B Advanced Degrees. For periodic updates on new usage counts, click here. April 13, 2006 USCIS Issues Guidance on FY 2007 H-1B Filings USCIS has updated its website with the figures for H-1B usage for fiscal year 2007 as of April 3, 2006. Since it began accepting applications on April 1, 2006, USCIS has approved 76 H-1B beneficiaries and 9 H-1B Advanced Degree beneficiaries. The respective caps are 58,200 for H-1B visas (with an additional 6,800 set aside for the H-1B1 program until October 1, 2006) and 20,000 for H-1B Advanced Degree visas. USCIS estimates the number of beneficiary applications needed to reach the cap, with an allowance for denials and revocations, at 61,000 for H-1Bs and 21,000 for H-1B Advanced Degrees. For more information click here. March 30, 2006 USCIS Issues Guidance on FY 2007 H-1B Filings A March 24, 2006 guidance memorandum from USCIS states that employers may begin filing petitions for FY 2007 on April 1, 2006, the date on which USCIS will begin accepting filings. In anticipation of this event, the USCIS guidance reminds the public of important regulatory requirements in order to avoid delays in processing and possible Requests For Evidence (RFE). Click here for a copy of the guidance memorandum. March 30, 2006 USCIS Announces New Filing System for I-129 and I-140 Petitions Effective April 1, 2006, all I-129 petitions and related
applications are to be filed at the VSC, and all I-140 petitions are to be
filed at the NSC. The VSC and CSC will share responsibility for the
adjudication of I-129 petitions and related applications, and the NSC and
TSC will be responsible for adjudication of I-140 petitions. The VSC and NSC
will each forward petitions to the Service Center they are paired with for
adjudication. Mar. 25, 2006 DOS Provides Update on Schedule A Visa Number Availability In response to a recent AILA inquiry, the State Department provided this update on Schedule A visa number availability: Jan. 18, 2006 USCIS Reaches H-1B Exemption Cap For Fiscal Year 2006 USCIS announced yesterday that it has received enough H-1B petitions that qualify for the exemption from the H-1B numerical limitations for foreign workers with a U.S.-earned master's or higher. The "final receipt date" for these 20,000 cap-exempt H-1B petitions is January 17, 2006. Please click here for a copy of the USCIS press release on the matter.
greencardlawyers.com > immigration news
(2006)
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