On June 11, 2009, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) updated the count of H-1B petitions received and counted towards the 65,000 cap. As of June 5, 2009, 44,400 H-1B cap subject nonimmigrant visa petitions have been filed. USCIS has advised that they will continue to accept petitions…
Articles Posted in Immigration News
July 2009 Visa Bulletin
The Department of State has released its latest Visa Bulletin. The July 2009 visa bulletin still shows employment based third preference (EB-3) visas as oversubscribed while the employment based second preference (EB-2) is current for all areas of chargeability except for China and India. Click here to view the July…
USCIS Experiencing Production Delays
The United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) has announced that they are experiencing delays in the production of permanent residence cards.The Service is in the process of updating its card production equipment. As of May 29, 2009, the Service announced that recipients may experience up to an eight (8)…
Legislation to Reform America’s Family Based Immigration System Introduced by Senators Menendez (D-NJ), Gillibrand (D-NY), Kennedy (D-MA), and Schumer (D-NY)
On Wednesday, May 20, 2009, Senators Edward Kennedy, Robert Menendez, Charles Schumer, and Kirsten Gillibrand introduced the Reuniting Families Act (S. 1085). This legislation would amend the Immigration and Nationality Act/Family Based Immigration System by promoting family unity among other important purposes. The legislation is intended to help families unite…
BALCA upholds denial of Labor application – Employer failed to comply with Notice of Filing requirements
The Board of Alien Labor Certification Appeals (BALCA) recently upheld the final determination of a Certifying Officer (CO) denying labor certification (LC) for an alien worker for the position of Slitting Supervisor. The labor certification application was accepted by the CO in October of 2005. A few months later, the…
UPDATE – FY 2010 H-1B Cap Count
On May 26, 2009, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) updated the count of H-1B petitions received and counted towards the 65,000 cap. As of May 22, 2009, USCIS has received 45,700 H-1B cap subject nonimmigrant visa petitions. USCIS has advised that they will continue to accept petitions…
BALCA upholds denial of Labor application – Employer failed to obtain a proper PWD
The Board of Alien Labor Certification Appeals (BALCA) recently upheld the final determination of a Certifying Officer (CO) denying labor certification (LC) for an alien worker for the position of Marketing Consultant. In August of 2005, the Employer submitted a labor certification application on behalf of an alien worker. The…
BALCA upholds denial of Labor application – Employer failed to comply with PERM regulations
The Board of Alien Labor Certification Appeals (BALCA) recently upheld the final determination of a Certifying Officer (CO) denying labor certification (LC) for an alien worker for the position of Stone Carver. The Employer submitted an application and it was accepted for processing on August 17, 2006. The Employer indicated…
BALCA upholds denial of Labor application – Employer failed to comply with Prevailing Wage Determination Instructions
The Board of Alien Labor Certification Appeals (BALCA) recently upheld the final determination of a Certifying Officer (CO) denying labor certification (LC) for an alien worker for the position of Cook, Private Household. The Employer submitted the application by mail. The application was accepted for processing in January of 2006.…
Updated Service Centers Processing Times
Processing Time reports for all of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) Centers were released on May 15, 2009 with processing dates as of March 31, 2009. If you filed a petition with one of the Service Centers, please review the links below to determine the applicable processing time…