The United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) has updated the count of H-1B petitions received and counted towards the 65,000 cap.
As of July 8, 2011, 19,000 H-1B Regular CAP subject non-immigrant visa petitions have been filed with the USCIS towards the 65,000 cap.
As of July 8, 2011, 12,200 H-1B Masters Degree CAP subject non-immigrant visa petitions have been filed with the USCIS towards the 20,000 cap.
The Department of State has released its latest Visa Bulletin.
Click here to view the August 2011 Visa Bulletin.
The August 2011 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 following immigration-related bills were introduced into the House of Representatives and the Senate in June 2011 and summarized below by AILA (American Immigration Lawyers Association):
Senate Bills
Protect Our Workers from Exploitation and Retaliation (POWER) Act (S. 1195)
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Question #1 – Temporary Work Visa – H-1B Nonimmigrant Visa
My company is considering merging with another company, if we do merge, will we need to file amended petitions for each nonimmigrant worker to remain in compliance? I will still remain head of the organization, and the workers will remain in their respective positions and nothing else will change except for the name of the company. Please advise.
The United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) has updated the count of H-1B petitions received and counted towards the 65,000 cap.
As of July 1, 2011, 18,400 H-1B Regular CAP subject non-immigrant visa petitions have been filed with the USCIS towards the 65,000 cap.
As of July 1, 2011, 11,900 H-1B Masters Degree CAP subject non-immigrant visa petitions have been filed with the USCIS towards the 20,000 cap.
The USCIS conducted numerous naturalization ceremonies, welcoming more than 24,000 new citizens beginning on June 27 and leading up to July 4th, to commemorate America’s 235th birthday. Eight of the approximate 350 ceremonies were specifically held for members of the U.S. armed forces. The Director of USCIS, Alejandro Mayorkas provided in his remarks that “every Fourth of July, we celebrate our country’s spirit of independence…this spirit, and our founding ideals of freedom and democracy, have allowed us to achieve great success as a nation of immigrants. Immigrants come to America in search of opportunity and, by taking the Oath of Alligence, embrace the rights and responsibilities of U.S. citizenship.
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, priority dates, or the debate focused on Ending Birthright Citizenship, please contact us by submitting your question/comment/viewpoint in our comment box provided on our H-1B Visa Lawyer Blog.
Our next “Q & A Forum” will take place this Friday, July 8th, 2011. Act now and submit your questions!
The Board of Alien Labor Certification Appeals (BALCA) recently affirmed the final determination of a Certifying Officer (CO) denying labor certification for an alien worker for the position of “Personal Finance Advisor.”
After receiving the Employer’s Application, the CO issued an Audit Notification. After receiving the audit response, the CO denied certification citing the fact that the journal the Employer used to advertised the position did not qualify as a professional journal and therefore did not satisfy the regulation. In the request for review, the Employer’s representative argued that the advertisement of the position in The Wall Street Journal did qualify as a professional journal. The case was forwarded to BALCA and the Employer filed a State of Intent to Proceed on June 24, 2010.
PERM regulation 20 C.F.R. § 656.17(e)(1)(B)(4) controls and it provides that if the position being offered requires experience and an advanced degree, a professional journal must be used to advertise the job.
The Board of Alien Labor Certification Appeals (BALCA) recently affirmed the final determination of a Certifying Officer (CO) denying labor certification for an alien worker for the position of “Software Engineer, Applications.”
An Audit Notification was issued by the CO requesting evidence of the Employer’s recruitment efforts. In the response to the audit submitted, the Employer included copies of Form ETA 9089 with original signatures, a statement of business necessity, a copy of the internal Job Posting, and other recruitment documents. The application was denied by the CO on the grounds that the Employer only completed 2 of the required 3 recruitment efforts for professional occupations. A request for review was submitted by the Employer who cited that in the CO’s “Reason for Denial” letter the wrong case number was used. A revised “Reason for Denial” letter was submitted by the CO with the correct case number included and it provided the reason for denial was the fact that the Employer did not submit its recruitment report. In another Request for Review, the Employer argued that the original response to the audit did include the recruitment documentation and recruitment report. The case was then forwarded to BALCA after the CO found the Employer did not overcome the original deficiencies in review of the case.
PERM regulation 20 C.F.R. § 656.17(g) controls and it provides that all employers must prepare a recruitment report, and in the event the CO notifies the employer that its application is to be audited, the employer must submit the report prior to a final determination. This report must also be signed by the employer or the employer’s representative and that individual must be the person who normally interviews or considers, on behalf of the employer, applicants for job opportunities.
The United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) has updated the count of H-1B petitions received and counted towards the 65,000 cap.
As of June 24th, 2011, 17,400 H-1B Regular CAP subject non-immigrant visa petitions have been filed with the USCIS towards the 65,000 cap.
As of June 24th, 2011, 11,300 H-1B Masters Degree CAP subject non-immigrant visa petitions have been filed with the USCIS towards the 20,000 cap.
H1B Visa Lawyer Blog