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 Specialty Chef. The Employer filed a LC on behalf of an alien worker and it was accepted for processing in…
H1B Visa Lawyer Blog
BALCA upholds denial of Labor application – Employer Did Not 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 Baker. The Employer filed a LC on behalf of an alien worker and it was accepted for processing in February…
BALCA upholds denial of Labor application – No On-Site Hire Exception to Advertising 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 Framer. The Employer filed a LC on behalf of an alien worker and it was accepted for processing in April…
Updated Service Centers Processing Times
Processing Time reports for all of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) Centers were released on April 16, 2009 with processing dates as of February 28, 2009. If you filed a petition with one of the Service Centers, please review the links below to determine the applicable processing time…
REMINDER to all U.S. Employers – Use Updated Form I-9
As of April 3, 2009, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) indicated that U.S. employers should no longer be using outdated versions of Form I-9. The updated Form I-9 has been available in English and Spanish via the USCIS website since it was revised in February. Instructions for…
H-1B Visa Program and TARP recipients – Ongoing Issues
According to the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), several United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) service centers have begun to issue Requests for Additional Evidence (RFEs) for all H-1B petitioning employers who did not include the TARP recipient funding page of Form I-129, Data Collection with their H-1B FY…
NEW iCert System – Update
On April 10, 2009, the Department of Labor (DOL) released new information and materials on the New iCert System which covers the H-1B, H-1B1, and E-3 visa programs. The New iCert system will be implemented beginning April 15, 2009. According to the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) the New iCert…
H-1B Demand for FY 2010 – Updates
Regular Petitions Subject to Cap As of April 9, 2009, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) have received approximately 42, 000 H-1B nonimmigrant petitions counting toward the congressionally mandated 65,000 cap. The USCIS has indicated that they will continue to accept H-1B petitions subject to the cap. Advanced…
Administrative Appeals Office Processing Times
The Administrative Appeals Office (AAO) released its time report on April 1, 2009 with updated processing times for all types of cases accepted by its Office. If you filed an appeal, please review the link below to determine the applicable processing time associated with your case. Administrative Appeals Office If…
May 2009 Visa Bulletin
The Department of State has released its latest Visa Bulletin. The May 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 May…