The United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) has extended the time period for information collection for Form I-102, Application for Replacement/Initial Nonimmigrant Arrival-Departure Document until July 23, 2010.
During this period, USCIS will be evaluating whether to revise Form I-102.
The purpose of the form: for a nonimmigrant to apply for a new or replacement Form I-94 or I-95 Nonimmigrant Arrival-Departure Document.
MVP Law Group is excited to announce the launch of our “Q & A Forum.”
We wanted to find a new way to engage our reader base. Every other Friday, we will post the ten (10) best/most frequently asked questions received during the week from our h1bvisalawyerblog, Facebook, and Twitter readers. We will answer those questions and provide the Q&A on our H-1B Visa Lawyer Blog.
If you have a burning question, are seeking assistance with a difficult immigration related case, wish to discuss your views on Comprehensive Immigration Reform, AZ SB1070, or the new debate focused on Ending Birthright Citizenship, please do not hesitate to contact us by submitting your question/comment/viewpoint in our comment box provided on our H-1B Visa Lawyer Blog.
Processing Time reports for all of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) Service Centers were released on June 16, 2010 with processing dates as of April 30, 2010.
If you filed a petition with one of the Service Centers, please review the links below to determine the applicable processing time associated with your particular case.
The United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) announced that they have made minor changes to Form I-90, Application to Replace Permanent Resident card. This new form contains more user-friendly features and has been made available on the USCIS website.
USCIS will accept previous versions of Form I-90 for 45 days, until July 28, 2010. After July 28, 2010, USCIS will reject all previous versions of Form I-90 and will return incorrect applications with a note instructing applicants to refile using the correct version of the form.
Applicants have been instructed to mail their applications to the addresses provided below:
The Department of State has released its latest Visa Bulletin.
Click here to view the July 2010 Visa Bulletin.
The July 2010 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.
The United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) has extended the time period for information collection for Form I-824, Application for Action on an Approved Application until July 9, 2010.
During this period, USCIS will be evaluating whether to revise Form I-824.
This form has multiple purposes: to request a duplicate approval notice, to request an approval notice be sent to another U.S. Consulate, or to request an approval notice be sent to a U.S. Consulate for derivative visas for family members.
The United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) is seeking public comment on a proposed federal rule that would adjust most fees by 10% for immigration benefit applications and petitions.
USCIS is a fee-based organization with about 90% of its budget coming from fees paid by applicants and petitioners to obtain immigration benefits. The law requires USCIS to conduct fee reviews every two years to determine whether its costs to administer the nation’s immigration laws, process application, and provide the infrastructure needed to support those activities. A fee adjustment, as detailed in the proposed rule, is necessary to ensure that the USCIS recovers the cost of their operations while also meeting the application processing goals identified in the 2007 fee rule.
Members of the public are encouraged to submit comments and/or suggestions to USCIS.
The Administrative Appeals Office (AAO) Processing Times were released on June 8, 2010 with processing dates as of May 1, 2010.
If you filed an appeal, please review the links below to determine the applicable processing time associated with your particular case.
The Board of Alien Labor Certification Appeals (BALCA) recently affirmed the final determination of a Certifying Officer (CO) denying labor certification (LC) for three alien workers for the position of “Senior Programmer Analyst.”
The employer filed a LC which was accepted for processing on August 15, 2007. ETA Form 9089 indicated that the job duties consisted of “design, develop, plan, coordinate and implement advance software module components in complex computing environment. For specific skills, the employer required: C++, ASP, COM/DCOM, Scripting, Win NT/2000/98, UNIX, Oracle and VB. Thereafter, the CO issued an Audit Notification letter requesting evidence of recruitment and other required documentation. The Employer responded by submitting copies of its newspaper advertisements, as well as the other required documentation. Thereafter the CO denied certification for several reasons: (1) the Notice of Filing did not contain the location of the job opportunity; and (2) the Employer did not provide adequate documentation of the mandatory print advertisements as requested. Specifically, the tear sheets submitted were not legible. The Employer responded by requesting reconsideration and submitted enlarged, legible copies of its newspaper advertisements. The CO issued a letter of reconsideration indicating that denial was proper because the advertisements contained additional job requirements not listed on the ETA Form 9089. Specifically, the newspaper advertisements stated that travel was required for the position.
PERM Regulation 20 C.F.R. § 656.17(f)(7) controls and it provides:
The United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) has announced that several more forms will be transitioning from the Service Centers to the Lockbox Network. USCIS believes that by centralizing form and fee intake to a Lockbox environment, USCIS will improve consistency and integrity in the intake process.
The forms scheduled for the transition include:
I-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker;
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