Family Based Immigration

June 11, 2010

USCIS Issues Extended Information Collection for Form I- 824, Application for Action on an Approved Application

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.

June 10, 2010

NEWS RELEASE: USCIS Seeks Public Comment on Proposal to Adjust Fees for Immigration Benefits

by Kellie N. Lego

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.

June 9, 2010

Administrative Appeals Office Processing Times

by Kellie N. Lego

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.

Administrative Appeals Office

June 2, 2010

USCIS Improving Consistency and Integrity in Form Intake Process

by Kellie N. Lego

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;

May 18, 2010

Updated Service Center Processing Times

by Kellie N. Lego

Processing Time reports for all of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) Service Centers were released on May 14, 2010 with processing dates as of March 31, 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.

California Service Center

May 11, 2010

June 2010 Visa Bulletin

by Kellie N. Lego

The Department of State has released its latest Visa Bulletin.

The June 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.

Have you already applied in EB3, thinking about filing in EB2…if you are eligible, contact MVP Law Group.

April 28, 2010

The Badger State – The Political and Economic Power of Immigrants, Latinos and Asians in Wisconsin

by Kellie N. Lego

The Badger State – The Political and Economic Power of Immigrants, Latinos and Asians in Wisconsin

As Washington D.C. talks of Comprehensive Immigration Reform (CIR), we thought that it would be an appropriate time to provide some statistics on the Immigrant population in the United States as provided by research conducted through the Immigration Policy Center (IPC) of the American Immigration Counsel (AIC).

The IPC has complied research on the Immigrant, Latino and Asian community for most of the states within our Nation. Every Wednesday, we will provide in our blog post, the highlights from the research conducted by the IPC.

April 28, 2010

The Old Dominion State – The Political and Economic Power of Immigrants, Latinos and Asians in Virginia

by Kellie N. Lego

The Old Dominion State – The Political and Economic Power of Immigrants, Latinos and Asians in Virginia

As Washington D.C. talks of Comprehensive Immigration Reform (CIR), we thought that it would be an appropriate time to provide some statistics on the Immigrant population in the United States as provided by research conducted through the Immigration Policy Center (IPC) of the American Immigration Counsel (AIC).

The IPC has complied research on the Immigrant, Latino and Asian community for most of the states within our Nation. Every Wednesday, we will provide in our blog post, the highlights from the research conducted by the IPC.

April 28, 2010

The Beehive State – The Political and Economic Power of Immigrants, Latinos and Asians in Utah

by Kellie N. Lego

The Beehive State – The Political and Economic Power of Immigrants, Latinos and Asians in Utah

As Washington D.C. talks of Comprehensive Immigration Reform (CIR), we thought that it would be an appropriate time to provide some statistics on the Immigrant population in the United States as provided by research conducted through the Immigration Policy Center (IPC) of the American Immigration Counsel (AIC).

The IPC has complied research on the Immigrant, Latino and Asian community for most of the states within our Nation. Every Wednesday, we will provide in our blog post, the highlights from the research conducted by the IPC.

April 21, 2010

The Lone Star State – Texas’ Immigrants, Latinos and Asians are a Political and Economic Powerhouse

by Kellie N. Lego

The Lone Star State – Texas’ Immigrants, Latinos and Asians are a Political and Economic Powerhouse

As Washington D.C. talks of Comprehensive Immigration Reform (CIR), we thought that it would be an appropriate time to provide some statistics on the Immigrant population in the United States as provided by research conducted through the Immigration Policy Center (IPC) of the American Immigration Counsel (AIC).

The IPC has complied research on the Immigrant, Latino and Asian community for most of the states within our Nation. Every Wednesday, we will provide in our blog post, the highlights from the research conducted by the IPC.